Todd Gallagher
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Todd Gallagher is a US writer, TV producer, and comedian.
He was raised in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14 he won the grand prize twice on the ESPN quiz show Dream League.[1] At age 21 he became the youngest coach and Director of Player Personnel in the history of pro basketball for the United States Basketball League's New Hampshire Thunder Loons.[2]
He parlayed his basketball experience into a series of writing assignments in Australia. He returned to the United States where he wrote for ESPN, conducting interviews with people throughout the sports and entertainment world.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] He left ESPN to pursue a career in entertainment. As a television writer and producer he has sold, developed, and run various shows including an MTV special about the movie "Dodgeball" with stars Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn.[9]
Andy Roddick Beat Me with a Frying Pan: Taking the Field with Pro Athletes and Olympic Legends to Answer Sports Fans' Burning Questions (Random House, 2007)[10], which is Todd's first book, contains answers to sports questions that people have been debating for years, many of which he was asked repeatedly by fans during his tenure at ESPN. Professional athletes including Andy Roddick[11], Lebron James, Mike Tyson, Dwyane Wade, Johan Santana, Maurice Greene[12], Freddy Sanchez, Pete Webber, Rocco Mediate, the NHL's Washington Capitals[13], participated in events and interviews to help answer the questions, many of which border on the absurd: Gallagher has stated in interviews that the athletes were not paid to participate, went along with the stunts because of the quality of the ideas, and that he did the book as well as filmed the events across the country on a shoestring budget. The style has been described as irreverent, comedic, and informational,[14] and has led Gallagher to be called "Plimpton on acid"[15]. The book itself has been described as "a weird amalgam of serious inside-the-ropes research germane to the games and of ludicrous just-outside-the-asylum performance art."[16] Praise has come from the Wall Street Journal[17], International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times[18], and Washington Post[19][20][21], and the book has been excerpted by many of these outlets. Commercially, it has sold well, reaching number one amongst all sports books on Amazon.
Gallagher has appeared as a guest on numerous national radio[22][23][24][25][26][27] and television shows, including appearances on CNBC, Entertainment Tonight, MTV, Fox Sports, E!, the BBC, and Fox News.
[edit] References
- ^ Letter from ESPN referencing winnings, from Todd Gallagher's website
- ^ An interview by Todd Gallagher - bio at bottom of interview.
- ^ Interview with Ludacris
- ^ Interview with Moochie Norris
- ^ Interview with Ice Cube
- ^ Interview with Shanna Moakler
- ^ Interview with Frankie Muniz
- ^ Interview with Bill Bellamy
- ^ See IMDB link.
- ^ book's page on Amazon
- ^ "Andy Roddick could beat an average player with a frying pan" - Chapter Excerpt on espn.com - 10/23/07
- ^ The Final Sprint article
- ^ "From Mr. Magoo to Baghdad" - Wall Street Journal Article with interview and video - 10/5/07
- ^ GELF interview
- ^ "WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL Ideas have some weight" - Los Angeles Daily News - 10/28/07
- ^ "Book poses the sports questions that arise after a few cocktails; If Roddick were using only a frying pan, could you beat him?" - International Herald Tribune - 10/19/07
- ^ "Andy Roddick Beat me With a Frying Pan" Book Excerpt in Wall Street Journal - 10/6/07
- ^ "Answers in form of questions" - Los Angeles Times- 10/16/07
- ^ "Gene Voted Sexiest Man Alive: We'd tell you the truth, but you can't handle the truth" - Washington Post - 10/14/07
- ^ "Chatological Humor aka Tuesdays with Moron" - Washington Post - 10/2/07
- ^ "Oh, Shoot: A free-throw contest gives Gene that sinking feeling" - Washington Post - 3/4/07
- ^ Todd Gallagher talks with KEX Sports Director Scott Lynn about the new book "Andy Roddick Beat Me With a Frying Pan" - 11/1/07
- ^ First Light Radio Clip - 10/16/07
- ^ Armstrong and Getty radio show - Sound clip of interview with Todd Gallagher - 10/10/07
- ^ Mancow's Morning Madhouse radio show - Link to sound clip of interview with Todd Gallagher - 10/10/07
- ^ South Florida's First News host Dave LaMont interviews Todd Gallagher about his book "Andy Roddick Beat Me with a Frying Pan: Taking the Field with Pro Athletes and Olympic Legends to Answer Sports Fans' Burning Questions" - 10/10/07
- ^ Coast to Coast AM Bio of Todd with sound byte of radio segment
[edit] External links
[1] - "How to kick-start an NFL career" - The Boston Herald - 11/11/07
[2] - "Sporting life" - The Age (Melbourne, Australia) - 10/22/07
[3] - "THE BIG TEN" - Newsday - 10/21/07
[4] - "T-U 2: Playing with a pan/Small ball" - Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) - 10/19/07
[5] - "Roddick's game pans out even with half-baked gear" - Baltimore Sun - 10/17/07
[6] - "Book of sports oddities hits the shelves" - Austin American-Stateman - 10/19/07
[7] - "Book gets panned" - The StarPhoenix - 10/16/07
[8] - "PETERED PAN" - The Morning Call - 10/17/07
[9] - "Columnist unveiled as Iranian spy" - St. Petersburg Times - 10/14/07
[10] - "Oddball stunts for athletes" - AM New York - 10/17/07
[11] - "Morning Briefing Racket just doesn't pan out" - Myrtle Beach Sun News - 10/17/07
[12] - "Odd questions, funny book Out of the 'Frying Pan'" - Fort Worth Star-Telegram - 10/16/07
[13] - ESPN chat with Todd Gallagher (10/2/07)