Mike & Molly

Season 6 M-Net (*101) 18:30 Comedy

In comedy series Mike & Molly (20102016), 47-year-old Billy Gardell plays happily married cop Mike Biggs. But now that the sitcom has come to an end, Billy is ready to move on after “the network decided that it’s time to move on. So I will. We will,” he says of the sitcom’s unexpected cancellation.

Billy worked hard to get into 1

comedy – his first “gig”, at age 17, was working at the Florida comedy house Bonkerz Club, but not on stage telling jokes. He was a toilet cleaner and usher, but after friends bet Billy $50 that he wouldn’t go on stage, he did – he walked away with $50 and a career.

For the next five years, he club2

hopped around Florida performing stand-up comedy and emceeing before being spotted in 1992 by artist manager Cris DiPetta. Cris then got Billy roles on shows like The King Of Queens (19982007) in 2000, My Name Is Earl (20052009) between 2007 and 2009 and Yes, Dear (2000-2006) from 2001 to 2006.

The actor got hitched in 2001 to 3

housewife Patty Knight, who takes care of their 12-year-old son William. “I’m hoping to be done with all of this [work] by the time that he’s 16 so that I can follow him around like that crazy dad who’s a fan of everything his kid does,” jokes Billy.

And while he’s always been on the 4

chubby side, Billy’s been working hard at shedding those kilos. His Mike & Molly producers helped him too, hiring Billy a personal trainer. He started season 1 weighing 194kg and by season 3, he was down to 160kg.

Something else that Billy’s working 5

on is his Orlando, Florida pizzeria called The Gardell Brothers, which Billy and brother Brian opened in 2015.