RIP Gallagher (Slege-O-Matic)

[pengbuzz]

Legendary comedian Gallagher dead at 76 years old

From article:

The comedian Gallagher, best known for smashing watermelons with a sledgehammer, has died. He was 76. 

His longtime former manager confirmed with Fox News Digital that he passed away surrounded by his loved ones in California. 

"The legendary comedian known as Gallagher has died at the age of 76," he shared.

"After a short health battle, Gallagher, born Leo Gallagher, succumbed to his ailments and passed away surrounded by his family in Palm Springs, California. He had previously suffered numerous heart attacks, something he and David Letterman talked about on an appearance a few years back.

(more)

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/legendary-comedian-gallagher-dead-76-years-old

[Thom]

A sad day! I'm going to have to youtube his routines tonight! Thank you Gallagher for all the laughs!

[Big s]

That’s one that I will always remember. His comedy was messy in a good way

[M'Kyuun]

To be honest, I was never into Gallagher's comedy, having only seen maybe one of his routines on tv many, many moons ago. Nevertheless, it did leave some small impression on me, as well as his hair, or lack thereof. As a fellow sufferer of male pattern baldness, I've never had the same courage to grow my hair out, nor to put it all out there on stage night after night to try and bring some levity, joy, and laughter to thousands of people. Love him or hate him, his gimmicky comedy style was unique (IIRC, Carrot Top, also known for his gimmick-based comedy, worked with Gallagher BTS to craft his routine) and definitely memorable, if messy. 😄 Beyond the Sledge-O-Matic and his other fruit smashing machinations, Gallagher had a quick wit and an energetic style that appealed to audiences. Allegedly, his comedy took a darker turn towards bigoted and homophobic jokes later in his life. My brief memory is of his earlier melon-smashing comedy, and I think I'll let that be the picture I keep in memoriam. RIP

[jvmacross]

Think his "character" made a brief appearance in the Weird Al movie that came out recently...

[pengbuzz]

On 11/11/2022 at 2:49 PM, M'Kyuun said:

To be honest, I was never into Gallagher's comedy, having only seen maybe one of his routines on tv many, many moons ago. Nevertheless, it did leave some small impression on me, as well as his hair, or lack thereof. As a fellow sufferer of male pattern baldness, I've never had the same courage to grow my hair out, nor to put it all out there on stage night after night to try and bring some levity, joy, and laughter to thousands of people. Love him or hate him, his gimmicky comedy style was unique (IIRC, Carrot Top, also known for his gimmick-based comedy, worked with Gallagher BTS to craft his routine) and definitely memorable, if messy. 😄 Beyond the Sledge-O-Matic and his other fruit smashing machinations, Gallagher had a quick wit and an energetic style that appealed to audiences. Allegedly, his comedy took a darker turn towards bigoted and homophobic jokes later in his life. My brief memory is of his earlier melon-smashing comedy, and I think I'll let that be the picture I keep in memoriam. RIP

As I recall, he unfortunately got bitter and resentful in his later years, as he felt he "didn't get the recognition he deserved". He ended up alienating a lot of his fanbase, and ultimately did his own career a lot of harm. But for all that, his comedy up until that point was spot-on and always good to point out our foibles as a society.