Born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, Gardell attended Winter Park High School in Orange County, Florida during 1985. As a child, he moved to Florida with his mother and younger brother and sister after his parents divorced. After that, he only visited Pennsylvania in the summers. He has said living in Florida was a positive experience. 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. In 1987, he started cleaning bathrooms, seating people, and answering phones at a local comedy club, Bonkerz. On December 28, he started performing at the comedy club\'s open-mic nights after he made a dare with some co-workers. "If I didn\'t do an open mic night, I couldn\'t cover the bet. I was running my mouth that I would do it. They bet me I wouldn\'t," he explained. He eventually started opening for Dennis Miller and George Carlin.\n', '

Gardell was a member of International Thespian Society Troupe 850 whose other notable alumni include Amanda Bearse, also a graduate of Winter Park High School, and Ben Rock of The Blair Witch Project.\n', '

Gardell is known for his comedic roles and is influenced by Jackie Gleason. He has also listed Richard Pryor, George Carlin, John Candy, and John Belushi as his influences. 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". 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. 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. Gardell appeared as himself on the Comedy Central series Make Me Laugh. Subsequently, he appeared on Miller’s television program Dennis Miller, telecast on the US financial news network CNBC (conducting "man-on-the-street" interviews). Notably, he created and staged a SNL-style charity performance of a piece called Winter Park Live, the proceeds from which were donated to Comic Relief.\n', '

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