Toronto Star

Slimmed-down actor savours success, family life

Co-star of ‘Bob Hearts Abishola’ and ‘Mike & Molly,’ say he still can’t quite believe his luck

- LYNN ELBER

LOS ANGELES Billy Gardell is scrupulous about giving credit where it’s due, at home and at work.

He describes his wife, Patty, as the “north star” who helped him through tough times and kept their family on track. Chuck Lorre, the prominent producer who cast the actor-comedian in “Mike & Molly” and again in “Bob Hearts Abishola,” has “literally changed my life.”

The praise sounds heartfelt, a match for how Gardell comes across: A guy with a working-class background who considers himself remarkably lucky to have landed as a network TV star, twice. He isn’t overly self-effacing — he’s proud of stretching as a stand-up and actor — but not one to brag.

CBS is bringing “Bob Hearts Abishola” back this fall, safe from the cancellati­on axe that claimed three other network sitcoms (“How We Roll,” “B Positive” and “United States of Al”). Folake Olowofoyek­u stars opposite Gardell in the series that wraps its third season on Monday (CTV, 8:30 p.m.).

“I just can’t believe this (expletive) happened to someone twice. I’m still in disbelief,” Gardell said when congratula­ted on the pickup. “My wife says I have a horseshoe in my rear end, and I’m beginning to think she’s right.”

In “Mike & Molly,” which ran for six seasons, Gardell and Melissa McCarthy played a couple who met at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

In the new sitcom, Bob and Abishola cross paths at a hospital: He’s a middle-aged guy who had a heart attack; she’s the young, Africanbor­n cardiac nurse who tends him.

He pursues her and they marry.

He says Lorre had him at “You’re a compressio­n sock salesman who falls in love with a Nigerian nurse.”

“How do you not smile at that? Where else are you going to hear that?” Gardell said.

The two series have the “same secret sauce, which is love wins” even when couples have to deal with difference­s, he said. “I think if you’re lucky enough at the end of the day to have a hand to hold, then you’ve won the game.”

Gardell, born in the Pittsburgh borough of Swissvale, grew up in Pennsylvan­ia and Florida after his parents divorced. He was a self-described “chubby kid” who got the notion he could be funny on TV from seeing portly Jackie Gleason on “The Honeymoone­rs.” Gardell began as a stand-up, influenced by his dad’s eclectic tastes that included George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Bob Newhart albums.

“I’m pretty middle of the road, meat-and-potatoes” as a comedian, Gardell said. “I talk about being married and having a kid. A very blue-collar, very Midwest sense of humour — don’t take yourself too seriously.”

He combined club dates and acting, with recurring or guest roles on a variety of TV dramas and comedies including “The Practice,” “King of Queens” and “My Name is Earl” and as a voice actor for animated shows including “Phineas and Ferb.”

But the work had dwindled and Gardell figured his career “was kind of done in Hollywood … Nothing had happened for a couple years, and my wife and I weren’t in the best place at the time, and I was trying to make sure we were OK.”

He had quit drinking (“It was out of control,” he said) and was focused on repairing his marriage when the offer came for “Mike & Molly.” He first reaction was to say no, out of concern for his family and some serious self-doubt.

Lorre “helped talk me into doing that role, because I was terrified. I thought, ‘I don’t know that I’m a lead, if I can do this,’ ” Gardell recalled. “And to my wife’s credit, when I got the call from Chuck she said, ‘You’ve got to.’ ”

The producer, whose hit comedies include “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men,” is a fan of Gardell on- and off-screen.

“There’s something magical about Billy that makes you root for him. That makes you care,” Lorre said. “And of course comedy is in his DNA. If the joke is any good, he’ll make it great.”

Gardell himself is “a joy,” Lorre said. “He’s kind and thoughtful towards everyone on stage. He’s a daily example of the consummate profession­al.”

While Gardell worried — without cause, he says — that giving up alcohol meant he wouldn’t be funny, he had no hesitation about taking off weight to improve his health. “Bob Hearts Abishola” viewers have watched him slim down, the result of gastric-bypass surgery and careful eating. His health improved drasticall­y, including his blood pressure and the Type 2 diabetes that he said is gone.

“I’m happier than I’ve been in many years,” Gardell said, but cautioned that he’s not telling others to follow his lead and get the operation, which he’d considered for years before undergoing it.

While he appreciate­s the job security, he considers his wife and their college-bound son, Will, the real gift.

“The life that my wife has built for me and our son has always been more important than my career,” Gardell said.

 ?? MICHAEL YARISH THE ASSSOCIATE­D PRESS
FILE PHOTO ?? Billy Cardell says he was a “chubby kid” growing up and got the notion he could be funny on TV from seeing Jackie Gleason on “The Honeymoone­rs.”
MICHAEL YARISH THE ASSSOCIATE­D PRESS FILE PHOTO Billy Cardell says he was a “chubby kid” growing up and got the notion he could be funny on TV from seeing Jackie Gleason on “The Honeymoone­rs.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada