GAMING
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Big Billy at Borgata Comedian Gardell set to make you laugh
Amazing what a hit show will do for a career. “Mike & Molly” starts its third season on CBS in September and for the Mike half, Billy Gardell, life is just about perfect. “I am really happy,” Gardell said in a phone interview. “I am healthy and the electricity is on in my house. My stand-up has blossomed because of the success of the show. I’m doing theaters and casinos. I played before 4,000 people in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s mind boggling to me. Hearing laughter from 4,000 is a powerful thing.” Prior to the show, Gardell used to go on the road Tuesday through Sunday, away from his family. Now he goes out Friday and Saturday every other week in the summer. “I take my family with me. They get to see cool places like Manhattan and Chicago,” he said. Before being cast as Mike, a police officer, Gardell planned on returning with his family to his native Pittsburgh to do a steady radio gig. While those plans disappeared in the wake of the TV show success, Gardell still calls into the same station every Tuesday morning, chatting on a local morning show for some
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Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy star in the CBS hit sitcom ‘Mike & Molly.’ Gardell will perform at the Borgata July 7. ASSOCIATED PRESS
90 minutes. It was a long road from Pittsburgh to Hollywood for Gardell, appearing at every small-town lounge, military base and comedy club along the way. His comedy act relies on a
grounded, down-to-earth point of view. He tells stories about his rough childhood, wild adolescence and new family life. “I talk about my working-class background, how I acted crazy when I was
young and how I hold it together as a parent of a 9year-old.” Since moving to Los Angeles, Gardell built an impressive acting resume with guest appearances on “My Name is Earl,” “The
Practice,” “Yes Dear,” “Monk,” “Judging Amy,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Lucky.” On the big screen, he played alongside Anthony Quinn and Sylvester Stallone in “Avenging Angelo” and
IF YOU GO Billy Gardell appears July 7 at The Music Box in Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, One Borgata Way. Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets are $39.95 and can be purchased through www.theborgata.com, (866) 9004849 or at Borgata’s Box Office.
scored a memorable scene as a security guard with Billy Bob Thornton in “Bad Santa.” But the pinnacle to date is “Mike & Molly” and its rapid acceptance. “I’m surprised it found an audience as quick as it did. But I am not surprised after last year that we’d get another year,” Gardell said. In two years, “Mike & Molly” has attracted its own core of fans to the live studio shows. “It’s a cool thing,” he said. “The creator, Mark Roberts, writes a great script every week. We have a great director in Jim Burroughs. Melissa (McCarthy) is an amazing co-star to work with. There’s not a weak link on the team.” All that bodes well for the future, Gardell said. “I’d love this show to continue going. It’s a dream gig. I’d like to work with these people for the next 10 years more than anything.”