CNN
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Comic Gallagher, most effective recognised for his watermelon-smashing comedy schedule and a lot of preferred specials in the 1980s, died Friday early morning, in accordance his manager Craig Marquardo. He was 76.
In accordance to a assertion delivered to CNN by Marquardo, the comedian died “after a shorter wellness battle” and “passed absent surrounded by his loved ones in Palm Springs, California.”
Gallagher, born Leo Gallagher, became a house title in the early ’80s with a comedy exclusive titled “An Uncensored Evening,” the to start with comedy stand up specific ever to air on cable tv, in accordance to an obituary shared by Marquardo.
Gallagher’s most famous little bit involved a hand-built sledgehammer he identified as the “Sledge-O-Matic,” which he would use to smash foodstuff on stage, spraying the audience.
“That was a little something else he appreciated to claim credit for, which was bodily partaking the audience in that method,” the obituary said.
Gallagher, a Fort Bragg, North Carolina indigenous, acquired a chemical engineering degree from the College of South Florida prior to going to Los Angeles and creating his comedy act at legendary venue The Comedy Retail outlet, positioned on the Sunset Strip, according to his biography on the website for Selak Enjoyment, a scheduling company.
Folks began to just take observe in 1975 when he performed his model of prop comedy on Johnny Carson’s famed “The Tonight Present.”
Television set was excellent to him and in 1978, he built an look on “The Mike Douglas Show” and the subsequent year appeared on “The Merv Griffin Present.”
But it was his Showtime 1980s comedy specials that firmly cemented him in pop society, and he would go on to do a lot more than a dozen for the community in excess of 27 many years.
He was also an early staple of MTV and Comedy Central.
“While his counterparts went on to do sitcoms, host communicate displays and star in flicks, Gallagher stayed on the street touring The united states for a long time,” the obituary reported. “He was fairly confident he held a history for the most stand up dates, by attrition by yourself.”
Gallagher toured steadily right until the Covid-19 pandemic hit and applied the split to commit time with his son, Barnaby, and daughter Aimee, the latter of whom experienced appeared with him on his specials when she was a little one.