A ODD COUPLE
Love sneaks up on Bob and Abishola
dating Web site would never match Midwestern compression-sock salesman Bob (Billy Gardell) with Nigerian nurse Abishola (Folake Olowofoyeku). But a spark nevertheless is lit when Bob has a heart attack and Abishola is the cardiac-unit-nurse who attends to him.
“She’s the first person he sees,” says “Mike & Molly” star Gardell, 50. “That imprint is on him and he thinks,‘I want to know more about this person. And I then I want her to give me a chance.’ ” As for Abishola, she’s not looking. But isn’t that usually when you meet someone? Bob’s advantage is that he can make her laugh. Abishola, whose work ethic takes precedence over her romantic needs, “wants to focus on what she came to this country to do,” says Olowofoyeku, 35. “She feels for the first time that someone wants to take care of her.”
The story of how these characters meet is as surprising as Olowofoyeku’s tale of how she made her way from Nigeria to sitcom stardom. She and Gardell spoke to The Post at the Beverly Hilton hotel.
You were born in Nigeria. How did you find your way to Southern California? It’s a long way from home. Folake Olowofoyeku:
Step by step. I knew I wanted to be in art. I taught myself to play the guitar. I started on an acoustic and went to an electric. I went to Harlem and studied theater at City College. Billy Gardell: I drove by a college once.
Olowofoyeku: I stayed in New York for 10 years. For a long time, it was great. Then all of a sudden I was like, “I don’t like the cold.” I considered Atlanta. I considered going back home. I considered LA. I considered England and visited in February. So that was a no. That’s what brought me back to LA.
Are you from California? Gardell:
I’m from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But I’ve been in California for 25 years.
Billy, how did you feel when “Mike & Molly” ended? Did you not want to do another show for a while? Gardell:
I felt blessed because that was such an incredibly wonderful cast. And it was wonderful after working for 25 years as a comic. I never thought in a million years that I’d be given a chance to be one of the leads in another great show.
One of the things that drew me into this is that the humor is so grounded. The humor comes from very real moments. It’s an act of kindness.
What appealed to you about playing Abishola? Olowofoyeku:
I just needed a job. I’m not going to turn down anything. And then I got into the room…with everyone. And I saw how dedicated they were to telling an authentic story. I’m lucky.
What does Abishola mean in the Yoruba language? Olowofoyeku:
Born to protect wealth.
Does Folake have a meaning in Yoruba? Olowofoyeku:
Yes. Folake is a sentence. It means, “Use wealth to pamper.” But not monetary wealth. It’s like an allencompassing wealth.
So, you’ve told your family you’re going to star on a big American TV show. Olowofoyeku:
You have to understand Nigerian families. I would have to be the president of America for them to be impressed. I’m sure they’re still thinking, “Nothing’s going to come out of this.” There’ve been a couple of projects over the years that I’ve been excited to share with them, and they’re like, “So when are you coming home?”
So I just got into the habit of keeping things to myself. And then after the upfronts, I started getting phone calls from them. [Co-creator] Chuck [Lorre] is doing something very real and very special.
What does the future hold? Gardell:
What they’re looking to establish is two people who have what the other doesn’t. You never know where you’re going to find that. And do you have the courage to pursue that? She’s trying to make a better life for her son. He’s a guy who’s running a business and trying to stay alive. They kind of give each other what the other doesn’t have. It’s a very slowmoving process. They’re just building their bridge right now.