Legendary prop comedian Gallagher, lifeless at 76

When you’re of a sure age, you may bear in mind a time when “prop” comedy wasn’t frowned upon. Lengthy earlier than the times of Carrot Prime, a comic named Gallagher made a fortune out of smashing watermelons with a mallet and sadly, the one-time headliner has handed away at seventy-six. When you’re a comedy fan, you’ll know that Gallagher’s fame lately wasn’t sterling, with him having stormed out of an interview on Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast when challenged on a few of his materials (resulting in one of many podcast’s biggest strains: “Oh, come on, Gallagher!”).

Leo Gallagher was all the trend in his youthful days, having appeared on The Tonight Present a number of occasions, regardless of Johnny Carson’s rumoured aversion to prop humor. Later in his profession, Gallagher ended up in a vicious authorized battle together with his brother, Ron Gallagher, who carried out beneath the title “Gallagher Too.” The legit Gallagher initially allowed his brother to make use of his materials, together with the famed “Sledge-O-Matic” bit, however finally, audiences have been confused over who was the true deal, resulting in a lawsuit. For the report, the “Sledge-O-Matic” routine concerned Gallagher destroying watermelons with mallets. Whereas not excessive artwork, audiences within the seventies and eighties discovered it hilarious. 

In accordance with Individuals, Gallagher had been ill just lately and died of a number of organ failure. He had toured recurrently till the pandemic, and Paul F. Thompkins memorably performed him within the current Bizarre: The Al Yankovic Story.

Whereas his humorousness could appear just a little old school, it may well’t be denied that in his prime, he made a complete lot of individuals snigger. In 2004, Comedy Central named him the one hundredth Best Comic of All-Time. 

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