[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gallagher.jpg]]

Leo Anthony [[LastNameBasis Gallagher]] Jr. (July 24, 1946 – November 11, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian famous for SmashingWatermelons with a huge hammer. He emerged as a popular comedy performer in the TheEighties, making numerous appearances on ''Series/TheTonightShowStarringJohnnyCarson'', where his acts typically consisted of observational humor, invented sports (such as "synchronized Ping-Pong"), some political commentary, and wrapping his act up with his trademark bit, smashing a large watermelon (and other mess-inducing fruits and products) with a massive hammer dubbed the "Sledge-O-Matic," with such force that audiences in the front row were typically at risk of being showered in the resulting debris. Ultimately and unfortunately, his signature act ended up overshadowing even him, gaining far more fame than his comedy routines ever did.

As his career wore on into the new millenium, his health began to decline as he began to develop cardiac issues, culminating in 2011 when he collapsed during a performance, requiring him to be rushed to the hospital. While he continued to perform after this, he notably had to tone down his act, to the point of [[AudienceParticipation asking someone from the audience]] to carry out his trademark watermelon smash in his place. He would continue to tour into the 2010's, ultimately stopping when the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic hit full-swing. Unfortunately, he would not be able to resume his career afterwards, passing away in November of 2022 while in hospice care.

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!! "Trope-O-Matic":
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: 1984's ''Melon Crazy'' has a 20-minute long guest spot by comedian [[Series/JustTheTenOfUs Bill Kirchenbauer.]] He and Gallagher also had an early version of a ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' 'Props' routine.
* ArchEnemy: Allegedly Creator/JoelHodgson, who caught him rifling through his props for new ideas, and insulting Hodgson for [[{{Hypocrite}} just using props for the sake of using props]].
* AudienceParticipation: After his heart attack, he usually brought people from the audience up to smash things instead of doing it himself.
* CoveredInGunge: The audience of any of his shows. People used to bring ponchos, garbage bags, etc. to his performances because they knew they'd wind up covered in applesauce, water, chocolate syrup, watermelon glop, and everything else he could smash.
--> ''You're quite correct to have your plastic sheets up at this time.''
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** His early TV specials featured [[ThingOMatic Sledge-O-Matic]] as just another weird stunt instead of the GrandFinale, and frequently included things like roller skating stunts, song and dance routines, and [[BreadMilkEggsSquick erotic balloon animals.]]
** 1981's ''Mad as Hell'' special omits Sledge-O-Matic entirely.
** 1982's ''That's Stupid'' was a series of sketches where Gallagher examines stupid things in and around his suburban LA home.
* EruditeStoner:
** "I don't experiment with drugs. I'm into full-scale research."
** Explaining some of his new, big-budget props: "That's right folks, I finally make more money than I can smoke."
** "I went through the metal detector at the airport the other day, and it didn't go 'ding' because weed ain't metallic."
* EyeScream:
** In his ''Messing Up UsefulNotes/{{Texas}}'' special he smashes a pie pan full of mustard that sprays into his eyes, leaving him so debilitated he has to solicit volunteers from the audience to wield Sledge-O-Matic.
** The same thing happens with mouthwash in his 'Sledge-O-Matic.com' special.
* {{Infomercial}}: Parodied.
--> Ladies and gentlemen! I didn't come here to make you laugh, I came here to sell you something! I want you to pay particular attention! The amazing Mastertool Corporation, a subsidiary of Fly-By-Night Industries, has entrusted who - me! - to show you the handiest and the dandiest kitchen tool you've ever seen, and don't you want to know [[CoveredInGunge how it works?!]]
* InsaneTrollLogic: A huge part of his routine was pointing these out in everyday life.
--> "How come it is that when you write a check that bounces, the bank charges you more of what they ''know'' you don't have any of?"
--> "I saw a smoke detector the other day with a guarantee. Why? If it doesn't work, what's left?"
--> "Then you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway. Cargo goes by ship, a shipment goes by truck, you have a pair of panties but just one bra."
* HeartTrauma: Due to a heart condition, he had retired from performing for a while. He went on a national comedy tour ("The Joke's on You" tour) in 2017.
* LastNameBasis[=/=]OnlyOneName
* OnlyInFlorida: Gallagher was born in [[DeepSouth North Carolina]], but guess where he grew up?
* PrecisionFStrike From "Stuck in the Sixties":
-->In the modern kitchen there is the standard rule
-->That for every kitchen task, you must have the proper tool
-->So we have your corers, your borers, your graters, your shredders
-->Your hashers, your mashers, your hammers and frammers
-->Your mailers and tailors, corkscrewers and skewers,
-->That your knifesy wives and dishwashing daughters
-->Will find in the depths of your dirty dishwater
-->But do you want all that shit [[DoubleEntendre in your drawers?]]
* SpectatorCasualty: Downplayed; the front rows of at least some of his shows had plastic sheeting for the audience to pull over their heads when things got ... messy. It didn't work very well (see CoveredInGunge, above).
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: His younger brother Ron Gallagher actually had a minor career touring, entertaining, and Sledge-O-Maticing as 'Gallagher Too'. Yes, TheEighties were a weird decade.
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