Lindy West wrote:Then Gallagher gets a tin pie plate. He opens a giant can of fruit cocktail and pours it in. He opens a can of some Asian vegetable—water chestnuts, maybe—and pours that in, too. "This is the China people and queers!!!" he screams and takes his sledgehammer to the thing with a fury that is no fun at all.

Wet chunks of China people and queers fly everywhere. The hateful, bitter old man laughs. I cannot believe Bill Hicks is dead and this motherfucker is still touring.

Tdarcos wrote:I went and looked it up, and it had a warning of an unreferenced fact (a pure fact not having proof) that he had run for Governor during the 2003 California Recall election and had gotten about 5,469 votes to be in 16th place. So I went and looked up two sources, CNN had a lower vote total, but did indicate he was 16th. The California Secretary of state had him as 5,463. So I put the reference in and thus improved the article. My entire contribution is one footnote at the bottom of the article.

That article has has 16 edits just today, and about the same number yesterday.


Larry Flynt got 3 times as many votes.

Flack wrote:I could summarize the story from Wikipedia

AArdvark wrote:I thought his brother also did his performances.

At some point during the early 1990s, Gallagher’s younger brother Ron Gallagher asked Gallagher for permission to perform shows using Gallagher’s old routines, and also using Gallagher’s trademark Sledge-O-Matic routine. The idea was that Ron Gallagher, who was unemployed, would tour the country working small venues that couldn’t afford a show put on by Gallagher himself. Since Ron bears a strong familial resemblance to his older brother, the show would be almost like having a real Gallagher show.

Gallagher granted his blessing to his younger brother on the condition that Ron and his manager would make it clear in their promotional materials that it was Ron Gallagher, not Gallagher himself, that was putting on the show.

After a few years of complying with Gallagher’s conditions, Ron began blurring the line between his act and that of his brother. He would often promote his act as “Gallagher Too,” a moniker Gallagher felt was insufficiently informative. In some instances, Ron’s act was promoted in a way that provided no clue to prospective attendees that they were seeing someone other than Gallagher himself.

Gallagher initially attempted to get his brother to stop these activities by requesting that he stop using Gallagher’s well-known Sledge-O-Matic routine. These efforts proved futile, and Ron kept touring as “Gallagher Too” while using the Sledge-O-Matic routine his older brother had made famous. Consequently, in August 2000, Gallagher sued his brother for trademark violations and false advertising. The courts ultimately sided with Leo Gallagher, and an injunction was granted prohibiting Ron from performing any act that impersonates his brother in small clubs and venues.

During the lawsuit, all of Gallagher’s immediate family sided with Ron over the controversy. As a consequence, Gallagher is now estranged from his parents and siblings.

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Did you all get your money back, or is that his last practical joke?

Flack wrote:Monday: Flack buys 2 tickets to see Gallagher live in OKC this Saturday.

Wednesday: Gallagher suffers another heart attack, cancels all upcoming shows including the one in Oklahoma.

Flack wrote:Somewhere nearby, a nervous watermelon sighs in relief.