Comedian Gallagher, famous for smashing watermelons, dies at 76, NBC News reports

American comedian Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. has died at the age of 76, according to his family.

Gallagher passed away from organ failure while in hospice care in his Palm Springs, California home, his son-in-law told NBC News. He had been unwell and suffered multiple heart attacks prior to his death.

Gallagher was known for his signature sketch, “Sledge-O-Matic,” where he’d take a large wooden mallet and smash a variety of foods before ending in the main act -- a watermelon.

Read more on NBC News here.