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Leo Gallagher Net Worth: Leo Gallagher is a comedian from the United States with a net worth of $200 thousand in 2022. Gallagher is widely regarded as one of the most influential American comedians of the 1980s. Gallager rose to prominence for his catchphrases in observational and prop comedy, as well as his use of watermelons in his act.
Despite the fact that he only did fourteen Showtime comedy specials, each episode has been aired numerous times, most notably on Comedy Central. Gallagher died from multiple organ failures on November 11, 2022, in hospice care in Palm Springs, California.
Leo Gallagher Early Life
Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. was born on July 24th, 1946, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to an Irish and Croatian family. He grew up in Lorain, Ohio, until he was nine years old. Gallagher’s father owned a roller skating rink and became a roller skating champion.
Due to his asthma, however, the family was forced to relocate to South Tampa, Florida, where he attended H.B. Plant High School. Due to an explosion, he almost didn’t graduate, but his guidance counselor advocated for him and allowed him to walk with the rest of his class.
He later graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in chemical engineering and a minor in English literature in 1970. He led a protest against cafeteria food in college by bringing pigs to school and instructing students to feed them their leftovers on their way out.
Leo Gallagher’s Net Worth
Leo Gallagher’s net worth is estimated to be around $200,000 as of 2022. Gallagher made his fortune by hosting sixteen comedy shows on the Showtime Cable TV Network. He also made money from live performances, tours, and other television appearances.
Gallagher rose to prominence in the 1980s following the broadcast of his television comedy special, “An Uncensored Evening.” “Sledge-O-Matic,” his most famous bit, set him apart from other comedians by requiring him to smash food on stage with a sledgehammer.
Leo Gallagher Career
Gallagher’s first job out of college was as a salesman for a chemical company, but he was fired soon after for dressing up as a gangster and carrying a fake gun to work. Before joining Jim Stafford on the road as a manager, Gallagher worked as a carpenter, taxi driver, and waiter.
Leo Gallagher Personal Life
Gallagher previously married Geralyn Ann Hines and Deedra Kay Higgins and had two children, one of whom is Aimee Gallagher. Gallagher has had several health issues, including a minor heart attack and a medically-induced coma. On March 18th, 2012, doctors gradually brought him out of his coma after replacing two coronary stents. Gallagher died on November 11, 2022, in hospice care in Palm Springs, California, after suffering from multiple organ failure.
Breakthrough
Gallagher began working as a comic and musician after graduating from college. Stafford and Gallagher went to California in 1969, and Gallagher decided to perform. Gallagher began honing his own stand-up routine while frequenting The Comedy Store and The Ice House. Despite Carson’s dislike of prop comedy, he appeared twice on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Gallagher, like any great comic, appeared on television frequently early in his career. Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show in 1975 and was known for his signature brand of prop comedy. Gallagher also appeared on the Mike Douglas Show and the Merv Griffin Show in the late 1970s. In the early days of MTV and Comedy Central, he was also a frequent guest.
During the 1980s, Gallagher was regarded as one of the most popular and recognizable American comedians. He did fourteen Showtime comedy specials, which were rebroadcast several times, most notably on Comedy Central. In the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, Gallagher finished 16th out of 135 candidates with approximately 5,466 votes. In 2004, Comedy Central named Gallagher the 100th greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
