Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan
Jim Gaffigan (2010)
Birth name	James Christopher Gaffigan
Born	(1966-07-07) July 7, 1966 Chesterton, Indiana
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1991–present
Genres	Deadpan, sarcasm, observational comedy, satire
Spouse	Jeannie Noth Gaffigan (2003-present)
Notable works and roles	Beyond the Pale King Baby That '70s Show My Boys
Website	jimgaffigan.com

James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. His memoir, Dad Is Fat, was published in 2013, by Crown Publishers.

Personal background

Jim Gaffigan was born on July 7, 1966 in Elgin, Illinois and was raised in Chesterton, Indiana.^[1] He attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended Purdue University for one year, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He graduated from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in 1988.^{[citation needed]} After graduating, Gaffigan moved to NYC to work in advertising, taking improv classes at night. His comedy career began when a friend bet him to do stand-up. ^[2]

He is married to Jeannie Noth, with whom he has two daughters, Marre and Katie Louise, and three sons, Jack, Michael, and Patrick.^[3] The family of seven live in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City.^[4] Gaffigan has stated on stage, and elsewhere, that he is Catholic ^[5][6][7]

Professional background

Comedy

Gaffigan performing in May 2008

Gaffigan is known for routines or skits relating to being lazy and eating food, especially popular routines regarding Hot Pockets, cake, and bacon. In 2004 Gaffigan's stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. His 2006 album, Beyond the Pale, consisted primarily of material regarding food and American eating habits. The album was accompanied by an hour-long special on Comedy Central of the same name, which was released on DVD. On this album, the comedian unknowingly predicted a future menu item at Dunkin Donuts the 'glazed donut breakfast sandwich' while commenting on the future of America's eating habits. ^[8] His 2009 album, King Baby, was also a television special filmed in Austin, Texas at the end of his "The Sexy Tour". Comedy Central released King Baby on DVD. In a March 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Gaffigan defended his naming of the tour, stating that he thought it would be funny that parents would be unsure about whether to bring their teenage children to the show.^[9] Four years later, on March 14, 2013, Gaffigan was named the "King of Clean" by the Wall Street Journal.^[10]

For Easter 2010, Gaffigan traveled to Israel and had two performances. One was at a theater in Tel Aviv and the second was at Israel's only English-speaking comedy club in Jerusalem.^[11]

On February 25, 2012, Gaffigan taped a one-hour stand-up special Mr. Universe at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.^[12] He announced that, based on the business model used by Louis C.K.'s Live at the Beacon Theater, the stand-up would be available online through his website for $5, with 20% of the total proceeds going to the Bob Woodruff Foundation.^[13]

Acting

Gaffigan is also recognizable for having performed in several comedic commercials for Sierra Mist alongside fellow comedian Michael Ian Black.^{[citation needed]} After his first appearance on the The Late Show with David Letterman in 1999, Gaffigan was tapped by the host to develop a sitcom called Welcome To New York in which he also co-starred along-side Christine Baranksi. The show was cancelled after its first season despite receiving positive reviews. ^[14] He appeared in two movies chosen for the 2001 Sundance Film Festival: Super Troopers and 30 Years to Life. He appeared on That '70s Show. He was a regular cast member of the TBS original sitcom My Boys. He left the show at the end of the third season.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, he was in the movie The Love Guru starring Mike Myers.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Gaffigan guest starred as the best friend of Murray Hewitt in one episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. Later that same year, he appeared in the Sam Mendes-directed dramedy Away We Go and the teen comedy 17 Again. On June 11, 2009, Gaffigan appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. He appeared on Law & Order episodes "Flight" and "Reality Bites", as well as an episode entitled "Smile" on Law and Order: Criminal Intent.^{[citation needed]}

He was in an episode of The Daily Show as a man posing as a Daily Show correspondent who knows nothing about the show (he refers to it as "The John Daily Show") and simply wants to be seen with Jon Stewart. This was meant to be a parody of the 2009 White House gatecrash incident.^{[citation needed]}

Gaffigan appeared on Broadway in That Championship Season, which opened in March 2011, opposite Brian Cox, Chris Noth, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jason Patric.^[15] Gaffigan's performance was praised by ABC News correspondent Sandy Kenyon as the most moving and that he may "steal the show". ^[16]

Gaffigan starred in the Shia LaBeouf directed short film Howard Cantour.com.^[17]

Writing

Gaffigan produced a series of animated shorts for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, titled Pale Force, in which the animated Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their extremely pale skin.^[18] The series was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2007 in the category of "Outstanding Broadband Program - Comedy". ^[19]

Gaffigan's humorous quips have earned him over 1.9million followers on Twitter and was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the "25 funniest people on Twitter" in 2012. ^{[20] [21]}

In 2013 Gaffigan's memoir Dad Is Fat was released. The book was on "The New York Times" Best Seller's list for 3 months debuting at #5.^[22][23] The title is derived from the first complete sentence his eldest son wrote on a dry-erase board at the age of four or five. "He showed it to me," he recalled in an interview, "and I laughed, and then I put him up for adoption."^[24] The book is a collection of essays dealing with the raising of his children, as well as reminiscences from his own childhood.^[25]

Gaffigan signed with Crown Publishing in June 2013 to write a second book of comic essays. The book will be released sometime in 2014.^[26][27]

Media appearances

Gaffigan participated on the NPR radio quiz program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in 2013.^[28]

Commercial appearances

Gaffigan has appeared in over 200 TV commercials ranging from Rolling Rock to Saturn and ESPN. His commanding presence earned him the title of ‘Salesman of the Year’ by BusinessWeek in 1999. ^[29] He also performed in a trio of Sierra Mist commercials for the 2007 SuperBowl as part of the Sierra Mist comedy ensemble “The Mis-Takes”. ^{[30] [31]}

Discography

• 2001: Luigi's Doghouse
• 2001: Economics II
• 2003: More Moo Moos
• 2004: The Last Supper
• 2004: Doing My Time
• 2006: Beyond the Pale
• 2009: King Baby US # 56
• 2012: Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe US # 53
• 2013: The White Bread Tour

Filmography

• Three Kings (1999)
• Cry Baby Lane (2000)
• Super Troopers (2001)
• Igby Goes Down (2002)
• No Sleep Till Madison (2002)
• 13 Going On 30 (2004)
• The Great New Wonderful (2005)
• Stephanie Daley (2006)
• The Living Wake (2007)
• What She Knew (2008)
• The Love Guru (2008)
• 17 Again (2009)
• Away We Go (2009)
• The Slammin' Salmon (2009)
• It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
• Going the Distance (2010)
• Salvation Boulevard (2011)
• Love Sick Love (2012)
• Howard Cantour.com (short film) (2013)

Selected television appearances

• Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (voice)
• Random Play (VH1 Comedy Sketch Series) (1997–1999)
• Law & Order (1998 and 2009)
• Third Watch (2000)
• Welcome to New York (2000–2001)
• Sex and the City (2001)
• Friends
• The Ellen Show (2001–2002)
• Hope & Faith (2003)
• Ed (2003–2004)
• That '70s Show (2003–2004)
• I Am Comic (2010)
• My Boys (2006–2009) 3 seasons
• Pale Force - Recurring animated short on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (voice)
• Law and Order: Criminal Intent (2002 & 2007)
• WordGirl (2007–present; voice of Mr. Dudley)
• Flight of the Conchords (2009)
• The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2009 & 2013)
• Bored to Death (2010)
• Royal Pains (2011)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2012)
• Conan (2012)
• Portlandia (2013)
• "Comedy Bang! Bang!" (2013)

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jim Gaffigan

• Jim Gaffigan at the Internet Movie Database