Legendary prop comedian Gallagher, useless at 76

In the event 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. In the event you’re a comedy fan, you’ll know that Gallagher’s repute 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 craze 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 along with his brother, Ron Gallagher, who carried out underneath the identify “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 had been confused over who was the actual 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. 

Based on Individuals, Gallagher had been unwell lately and died of a number of organ failure. He had toured frequently till the pandemic, and Paul F. Thompkins memorably performed him within the latest Bizarre: The Al Yankovic Story.

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

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