Veteran Boston comedian Kevin Knox died yesterday morning at Brigham & Women’s Hospital after a six-year battle with cancer. He was 53.

Known as Knoxie by friends and colleagues, the Tyngsboro native and longtime Winthrop residentbroke into the comedy scene in the late-1970s doing impressions. He soon began formulating a brand of nonstop, energetic standup that eventually earned him annual multi-week appearances in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.