Jim Gaffigan

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Birthday:

7 July 1966, Chesterton, Indiana, USA

Birth Name:

James Christopher Gaffigan

Height:

183 cm

Indiana native Jim Gaffigan arrived in New York City in 1990 at the age of 24. Officially, he had relocated to work in advertising, but his real fascination with New York had a lot more to do with pursuing his dream of making people laugh as an actor and stand-up comic, a dream he would eventually realize through hard work and ample talent. Hailing from a clan of conservative Midwestern bankers, young Gaffigan had virtually no contacts or connections in the entertainment industry. In a 2006 interview for The Onion's AV Club, Gaffigan told journalist and film critic Noel Murray he came from "a conservative family where you're driven by security, and wearing a tie to work is considered a success. My uncle was the first one to go to college and, at that point, we'd been in this country for 150 years. It took us five generations to get to the middle class, and I was like, "Hey, I think I'm gonna go into the entertainment world!" Everybody was like, "Are you nuts?"Gaffigan proved his comic merit and steadily climbed the ladder to stand-up success, eventually landing an appearance on fellow Hoosier David Letterman's talk show Late Show with David Letterman (1993). The gap-toothed late night yukmeister was so impressed by Gaffigan's first appearance that he handpicked him to develop a sitcom for the Letterman-owned production company World Wide Pants. The fruit of this union, a sitcom entitled Welcome to New York (2000), was canceled shortly into its initial run despite critical acclaim. Fortunately, the melanin-challenged stand-up artiste's career was very far from over. He went on to guest-star on a veritable who's who list of hit shows including That '70s Show (1998), Sex and the City (1998), Third Watch (1999), Ed (2000) and Law & Order (1990).According to the aforementioned Noel Murray, the demise of Welcome to New York (2000) also had a cathartic effect on Gaffigan's stand-up routine. "His observational humor lost a lot of its initial peevishness, and it now relies on his hyper-awareness of his own mundanity, expressed in an 'inner voice' that comments on his act throughout the show," wrote Murray in early 2006, referring to Gaffigan's signature habit of reading his audience's mind in a gut-bustingly tremulous falsetto. Whatever the future holds for Mr. Gaffigan, all fans of good and original comedy are just happy that he is alive and well and making us pee our pants. Show less «

I'm from Indiana. I know what you're thinking, Indiana...Mafia. But in Indiana it's not like New York where everyone's like, 'We're from New...Show more »

I'm from Indiana. I know what you're thinking, Indiana...Mafia. But in Indiana it's not like New York where everyone's like, 'We're from New York and we're the best' or 'We're from Texas and we like things big' it's more like 'We're from Indiana and we're gonna move. Show less «

Manhattan's probably one of the bluest parts in the country, and Indiana's definitely one of the redder states. I have sympathy for both sid...Show more »

Manhattan's probably one of the bluest parts in the country, and Indiana's definitely one of the redder states. I have sympathy for both sides. That's not to say that I'm anything but a Democrat, but I think there's this condescension to middle America that's in some ways based on myth. Every now and then you hear, "Will it play in middle America?" It's really derogatory. "Will those dumb idiots think it's interesting?" Show less «

Ever read a book that changed your life? Me neither.

For me, relaxing might be spending an hour on Twitter, as weird as that might sound. I'll come up with an idea and we will rewrite it, and i...Show more »

For me, relaxing might be spending an hour on Twitter, as weird as that might sound. I'll come up with an idea and we will rewrite it, and it's fun to see the response. A lot of comedian friends are on there, like Andy Kindler, Michael Ian Black and 'Rob Delaney', and we're spread throughout the country. Show less «

I think of my wife as kind of a secret weapon. Without her I certainly wouldn't have become as successful as I am. In a way, I feel like I b...Show more »

I think of my wife as kind of a secret weapon. Without her I certainly wouldn't have become as successful as I am. In a way, I feel like I brainwashed her to my point-of-view so she'll come up with lines that are great, that I might have come with later on. Every comedian deals with people coming up and saying, 'what about this or that?' And 90 percent of the time it's not useful information. But with my wife, 90 percent of the time it's useful. Show less «

I like the idea of hitting people after you've hit them. There's nothing funnier than laughing and then you have to catch your breath again ...Show more »

I like the idea of hitting people after you've hit them. There's nothing funnier than laughing and then you have to catch your breath again before you can catch your breath. Some of it is just the style of how it works for me. Some people go for the big home runs. I'm a singles hitter. Show less «

I remember the first time I saw a hammock. I thought "So that's what trees are for."

Delivery is the combination of my two favorite activities, eating and not moving [...] really the worst part of delivery is getting up and a...Show more »

Delivery is the combination of my two favorite activities, eating and not moving [...] really the worst part of delivery is getting up and answering the door. Show less «

Once you put bacon in a salad, it's no longer a salad. It just becomes a game of "find the bacon in the lettuce".

There is something dishonest, though, about putting bacon in a salad. You know? It's kind of like smoking while you jog.