TICKETS ON SALE APRIL 21!

Recommended for audiences 16+

After graduating from the University of South Florida with an engineering degree, Gallagher got his first taste of life on tour in 1976 as Jim Stafford's road manager. Stafford and Gallagher went out to California in 1979 and Gallagher decided to take the stage himself. He began honing his own comedy act while hanging out at both the Comedy Store and the Ice House. As his audience grew, Gallagher became most noted for wielding his trademark Sledge-O-Matic. He showered his audience with the pulverized remains of apples, oranges, lettuce, cottage cheese, pound cakes, Big Macs and of course, no show can end without the Watermelon finale. Show goers turn up already Gallagherized, wearing plastic raincoats, goggles, sunglasses, umbrellas, and windshield wipers and refer to the front of the theatre as Death Row.

Gallagher has the distinction of being the first real star to come out of cable television. To date he has done sixteen specials: Uncensored Evening, Mad As Hell, Too Real, Totally New, That's Stupid, Stuck in the 60's, The Maddest, Melon Crazy, The Bookkeeper, Over Your Head, The Messiest Of, Overboard, The Leap Year Marathon, We Need A Hero, Smashing Cheeseheads, and the most recent, Sledge-o-matic.com. Nine of these specials are available on home video, and can be purchased on his website at www.gallaghersmash.com. You can currently see Gallagher's specials on the Comedy Central Network.

Being one of the most thoroughly calculating performers in the world of entertainment, he writes all of his own material, runs his own operation, and does over 100 concerts a year, selling out the majority of them. All of Gallagher's affairs are handled exclusively by his company’s, Sold Out Shows and Fun Fun Fun. Gallagher is a self-contained touring business with an agent, promoter and road manager all in-house. For the last eighteen years, Ruth Ann Hoffman has booked and promoted all of Gallagher's dates across the country. Gallagher calls Hoffman his "Personal Promoter", which he says every performer needs. Due to the fact that Gallagher wanted to be in control of his own business, he took off one hat as a comedian and put on another as a promoter.

One of the reasons Gallagher has always been a successful touring attraction is that his ticket prices are very advantageous to the market. He has always been several dollars under everyone else. Gallagher's not greedy; he doesn't ask a huge ticket price. His fans always get more than their money's worth when they see a Gallagher show. He always gives them 110%. Before every show, Gallagher has an autograph signing party in the lobby, where fans can get his autograph and a picture with him. Flash photography is allowed at every Gallagher event. He even sells cameras if you forget yours!

A Gallagher concert is an unforgettable experience. He is a keen and original observer of human nature and the American "scene". "My humor makes people think," Gallagher says. "I want people to look more closely at this country and their lives to see the humor and absurdity in it all …I don't have to make it up, the truth is funny enough."

Additional Facts:
In November 2000, Comedy Central added two new specials to their Gallagher line up of shows. These specials, "Smashing Cheeseheads" and "sledge-o-matic.com", are scheduled to air repeatedly through the year 2001 and 2002.

Gallagher was recently featured on televisions E True Hollywood Story.

In June of 2000, Gallagher suffered a mild heart attack despite no previous history of heart problems.
He rebounded quickly and continues to perform with amazing energy.

In August of 2000, a federal judge ruled in Gallagher's favor in a lawsuit against his younger brother, Ron. An injunction was granted prohibiting Ron from performing any act that impersonates his brother in small clubs and venues. Ron had been touring as a Gallagher impersonator with Gallagher's permission but Ron was charged with deliberately misleading the public with false advertising that suggested they were seeing the real Gallagher.

In 2000, Gallagher was honored by the University of South Florida as one of its famous alumni and by Florida Living Magazine as one of the top "100 Legends" of Florida.

ShareTweet