\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIf Tom Hanks is known as the \u201ceveryman\u201d of movies \u2014 you know, the ordinary guys, so approachable and unpretentious that just about everybody can relate to him in one way or another \u2014 then Jim Gaffigan is the \u201ceveryman\u201d of comedy. He focuses his humor on everyday observations about universal experiences. And although most outsiders see the divisive political climate at this time in history as putting humor on trial, Gaffigan looks at it differently.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think this will go down in history \u2014 and it may be ending as we speak \u2014 but like, this is the best time that standup comedy has ever had,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I started \u2014 versus even in the time of Lenny Bruce or George Carlin \u2014 comedy was a much more middle-class\/lower middle-class occupation, meaning, there was not an expectation of an upper middle-class existence. Now, if you\u2019re a functional comedian, you can make a great living. So, from a monetary standpoint, like having a kind of financial security, it would never exist. But it exists now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThese days political humor gets comedians in hot water no matter which side of the issues they fall. But Gaffigan chooses to not go there, siting the pandemic as an example. \u201cTake politics out of it,\u201d he says. \u201cThere were expectations that you can address it. But, people, we\u2019ve gone through the pandemic; we don\u2019t want to hear too much about it. \u2026 There are comedians that will have very strong views, you know, and have a formula of bringing up this hot button issue. Their audience will stay with them. They\u2019ll have some brilliant insights surrounding it. But I\u2019m kind of of the opinion that, you know, people don\u2019t wanna live in denial, but they also want a break from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Illinois native has accomplished a whole lot since moving to New York in 1990 to pursue a career in comedy. It all began when a friend in an acting class dared him to attend a stand-up seminar that required the students to do a live comedy set at the end of the course. He loved it, but it began a cycle of attempting to determine \u2014\u00a0and nailing down \u2014 his style. The guy now known as the \u201cclean comic\u201d with the laid-back delivery tried everything from impressions to \u201cangry comedy.\u201d Seven years later, he found his voice, and his comedy has been evolving ever since.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tGaffigan performs onstage during the 2025 Night of Too Many Stars benefiting Next for Autism.<\/span><\/p>\n \n\tSome might call the quiet confidence he projects on stage courageous, but Gaffigan sees it differently. \u201cI think it\u2019s just mental illness, honestly,\u201d he jokes. But on a more serious note, he compares the mental psyching up a comedian must do on stage to what parents face every day. \u201cI see this as a parent, that we develop these kind of metaphorical calluses or scabs that make us much more resistant.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tParenting five children, ages 13-21, has been the inspiration for much of his act and a catalyst for the evolution of his humor, because, as he says, if you have that many kids, you have to have a sense of humor. \u201cI\u2019ve said this for years \u2014 if your kids aren\u2019t annoying you or you aren\u2019t frustrated by the task of parenting, that means you\u2019re not participating in the task of parenting,\u201d he says. \u201cI think the love I have for my children and the absolute fear that I\u2019m failing colossally is shared by every parent. So the impact of parenting is so enormous on my stand-up.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tParenting teenagers in this day and age of social media has not been easy, one that Gaffigan calls \u201ca disaster\u201d and \u201cimpossible\u201d \u2014 but it certainly has resulted in both his personal growth and his growth as a comedian. \u201cThe fact that I have this approach of the \u2018drowning continues\u2019 is something that is a nice reprieve for parents. Do you know what I mean? Where they\u2019re not alone. The struggles of being a parent and the struggles of your child are so understandably private. I have this joke right now where I talk about parents of teenagers always sound like they\u2019re hiding something, and it really resonates.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s that experience of parenting that has evolved. So people that enjoy my standup, they might be at a different point in their parental journey, but they can identify with what I\u2019m talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tGaffigan with his wife Jeannie, left, and their children attending a \u2018Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them\u2019 world premiere in 2016.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Bruinooge\/Patrick McMullan<\/p>\n \n\tCaroline Hirsch, founder and former owner of the New York comedy club Carolines on Broadway, is known for an innate knack\u00a0for identifying the next big thing in comedy\u2026 and Gaffigan was one of those comedians. \u201cI first met Jim when he was performing and honing his craft very early in his career at my club [Carolines on Broadway] on Broadway,\u201d she recalls. \u201cEven then, he had such a distinct voice, literally and comedically. There was this sharp observational humor and a quiet confidence about him that stood out. He could make the everyday and the mundane feel hilarious and relatable without ever being mean-spirited.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHirsch also reflected on his professional evolution. \u201cIt\u2019s been incredible to watch Jim\u2019s growth over the years,\u201d she adds. \u201cHis material has deepened. He\u2019s still just as funny, but there\u2019s a warmth and perspective that have come with his experiences as a father, husband and seasoned performer. Jim has managed to stay true to his comedic voice while continuing to evolve creatively, which is why he remains one of the most respected and beloved comedians in the industry today.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRespected, indeed. Gaffigan is a seven-time\u00a0Grammy\u00a0nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer, two-time\u00a0New York Times\u00a0best-selling author, three-time\u00a0Emmy\u00a0winning top touring performer, and multi-platinum-selling recording artist. Yet, he still has an air about him that is humble, sincere and, as Hirsch put it, warm.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel like if I\u2019m humble and sincere, it\u2019s out of necessity, you know what I mean?\u201d he jokes, proving the point. \u201cLike, I think, if something could go wrong or will get complicated, it will happen to me. It\u2019s kind of an ongoing joke with my manager. But that being said, I\u2019m also grateful and appreciative of the things I\u2019ve gotten to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If Tom Hanks is known as the \u201ceveryman\u201d of movies \u2014 you know, the ordinary guys, so approachable and unpretentious that just about everybody can relate to him in one way or another \u2014 then Jim Gaffigan is the \u201ceveryman\u201d of comedy. He focuses his humor on everyday observations about universal experiences. And although most<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[2512,18850,286],"class_list":{"0":"post-32731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-comedy","9":"tag-standup","10":"tag-time"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}