
‘Mike & Molly’ Star Billy Gardell Previews Upcoming Show in Dubuque
It's hard enough to become a lead on one primetime sitcom. Actor/comedian Billy Gardell has been on two of the biggest in the past 15 years. From 2010 to 2016, he was one-half of Mike & Molly alongside Melissa McCarthy, a show that ended its run with 127 episodes in the can. He was also the lead in Billy Hearts Abishola, which just concluded its five-season-run last year.
Gardell has seemingly done it all, having been a mainstay on TV since the 1990s. I remember him popping up on the (underrated) show Yes, Dear quite frequently. The longtime TV actor/comedian will be performing in Dubuque on Saturday, February 15th when he'll take the stage at the Mississippi Moon Bar at the Diamond Jo Casino. I was fortune enough to catch up with Gardell ahead of the show.
Gardell explained how his stand-up act is comprised of four quarters, similar to that of a football game. The first quarter involves changing and evolving, alluding to Gardell's own weight loss. Gardell has lost over 170 pounds, and looks radically different than he did during his time on Mike & Molly. With that also comes some stories about his now-21-year-old son, who is in college and off on his own journey.
The back-half of the show, Gardell explains, is about being married for 25 years and sharing the fun anecdotes and stories that come with sharing your life with a special someone for that great length of time.
I always first think of Billy Gardell as a recurring presence on Yes, Dear, one of my favorite sitcoms. Originally gunning for the role of Jimmy, which went to Mike O'Malley, Gardell was instead offered the role of Jimmy's friend "Billy from Maryland." He spoke about how the on-set camaraderie and the privilege of that being his first recurring role on a major TV show served as his "college years," to continue to evoke the football analogy.
That whole discussion led us to discuss how unfortunate it is that Yes, Dear is no longer in syndication and is absent from any streaming service at this time.
My conversation with Billy Gardell was a fun one. He is a warm, inviting personality who clearly loves not only his professional life, but his personal life as well. Tickets to his show at the Mississippi Moon Bar at the Diamond Jo Casino on Saturday, February 15th are available on Diamond Jo's website.
Take a listen to my interview with Billy Gardell below, and stay up to date with the actor/comedian on his Facebook page!
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