Early life[edit]

Gallagher was born on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to a family of Irish and Croatian heritage. [1] Until the age of
nine, he lived in Lorain, Ohio, but because of his asthma, the family moved to South Tampa, Florida, where he
attended H.B. Plant High School. He went on to graduate from the University of South Florida with a chemical
engineering degree in 1970.[2][1] He minored in English literature, which he uses often in his skits to mock the
language.

Career[edit]
After college, Gallagher began working as comic/musician Jim Stafford's road manager. Stafford and
Gallagher traveled to California in 1969, during which time Gallagher decided to perform himself. He began
honing his own comedy act while frequenting both The Comedy Store and The Ice House. He performed
twice on The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was hosting, though Carson disliked prop comedy. [3] He first
appeared on the show on Dec. 5, 1975, when he demonstrated his prop, "The Tonight Show Home Game",
and again on May 9, 1979. He also performed several times on the show when guest hosts were filling in for
Carson.[3]

Gallagher was one of the most popular and recognizable American comedians during the 1980s. [citation needed] He
did fourteen comedy specials for Showtime which have been re-broadcast numerous times, notably on
Comedy Central[citation needed].

Running for Governor (as an independent) in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, Gallagher
finished 16th out of 135 candidates with 5,466 votes. [4]

Conflict with brother[edit]

In the early 1990s, Gallagher's younger brother Ron asked him for permission to perform shows using
Gallagher's trademark Sledge-O-Matic routine. Gallagher granted his permission on the condition that Ron,
who shared a strong likeness to Leo, and his manager clarified in promotional materials that it was Ron
Gallagher, not Leo Gallagher, who was performing. Ron typically performed in venues smaller than those in
which Leo Gallagher performed. After several years, Ron began promoting his act as Gallagher Too or
Gallagher Two. In some instances, Ron's act was promoted in a way that left unclear the fact that he was not
the original Gallagher.[5][6] This, and also Ron's off-stage troubles, left a stain on Leo's reputation as well.

Gallagher initially responded by requesting only that his brother not use the Sledge-O-Matic routine. Ron
nonetheless continued to tour as Gallagher Too using the routine. In August 2000, Gallagher sued his brother
for trademark violations and false advertising. [5] The courts ultimately sided with him, and an injunction was
granted prohibiting Ron from performing any act that impersonated his brother in small clubs and venues.
This injunction also prohibited Ron from intentionally bearing likeness to Leo. [6]

Comedy style[edit]
Gallagher's signature sketch is a pitch for the "Sledge-O-Matic," a large wooden mallet that he uses to smash
a variety of food items and other objects, culminating with a watermelon. It also features a variety of props,
including a large trampoline designed to look like a couch. [7]

While the Sledge-O-Matic act is an example of physical prop comedy, the act itself (and even its name) is a
parody of ads for the Ronco Veg-O-Matic, a kitchen appliance that was heavily advertised on American
television from the mid-1960s through the 1970s.[citation needed] Gallagher also uses wordplay in his act, pointing
out the eccentricities of the English language. [citation needed]
In July 1999 he did a show in Cerritos, California, in which he used stereotypes that were considered
offensive towards Mexicans.[8] In January 2011, Gallagher walked out of comedian Marc Maron's WTF podcast
when Maron continued to ask Gallagher about the jokes after Gallagher had responded that, out of a two-to-
three-hour show, they were only five jokes that he had heard in the street. In a subsequent interview which
touched on the incident, Gallagher accused Maron of "taking the other side of everything". [3][9]

In July 2012, Gallagher was featured in a television commercial for GEICO Insurance, repeating his Sledge-O-
Matic routine.[10]