Legendary Watermelon-Smashing Comic Gallagher Dead at 76

Leo Gallagher, the legendary watermelon smashing one-liner and prop comedian known simply as Gallagher, died on Friday. He was 76.

The North Carolina native comedian passed away in hospice care, according to his family.

“After a short health battle, Gallagher, born Leo Gallagher, succumbed to his ailments and passed away surrounded by his family in Palm Springs, California.,” his family said in a statement according to Fox News.

The comedian had success performing on stage and TV since the 1970s and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1975:

But Gallagher became a household name after his 1980 TV special An Uncensored Evening, a film directed by The Monkees’ Mike Nesmith. The wildly successful show was the fist comedy special to hit cable TV and it sent Gallagher into the stratosphere.

With his “Sledge-O-Matic” bit smashing watermelons and other food sending waves of goo out onto the audience, and his stream of one-liner jokes and stories, Gallagher became a headliner.

“That was something else he liked to claim credit for, which was physically engaging the audience in that manner,” an obituary said of his sledgehammer bit.

“While his counterparts went on to do sitcoms, host talk shows and star in movies, Gallagher stayed on the road touring America for decades,” the obituary said. “He was pretty sure he held a record for the most stand up dates, by attrition alone,” the obit added.

Back in the late 1990s he got in a dispute with his look-alike brother, Ron, who also hit the road doing jokes and sledgehammering watermelons, performing as Gallagher 2. Leo finally sued his younger brother in 2000 to force him to stop impersonating him.

The comedian has had several health scares over recent years. In 2011 he collapsed on stage and he also suffered a heart attack the next year. The heart attack sent him into a coma for nearly a week.

Gallagher retired after the COVID pandemic rose and his health continued to deteriorate. He is survived by his daughter, Aimee, and his son, Barnaby.

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