Gallagher

At 77 years old, Gallagher has this physical status:

Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. (born July 24, 1946), also known as Gallagher, is an American comedian known for smashing watermelons as part of his prop comedy act.

Early life

Gallagher was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on July 24, 1946, to an Irish and Croatian family. He lived in Lorain, Ohio, up until the age of nine, but the family had to move to South Tampa, Florida, where he attended H.B. Plant High School. In 1970, he graduated from the University of South Florida with a chemical engineering degree. He minored in English literature.

Personal life

Gallagher has claimed that he lost virtually all of his money speculating on the stock exchange, and he jokes that he is now "broke." Craig Marquardo, the company's long-serving boss, denied this as a bit of comedic exaggeration, saying, "We all need to be as broke as Leo."

Gallagher collapsed on stage during a Rochester, Minnesota, performance on March 10, 2011, clutching his chest. He was rushed to Saint Mary's Hospital, where it was discovered that he had suffered a minor heart attack.

Gallagher began to experience severe chest pains a year earlier, on March 14, 2012, just before a show in Lewisville, Texas. The comedian suffered a "mild to serious" heart attack and was put in a medically induced coma while doctors tried to determine what was wrong with his heart, according to Gallagher's boss. After removing two coronary stents, doctors gradually brought him out of the coma on March 18, 2012. He recovered quickly and began chatting to his family. Christine Sherrer, his company's chairman, admitted that he was breathing on his own, moving, and telling jokes.

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Career

Gallagher started working as Jim Stafford's road manager after college. Stafford and Gallagher went to California in 1969, during which Gallagher decided to perform himself. When visiting both The Comedy Store and The Ice House, he began honing his own comedy act. When Johnny Carson was hosting The Tonight Show twice, Carson mocked prop comedy. He appeared on the program on December 5, 1975, as he pretended his prop, "The Tonight Show Home Game," and then on May 9, 1979. He appeared on several occasions on the program while guest hosts were substituting for Carson.

Gallagher was one of the 1980s' most popular and recognizable American comedians. He produced fourteen comedy specials for Showtime, many on Comedy Central.

Gallagher finished 16th out of 1,466 candidates for governor (as an outsider) in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election.

Ron Gallagher's younger brother, who was younger than him in the early 1990s, begged for permission to perform shows using Gallagher's famous Sledge-O-Matic formula. Gallagher granted his permission on the condition that Ron, who leoped a strong similarity to Leo, and his manager announced in promotional materials that it was Ron Gallagher, not Leo Gallagher, who was playing. Ron performed in smaller venues than those in which Leo Gallagher appeared. Ron began promoting his act as Gallagher Too or Gallagher Two after many years. Ron's behavior was sometimes misunderstook him for the fact that he was not the original Gallagher. Ron's offstage mishaps left a stain on his name as well.

Gallagher started by requesting that his brother not use the Sledge-O-Matic method, rather than his brother. Ron, on the other hand, continued to tour as Gallagher Too used the same tactics. Gallagher's brother was sued by a trademark infringement and false advertisement in August 2000. The courts ultimately agreed with him, and an injunction was obtained restricting Ron from performing any act that impersonated his brother in tiny clubs and venues. Ron was also forbidden from intentionally revealing likeness to Leo as a result of this injunction.

Gallagher's signature drawing is a sketch for the "Sledge-O-Matic," a large wooden mallet that he uses to smash a variety of food and other objects, culminating with a watermelon. It also includes a large trampoline that looks like a couch.

Although the Sledge-O-Matic performance is an example of physical prop comedy, the Ronco Veg-O-Matic's act (and even its name) is a parody of ads for the Ronco Veg-O-Matic, a kitchen device that was heavily advertised on American television from the mid-1960s to the 1970s. Gallagher also uses wordplay in his performance, pointing to the English language's eccentricities.

In July 1999, he appeared in Cerritos, California, where he used stereotypes that were considered offensive to Mexicans. Gallagher walked out of comedian Marc Maron's WTF podcast in January 2011 after Gallagher revealed that there were only five jokes on the street in the midst of a two-to-three hour show. Gallagher accused Maron of "taking the other hand of it" in a subsequent interview that touched on the subject. Gallagher's routine has been chastised by reviewers for its alleged frequent homophobia, nefarious overtones, and bigotry in subsequent years.

Gallagher was seen in a GEICO Insurance television commercial in July 2012, repeating his Sledge-O-Matic routine.

Despite the fact that it varies from appearance to performance, Gallagher will typically conclude each of his shows with his signature sledge-o-matic style.

It always starts with the following preamble: The following preamble is often used to begin the program:

Gallagher would then produce a huge, mainly wooden, mallet, smashing it down onto the apples, throwing chunks of produce into the audience. People in the first few rows are usually provided with tarps and raincoats, and many comedy clubs are also taking strides to cover up and protect their interiors with tarps and plastic sheeting.

Given the chaotic nature of Gallagher's performances, on several occasions audience members have sustained injuries during his performances.

On September 29, 1990, a woman in the audience was struck on the head by a massive plush penguin with a fire exuisher inside. She later sued the comedian for $13,000 in medical bills, $20,000 in missed wages, and punitive damages in excess of $100,000. The lawsuit went to court in 1993, with the jury ultimately siding with Gallagher following a raucous hearing in which Gallagher himself appeared on the stand and reportedly had as many laughs as he did at one of his performances. "I've seen a lot of characters on the bench in seven years, but none so dramatic," the presiding judge said later. It certainly wasn't boring."

On July 8, 2010, a woman rushed the stage at the Washington County Fair in Hillsboro, Oregon, and was admitted to the hospital for her injuries.

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