5 Questions With... Comic Billy Gardell

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Gardell starts this year’s standup tour with a pair of shows at Borgata’s Music Box on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, at 9pm each night.

By Ray Schweibert

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Mar. 30, 2011

BILLY GARDELL’S THE STAR OF a hit sitcom, he just released a new DVD of his standup material, his latest slate of live gigs has been selling out wherever he goes — things are looking up for him so much, Gardell’s almost over the loss of his beloved Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Almost.

“I tell everybody from Green Bay, ‘We just didn’t have enough room in the trophy case this year,’” says Gardell, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh. “Once we expand it we’ll start winning some more. We’ve won more than any other NFL team [six], so I can’t really be too upset.”

Co-star of the CBS smash hit Mike & Molly (9:30pm, Mondays) with Melissa McCarthy, Gardell starts this year’s standup tour with a pair of shows at Borgata’s Music Box on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, at 9pm each night. Atlantic City Weekly spoke by phone with Gardell from his Los Angeles home.

Can you tell me a little about the DVD you just released?

It’s a one-hour special that aired on Comedy Central [in February, edited from two sold-out shows in Pittsburgh in July 2010] called Halftime, which is based on me turning 40 and realizing, alright, what did we do wrong in the first half and how can we make the second half better? It’s available at Walmart and Amazon.com, and the first big date on the tour [after the DVD release] is the Borgata in Atlantic City. I’ve worked the Borgata [Music Box] a bunch of times in the past but never as the main act, so this is going to be a real treat. I love working that room.

How long will you be in town, and will you have any time to enjoy yourself here before going on to your next gig?

I’m coming in Thursday and leaving Sunday and my shows are Friday and Saturday night. I’m planning on having a meal at Bobby Flay’s [at the Borgata] — I’m a big fan, so I’m going to go check that out while I’m here, and I’ll definitely be making a stop at [A.C. landmark] the White House Sub Shop. Now that’s a good steak, right there.

Is it true that Jackie Gleason was your biggest influence in becoming a professional comedian?

Oh, absolutely. My dad turned me on to The Honeymooners when I was about 10, and I was like “Boy, that’s what I want to do right there.” He was not only a fantastic comic, he was a great actor, too, in movies like The Hustler, [Papa’s] Delicate Condition, Gigot where he played the silent mime — he was tremendous.

How did you get one of the lead parts in Mike & Molly, and how much has the show helped your standup career?

I auditioned for Mark Roberts, the show’s creator, and Chuck Lorre, the executive producer, and a couple days after the audition they called me and said “We think you’re our guy.” And [the TV part] changed everything. That level of exposure let’s people say, “Oh, he does standup too? Well let’s go see him.” I was doing standup about 20 years before TV, but Mike & Molly makes for a nice connection to both careers. I had moderate success as a standup before the show, but nothing compared to what’s going on now. Standup is probably my first love, but without Mike & Molly it wouldn’t be at the level it’s at now as far as audiences. It’s awesome.

I hear you have a young son — are you raising him as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and do you still have family and friends who live in Pittsburgh?

Sure, I have uncles and aunts, dear friends, my cousin’s a cop up there, my uncle worked for U.S. Steel, my grandfather worked for the Switch and Signal Railroad — a lot of working class pride comes out of that place. I have a seven-year-old boy named Will. And oh yeah, he’s being made into a Steelers fan. He doesn’t have a choice.