Billy Gardell to perform June 6, at 8 p.m., at the Struthers Library Theater, 302 W. Third Ave, Warren. Submitted photo

For Billy Gardell, comedy is a way to cope with life’s problems.

“I’ve always found it (comedy) a way to cope. If you are making them (audience members) laugh, then they’re forgetting their problems for a little bit,” Gardell said in a phone interview. “That’s a pretty nice trade.”

Since 1987, Gardell has been performing standup comedy, and he believes it’s the best medicine.

“It’s nice to be the doctor,” he said.

Gardell is scheduled to perform June 6, at 8 p.m., at the Struthers Library Theater, 302 W. Third Ave, Warren. From 2010 to 2016 he starred as Mike Biggs, a Chicago police officer, alongside Melissa McCarthy in Mike & Molly on CBS. From 2019 to 2024, he also starred as Robert “Bob” Wheeler in Bob Hearts Abishola. Since 2000, he also has made appearances in other TV shows.

For his stand-up comedy, Gardell will often talk about what is going on in his life. He talks about his wife of 25 years, and son, and doesn’t poke fun at his son’s generation, but rather he cheers them on to succeed.

“I also talk about my son and his generation, because he’s 22 and I don’t, I don’t rip on these kids, I root for them, because I think they need the cool uncle,” Gardell said. “I think it’s lazy, low-hanging fruit to rip on this generation. They’re up against way more than we were, and so I try to be a guide that way.”

He also talks about his father, who Gardell said, was his biggest fan, and his biggest hero.

Weight loss is also a topic that is talked about in his show.

“As I say, I like to address the elephant that’s no longer in the room,” Gardell said.

Four years ago, Gardell had bariatric surgery. According to mayoclinic.org, gastric bypass and other types of weight-loss surgery — also called bariatric or metabolic surgery — involve making changes to one’s digestive system to help one lose weight. Now he said he lives in Groundhog Day, referring to the movie, where he eats the same things, and does the same things, but with the surgery, he said, he also was awarded freedom as he gets to different activities now like horseback riding, surfing and hiking.

He said one has to get to a point of desperation to want to actually make a change.

“At least, that’s how it works for me,” Gardell noted.

He said he didn’t look at the surgery as a jail sentence, as much as he looked at the surgery as a liberation.

“I’m grateful for every minute of it,” the comedian said.

Gardell is equally comfortable as a stand-up comedian, and as a character in a situational comedy (sit-com), but now is looking to branch out.

“I’m looking now for dramatic roles, because I think you have to keep stretching as an actor,” Gardell said.

The comedian noted that for people who want to break into comedy they need to find their authentic voices.

“Find what it is you want to say and how you want to say it, and then pursue, but don’t worry about what anybody else is doing,” Gardell said. “Don’t envy, don’t compare and despair, that’s a trap. Just worry about being creative, and if you create enough, then, and you have enough faith, I believe the universe points you to where you’re supposed to go.”