There are two types of married comics. There’s the Louis C.K. type, who demonized his ex-wife in hilarious fashion. That’s nothing new. Old-school comic heads are well-acquainted with Borscht Belt comedy icon Henny Youngman’s “Take My Wife” bits.
And then there is Jim Gaffigan. His wife, Jeannie. isn’t a target, she’s the Illinois native’s collaborator in the ultimate sense.
The Gaffigans have five children. The family of seven somehow resides in Manhattan, but that’s another story. The Gaffigans also work together. Their experiences have inspired the amusing sitcom, “The Jim Gaffigan Show,” which debuted on TV Land in July. The program is about a husband and wife raising five kids in a two-bedroom apartment in Gotham.
“All the scripts were written by my wife and I and are inspired by real-life events,” Gaffigan said. “But this is no way a re-creation of events.”
Comedy is typically based on a shard of reality and hyperbole is added and, voilá, there’s 23 minutes of sitcom fun.
But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Gaffigan, who will perform before a sold-out crowd Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, delivers relatable comedy whether it’s on television or at a theater. Gaffigan riffs about food. His bit on “Hot Pockets” is still hilarious a decade after he came up with the concept. Sometimes religion comes up when he’s waxing about subjects onstage.
The Gaffigans are devout Catholics. Gaffigan, who is rising up the comic food chain, performed stand-up at Saturday’s Festival of Families in Philadelphia before Pope Francis spoke at the event. “That’s not my usual [gig],” Gaffigan said. “No pressure, right?” he said in an interview days before.
Philadelphia is a short distance from Gaffigan’s Manhattan apartment. Most of Gaffigan’s entertainment peers are raising their children in the sprawl of Los Angeles or in leafy suburbs.
“I love living in New York City,” Gaffigan said. “My kids are exposed to great diversity. Economic, ethnic and social diversity. But it’s not like I’m taking them to a play every night.”
That would be difficult to do because Gaffigan is usually onstage when he’s not on the set or writing with his wife.
When comics reach a certain level of success, some decide not to revisit stand-up. When Drew Carey was asked about returning to stand-up, he balked. “Too much heavy lifting,” Carey explained.
But Gaffigan is a stand-up addict. “I don’t think I can ever stop doing stand-up,” Gaffigan says. “It’s my oxygen.”
Gaffigan refused to detail the new material he’ll render when he hits the stage during his “Contagious” tour, but he did reveal that he will deliver his beloved “Hot Pockets” bit.
“They [the fans] don’t demand it but I do it as an encore to avoid any anger,” Gaffigan said.
Gaffigan, who grew up in Indiana, smacks of the Midwest. He’s an easy-going but hard-working entertainer. “Where you come from has a way of impacting what you become,” Gaffigan said. “I’ve busted my butt.”
That was particularly so when Gaffigan impressed on Broadway in 2011 in “That Championship Season.” Gaffigan shared a stage with Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Brian Cox and Chris Noth.
“It was amazing,” Gaffigan said. “Hard but amazing.”
Gaffigan wouldn’t mind going back to the Great White Way. “If the right role was presented to me,” Gaffigan said. “Sure, I’d do it again.”
Next Up: Film
But in the meantime, Gaffigan is focusing on his sitcom, stand-up and film. Gaffigan appears in the forthcoming movie “The Experimenter,” which will hit screens in late October. “It was fun to play a guy from the 1950s/60s,” Gaffigan said. “It might as well have been 200 years ago in some ways. It was strange but fun.”
When Gaffigan isn’t working, he’s enjoying dinners that only a carnivore would love. But that’s how he grew up. His dad’s favorite meal featured a steak.
“I am my father now,” Gaffigan said. “I’m eating a steak at this moment and it’s delicious.”
David Letterman, who called it a day as a talk show host in May, has always been a big Gaffigan fan.
Shortly after Gaffigan appeared on “Late Night With David Letterman” for the first time in 1999, the curmudgeonly television icon asked the then-young comic to co-star in “Welcome to New York,” a World Wide Pants production.
“After I did his show [‘The Late Show With David Letterman’], he brought me in [to his office] and asked me about doing the show, and I said, ‘No way, not with you guys,'” Gaffigan joked. “But seriously, I was thrilled to be a part of it. The scripts were great. Sometimes things just don’t work out.”
“Welcome to New York” lasted for only a season. Gaffigan, who is hoping to raise his profile since he was occasionally confused with the late Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. “Too often people said I look like him or Brad Pitt,” Gaffigan cracked.
Unlike Pitt, Gaffigan has an everyman persona that fans can connect with.
“I think people can relate to what I talk about,” Gaffigan said. “That’s particularly so when I talk about food. It’s something I think about a lot. You can tell by looking at me. I’m not going to hide it. I may as well have some fun with it. Most people in America love to eat too much.”
If Gaffigan isn’t having a steak, he’s indulging in the aforementioned Hot Pockets. “They’re the contemporary potpie,” Gaffigan said. “Remember when we were kids and it was all about the potpie? Now it’s Hot Pockets. There is the Vegetarian Hot Pocket for those who don’t eat meat but would still like to experience the thrill of diarrhea. You know what’s great about the Hot Pocket? Unlike the potpie, you don’t need a fork. How can you beat that?”
JIM GAFFIGAN appears Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs. The show is sold out; jorgensen.uconn.edu/events.
