Billy Gardell

Billy Gardell (b. 1969) is a stand-up comedian, game show host, actor, and voice artist.

He is chiefly famous for playing the police officer Make Biggs on Mike & Molly, a sitcom which aired for six seasons on CBS in 2010-2016. He has also played a police officer in a dozen episodes of the NBC sitcom My Name is Earl.

Examples of comedians that he has listed as an influence on his work are Jackie Gleason, John Belushi, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and John Candy.

When he was eight years old, his grandmother told him that he could be a comic.

Quick facts

Early life

Gardell spent the first part of his life in Swissdale, a borough in Pennsylvania, adjacent to the city Pittsburgh.

After his parent’s divorce, Gardell moved with his mother and younger brother and sister to Florida but returned to visit Pennsylvania during the summers. In Florida, he attended Winter Park High School I Orange County, where he was a member of the International Thespian Society (ITS), an honor society for high school and middle school theatre students.

At 15 years of age, Gardell started working at a department store warehouse, unloading trucks and stacking pallets in the receiving area.

Bonkerz

In 1987, Gardell started doing various tasks at the local comedy club Bonkerz, such as seating guests, cleaning the bathrooms and answering the phone. After a dare with some co-workers, he got up on stage and performed at an open-mic night – and got a taste for it. Eventually, he was opening for comedians such as George Carlin and Dennis Miller.

Examples of career highlights

Stage

Gardell started out as a stand-up comedian and has continued to perform as such parallel to his work with television and film. There is, for instance, his stand-up special “Halftime,” which focuses on the working-class United States and was filmed in Pittsburgh. It aired on Comedy Central from 2011.

Comedy album

Gardell’s first comedy album, released in 2006, was titled Billy Gardell: Throwback.

Television

From September 2010 to May 2016, Gardell starred in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly alongside Melissa McCarthy.

He has also made appearances and had recurring roles in several other TV-series, such as Desperate Housewives, Bones, Yes Dear (26 episodes), Heist (6 episodes), My Name is Earl (12 episodes), and The King of Queens.

Multiple episodes

Single episodes

Movies

Gardell has appeared in over a dozen movies, including his voice work with “Gary the Rat” (2000) and “Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas” (2011).

Among his most famous feature films are Bad Santa (starring Billy Bob Thornton) and You, Me and Dupree (with Owen Wilson).

Radio

Gardell is a recurring guest on the Pittsburgh local radio station WDVE, where he can be heard on The DVE Morning Show.