Watermelon-smashing comedian Gallagher dies at 76

Legendary sledge hammer-wielding comedian Gallagher has passed away at 76, according to his manager who spoke to TMZ.

The celebrity news site reports Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. died in the Palm Springs, Calif. area, where he was in hospice care.

(Content Warning: the video below contains explicit language)

TMZ reports the 76-year-old performer died of organ failure, after suffering from ailing health in recent years.

The Associated Press reported in 2012 the comedian was placed in a medically-induced coma after a heart attack while in Texas.

KFOX14 and CBS4 in El Paso interviewed the legend on their noon show alongside his sidekick Artie Fletcher in 2018 when the two were taking their act on the road in Texas.

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"I'm well known for being a late-night person so I'm out of my element," he said on a Facebook Live with KFOX14 and CBS4's director of digital content, Jamel Valencia.

Fletcher and Gallagher said they were only supposed to work together for a year, but that stretched to four.

"We're old guys! These are important years," Gallagher said when the two spoke of their extended time touring together.

"Here's what it is, let me explain it: I tell the truth, and he lies," the comedian said of his act with Fletcher.

"That's all there is to it. Exaggeration for a fact. A Hyperbole."

When mentioning his online presence, Gallagher told the station he was using his Facebook page to pitch movies to celebrities like Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez.

"You know, the problem with the internet, is if you don't get a response, you're dead right away... That's the problem, I think. If you write this poem and you think it's the greatest thing ever, and you get like, two thumbs up - you've failed in front of the world!"

"There's a problem with it too," he continued, "you can succeed a lot, or fail immediately."

After finding fame in 1975 on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" with gag and prop humor, Gallagher used his trademark "Sledge-O-Matic" to crush a variety of objects. His gag at times mimicked a salesman pitching a product.

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