Of course, I’m talking about Gallagher, the comedian who made it big in the 70s and 80s with an act that combined jokes with pulverizing various fruits and vegetables using his trademark “Sledge-o-Matic” hammer. Of all the food items he punished, watermelon was definitely his favorite. Maybe because it was so big. Maybe because it was so affordable. Or maybe because it made a huge mess when it exploded all over the first five rows of the audience.
Whatever the reason, I’m proud to call myself a Gallagher fan. Yes, he’s destroyed thousands of watermelons over the past four decades, but he’s also done a lot to help promote watermelon. For example, to help kick off the summer with a laugh, the National Watermelon Promotion Board teamed up with the funnyman to create the short video above.
I might never ruin a perfectly good Crimson Sweet the way he does, but Gallagher does take some time in the video to encourage folks to “eat more watermelon.” Finally, something we can agree on.
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Now he knows how good they are he will want to smash something else like parsnips or rutabagas and keep the watermelons to eat.
Good point, but if he wants to stay in the same family, he should smash cousin cucumber and start eating the watermelons to stay healthy.
Ha! Agree with both of you. Hopefully he’ll find another fruit or vegetable to smash.
Although, according to his website, he’s in the midst of his last watermelon-smashing tour before hanging up his Sledge-O-Matic for good.
With a little help from my friends at the National Watermelon Promotion Board, I’ll be reaching out to Gallagher for an interview about his love/hate relationship with watermelon and his pending retirement. Stay tuned!