He also had a recurring role as Billy Colivida on Yes, Dear and appeared in a dozen episodes of My Name Is Earl as a police officer.
[2] Gardell voiced Santa in Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, as well as starring on Sullivan & Son in the recurring role of Lyle Winkler.
Born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania,[3] Gardell attended Winter Park High School in Orange County, Florida, during 1985.
[6] At the age of 15, he started working at a department store warehouse in the receiving area where he would unload trucks and stack pallets.
[5] Gardell was a member of International Thespian Society Troupe 850, whose other notable alumni include Amanda Bearse, who is a fellow graduate of Winter Park High School, and Ben Rock of The Blair Witch Project.
[9] Although Bonkerz helped launch his comedy career, he has credited the support from his grandmother, saying: "She told me when I was 8 years old that I could be a comic".
[6] Before Mike & Molly, Gardell revealed that he considered a career in radio after being on the road for his comedy act began to affect his family time.
[5] He has performed in several feature films, including Bad Santa (with Billy Bob Thornton) You, Me and Dupree (with Owen Wilson) and Avenging Angelo (with Sylvester Stallone and Anthony Quinn) as well as appearing numerous times in recurring roles in several US television series, including NBC's Heist, The Practice, Yes, Dear, Desperate Housewives, Lucky, Bones, My Name Is Earl, Monk, and The King of Queens.
Notably, he created and staged an SNL-style charity performance of a piece called Winter Park Live, the proceeds from which were donated to Comic Relief.
Gardell earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2016, but lost to Craig Ferguson.