Comedian Gallagher Retiring After 2nd Heart Attack in Two Weeks
Prop comic Gallagher's promotional manager confirmed he would retire Monday after he suffered a minor heart attack in Arizona, his second attack in two weeks.
"He is awake and recuperating," Gallagher's promotional manager, Christine Scherrer tells TheWrap. "(But) as of this morning, he is retired. We are canceling all shows. He is not going to work this year. … He needs to rest -- no shows equals rest."
Gallagher, whose full name is Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr., suffered a heart attack on March 14 as he was preparing for a performance in Lewisville, Texas. A subsequent hospital stay included a medically-induced coma, but Gallagher was released from a Dallas-area hospital on March 21.
He flew to Arizona to visit his children, and on March 22, gave an interview to Marion, Ohio radio station WDCM, in which he announced he would be retiring from live performances.
"I decided that this is enough. I have 32 years of live performing, and so I'm looking for just some little stuff, like retirement things," Gallagher, 65, said. "I'd like to show up at maybe company parties."
Scherrer tells TheWrap Gallagher's schedule for 2012 remained up in the air even after his retirement announcement, but after Sunday's heart attack, a final decision was made to cancel the rest of his schedule and give him a chance to recuperate.
"It was up in the air before (as to) how he was feeling and how quickly he was recuperating from two weeks ago, because his memory was still a little foggy and he wasn't sure if he could actually do a full show. So basically we were moving shows to give him more time to rest, more time to recuperate, but as of (Sunday night), absolutely not," she says.
"You know, he needs to rest. He hasn't rested since he left Dallas, point blank. I think him being on the road constantly, and his eating habits and flying everywhere and back-to-back shows … that's gotta be astronomical stress on him, especially when he's done it for 30-some odd years. He's 65 … he needs to relax and enjoy himself."
Gallagher, famous for his watermelon sledgehammering performances and 15 Showtime comedy specials, suffered his first attack during a March 2011 performance in Minnesota.
Scherrer also disputed a TMZ.com report that the 65-year-old's second heart attack in two weeks was a result of him running out of his heart medication.
"No, him running out of his heart medication had nothing to do with the attack … it's stress," she said. "He needs to relax … granted, he was trying to get a refill, but him running out of heart medication or trying to get a refill has nothing to do with what happened."
