How to Accept Assistance
Someday, somebody is going to make a Tiger King-style documentary about Gallagher (the famous comedian and enemy of all watermelons) and his brother Ron Gallagher, otherwise known as Gallagher II, or Gallagher Too.
The broad strokes of the story are:
Leo Gallagher, who I will from here on out refer to as Gallagher, became a famous comedian, playing large theaters and small arenas all over the country.
Gallagher had a brother named Ron, who looked a lot like him.
Ron asked if he could put together an act made up of a bunch of Gallagher’s older material, including the Sledge-O-Matic, and play smaller venues where they couldn’t afford Gallagher. Gallagher agreed to this, as long as the advertising made it clear that the show featured Ron Gallagher, not Gallagher.
Allegedly, after a few years of this arrangement, Ron’s advertisements became less obvious about which Gallagher people could expect. I myself remember seeing a newspaper advertisement when he performed at a comedy club in Seattle that left me confused as to which Gallagher was going to show up. I seem to remember the wording being something like, “Here’s your chance to see Gallagher Too!”
Allegedly, Gallagher withdrew his permission for Ron to use his intellectual property.
Allegedly, Ron continued using it anyway.
I also heard a story through the comedy grapevine that Ron Gallagher (again, allegedly) started offering himself to some of the smaller venues Gallagher played at a lower price than his brother, but I’ve found no evidence of this on the web.
The records show that Gallagher sued Ron Gallagher and won.
Allegedly, most of their family sided with Ron.
I once saw Gallagher (the real Gallagher) perform: back in the very early ’90s, my younger brother and I saw him at the Capitol Theater in Yakima, Washington. The show started over an hour late, after Gallagher personally escorted security up into the balcony where he shrieked insults at two guys who had offended his girlfriend. (The guys probably had it coming.) Then, once the show did finally start, he took some time out to complain that the restaurant down the street had the temerity to charge him full price for his dinner.
What I’m saying is that I’m not surprised that there’s some emotional volatility in his family.