A World Famous Comedian Has Died
Legendary prop comedian, Gallagher, has passed away at the age of 76.
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Gallagher, most famous for his watermelon-smashing bit, passed away today at the age of 76. As reported by Deadline, the cause of death is organ failure following a long series of illnesses and multiple heart attacks. Leo Anthony Gallagher, Jr. died while in his Palm Springs home.
Starting out as a road manager in the late ’60s for Jim Stafford, a musical comedian, Gallagher’s entrance into the world of television was understated compared to his later appearances. His first TV appearance came in 1975 on the Jim Stafford Show, which was a summer TV replacement series for ABC. Gallagher had been honing his comedy with frequent appearances at The Comedy Store and the Icehouse.
Gallagher became a household name during the 80s and early 90s based on his prop comedy. The comedian’s signature bit involved the comic announcing a remarkable invention that would inevitably turn out to be a large hammer used for smashing watermelons on stage. A frequent guest of the era’s late-night television shows, Gallagher made multiple visits to Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show, David Letterman’s shows, and Howard Stern’s television and radio programs.
Johnny Carson was a big fan of Gallagher, inviting the comedian back an astonishing 18 times starting in 1975. During an episode in 1979, Gallagher and guest Chevy Chase had a heated exchange when the Saturday Night Live alumnus derided his Smash-o-Matic bit. However, the comedian famously got the last word in by stating that for the record, Chevy Chase didn’t matter.
After Gallagher rode the wave of the late ’80s stand-up comedy boom, his younger brother Ron requested permission to perform the Smash-o-Matic act in small clubs. Gallagher approved, leading to Ron performing as “Gallagher Two” throughout the country. Ron’s off-stage antics and eventually confusion among show attendees led the original comedian to take his brother to court over the “Gallagher” trademark. Gallagher won the lawsuit, preventing Ron from performing as the second coming of the comedian and from attempting to imitate his brother’s signature likeness.
That was not the only court case stemming from Gallagher’s performances. In 1993, an audience member was struck in the head by a penguin prop and sued the comedian for over $100,000 in damages. The case went to trial, with him taking the stand, prompting the presiding judge to comment that he had never had such a theatrical character in his courtroom.
Showtime hosted 13 of Gallagher’s 17 stand-up specials, the first, An Uncensored Evening, aired in 1980 while the last was an episode of Gotham Comedy Live in 2014. His last televised appearance was on Celebrity Big Brother 2 in 2019 as part of a Power of Veto competition. Despite critics claiming that the prop comedy was not funny and pandering to the dumbest audience, Gallagher continued to perform to large crowds until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic cut short his last tour.
A graduate of the University of South Tampa with a degree in chemical engineering, Gallagher is survived by two children, Barnaby, and Aimee. Aimee appeared as a child in a few of the comedian’s Showtime specials, but otherwise, the two children have steered clear of following in their father’s watermelon-stained footsteps.
