Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan
Gaffigan in January 2014
Birth name	James Christopher Gaffigan
Born	(1966-07-07) July 7, 1966 Elgin, Illinois
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Education	Georgetown University[1]
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 Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed
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 (2013) and his most recent book, Food: A Love Story (2014), are both published by Crown Publishers. He co-created and will star in an upcoming television series based on his life, The Jim Gaffigan Show.

Background information

Jim Gaffigan was born in Elgin, Illinois, and raised in Chesterton, Indiana.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

He is married to actress^[5] Jeannie Noth, with whom he has two daughters, Marre and Katie Louise, and three sons, Jack, Michael, and Patrick.^[6] The family of seven live in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City.^[7] Gaffigan has stated on stage, and elsewhere, that he is Catholic.^[8][9][10]

Comedy

Gaffigan is known for routines or skits relating to being lazy and eating food, especially popular routines regarding Hot Pockets, cake, and bacon. In 2002, Gaffigan was part of a United Service Organization event at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] Four years later, on March 14, 2013, Gaffigan was named the "King of Clean" by the Wall Street Journal.^[14]

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.^[15]

On February 25, 2012, Gaffigan taped a one-hour stand-up special Mr. Universe at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.^[16] 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,^[17] an organization that provides support to military veterans.^[18]

Gaffigan filmed his 2014 comedy special titled Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed at Boston’s Wilbur Theater on January 18, 2014.^[19] Obsessed premiered on Comedy Central on April 27 becoming the most watched stand-up comedy special of the year for the network.^[20] The accompanying album, also titled Obsessed, debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Billboard Comedy Album charts.^[21]

On April 26, 2014, Gaffigan received the award for Concert Comedian at the American Comedy Awards for his work.^[22][23]

Acting

Gaffigan is also recognizable for having performed in several comedic commercials for Sierra Mist alongside fellow comedian Michael Ian Black. 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 alongside Christine Baranksi. The show was cancelled after its first season despite receiving positive reviews.^[24] In 2000 - 2001 he was a cast member of The Ellen Show on CBS, Ellen Degeneres' second sitcom. 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.

In 2008, he was in the movie The Love Guru starring Mike Myers.

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.

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.

Gaffigan appeared on Broadway in That Championship Season, which opened in March 2011, opposite Brian Cox, Chris Noth, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jason Patric.^[25] Gaffigan's performance was praised by ABC News correspondent Sandy Kenyon as the most moving and that he may "steal the show".^[26]

Gaffigan starred in the Shia LaBeouf directed short film Howard Cantour.com.^[27]

The Jim Gaffigan Show, a sitcom about a couple raising their five kids in a two-bedroom New York apartment, will begin airing in 2015 on TV Land. The show stars Gaffigan as a fictionalized version of himself.^[28]

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.^[29] The series was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2007 in the category of "Outstanding Broadband Program - Comedy".^[30]

Gaffigan's humorous quips have earned him over two million followers on Twitter, and he was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the "25 funniest people on Twitter" in 2012.^[31][32]

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.^[33][34] 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."^[35] The book is a collection of essays dealing with the raising of his children, as well as reminiscences from his own childhood.^[36]

Gaffigan signed with Crown Publishing in June 2013 to write a second book of comic essays. The book, Food: A Love Story, which was released in Fall 2014.^[37][38][39]

Charity performances

In May 2014, Gaffigan performed at the Make It Right Gala, an organization founded by Brad Pitt, which builds sustainable homes and buildings for communities in need.^[40]

Gaffigan performed at the 2013 Stand Up for Heroes charity event benefitting the Bob Woodruff Foundation alongside fellow stand-up comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby and Jon Stewart.^[41]

Gaffigan also performed at the 2013 CNN Heroes event, which celebrates everyday heroes doing extraordinary work around the world.^[42]

Media appearances

Gaffigan participated on the NPR radio quiz program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in 2013.^[43]

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.^[44] He also performed in a trio of Sierra Mist commercials for the 2007 Super Bowl as part of the Sierra Mist comedy ensemble “The Mis-Takes”.^[45][46]

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
• 2012: Mr. Universe
• 2014: Obsessed

Filmography

• Three Kings (1999)
• Personals (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)
• "Staten Island Summer" (2014)
• The Nobodies (short film) (2014)
• The Jim Gaffigan Show (2015)

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)
• Talking Dead (2014)
• The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon (2014)
• @Midnight (2014)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Gaffigan has been nominated twice.

Year	Recipient	Award	Result
2013	Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe	Best Comedy Album	style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
2015	Obsessed	Best Comedy Album	style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated[47]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Jim Gaffigan

• Jim Gaffigan at the Internet Movie Database

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