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Saturday, June 11, 2016

Whither Goeth Billy Gardell?

"Mike and Molly" was a really good and really successful sitcom.
It's just departed from the Primetime Airwaves.
Billy Gardell, who played Mike, began the series on equal footing with Melissa McCarthy, who played Molly.
It began with them portraying two obesely overweight people who fell in love.
This made sense, because they were both obesely overweight.
Eventually McCarthy shed a ton of weight, and became a breakout movie star.
This contributed to McCarthy's decision to leave the series, and pursue the bigger fish she now had to fry.
She seems to have made the right business decision for herself.
But Billy Gardell, whom I found equally entertaining as McCarthy, seems to have been left high and dry.
Prior to landing this gig, Gardell was a long-time working road comic.
But he has now made major TV money.
Is he really going to want to go back out and work places like "Yuk-Yuks" in Shreveport Alabama?
He's not Seinfeld.
He can't sell out Caesar's Palace whenever he wants to.
And I'd bet he wants to.
And it's probably going difficult for him to land another series of any quality, or of anything at all.
Unless maybe he also loses a ton of weight.
I really liked his work, and I really wish him well.
Perhaps this is one of the last people we need to throw any kind of benefit for.
But I'm afraid we may have seen the last of him.
And this is sad.

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My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not e-books.
But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@comcast.net

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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2 comments:

  1. Well, he did have a memorable bit in the filmed version of "Jersey Boys". He also mentioned that the network had hammered him into losing fifty pounds, because they'd like him around a bit longer. Hell, so would I.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Check out his IMDB page. He's still getting plenty of acting work.

    Also, he's a fairly successful stand up comedian.

    ReplyDelete

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About Me

Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor. You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."