A generation of youngsters knew him as "Clancy the
Cop," but for more than forty years John Gallos was
one of the region's most versatile and best known television
personalities.
After serving in the US Army during World War II, he began
his broadcasting career as an announcer with Armed Forces
Radio in Vienna. He graduated from Macalester College and
then returned to radio at KYSM Mankato and WDGY Minneapolis/Saint
Paul before moving to WCCO TV Minneapolis/Saint Paul in
1950. Besides his news, weather, sports, and announcing
duties, he also hosted "News and Personalities"
and the musical quiz show "Play or Pay." In 1957,
he began twenty years of popular children's shows, appearing
first as the submarine captain "Commodore Cappy"
and "Clancy the Keystone Cop," and then as the
modern-day policeman "Clancy the Cop" from 1961
to 1977. He also produced and hosted "The John Gallos
Comedy Hour," featuring Laurel and Hardy films, from
1970 to 1985, and the nationally acclaimed "Sunday
Morning With John Gallos," the nation's longest-running
local religious talk show, from 1963 to 1994.On November 15, 2005, John Gallos died, at the age of 82, from complications of diabetes.
