"What He Left"

Comedian Jack Gallagher has a wonderful trilogy of one man shows that are essentially memoirs of growing up Irish Catholic in New England, moving to California to begin a career in show business, raising two sons, and learning to love the aged father he always thought didn't want him around.

Gallagher's done all the late night talk shows, comedy tours, some short lived sitcoms, recurring spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm, commercials, and has hosted a number of public television series. He brings to the standard comedian's arsenal a level of intelligence, honesty, and a particular attention to family and fatherhood issues that is rare. Below is a short transcript from a scene toward the end of "What He Left," the final monolgue of his trilogy, which also includes "Letters To Declan," and "Just The Guy."

[At the prospect of selling the family home,] it will honestly take me a long time to drive by that house and know that strangers live there...and I know what I have to do. I have to create that kind of place for my boys, I have to create the kind of place that gives them safe memories for the rest of their lives, no matter where they are, no matter how old they are, or how much confusion is swirling around them. I need to create a Plane Street for them.

And as I look back on everything that happened, everything that I told you through my eyes now, through the eyes of an adult, a father, as I listen to him on these tapes, I understand how difficult it was for him to get us the things he thought we needed. But he never stopped trying. I understand now that my dad loved us, he just didn't know how to tell us. And at a certain point, he realized he wanted us around him.

He describes growing up in a big New England farmhouse on which his father worked obsessively every weekend of his life, in order to "recharge his batteries" for Monday morning when he had to go to work at a job he hated. When his father switched to a career he loved late in life (to sell church furniture...didn't know where that stuff came from, did you?), the unspoken lesson to his five children was "find something you like to do, and don't settle for anything less." A lesson Jack heeded well, as he carves out a modest show business career while headquartering in, umm...Sacramento, California.

Jack's brother gave their dad a tape recorder late in his life and said "Start talking. Tell us everything you can remember about yourself, your family, your life. The only rule: Tell us the truth...in your own, clear, voice." Their father eventually recorded several hours of tapes that proved to be their own priceless memoir for the Gallaghers, and the foundation upon which "What He Left" is built.

I strongly recommend "What He Left," and Jack's entire three DVD series, which can be purchased directly from his website. They are $20.00 apiece, but if you buy two I think they'll throw in the third. In my opinion, this would make for a distinct gift, an ideal choice for almost anyone, but maybe especially the fathers and sons in your life.