A 'pale force' to be reckoned with
An interview with comedian Jim Gaffigan
By DAVID DELLECESE
Observer-Dispatch
December 21, 2006
VERONA - When Jim Gaffigan takes to the stage Friday, Dec. 29 at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino, the Indiana native will be a long way from his Midwestern roots and from the 24-year-old who ventured to New York City 16 years ago for a job in advertising.
Gaffigan found over time that his desire to be a performer could really become a career option.
"I had to do something I enjoyed or I was going to go crazy," he says. "I was raised in a very risk-adverse family. It wasn't 'don't follow your dream,' it was more 'don't end up homeless.'"
Unlike some other comics, Gaffigan has found a steady stream of success in multiple arenas including his stage shows, his Comedy Central specials, Sierra Mist commercials, the animated "Pale Force" on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," or his new show "My Boys" on TBS.
"It's kind of a bunch of cool things happening at once," he said. "The fact they added a show in Verona ... you sit there and say 'Was it "Pale Force? Was it Comedy Central? Was it the numerous appearances on Conan? Was it a bunch of tiny acting roles?' I don't know. It's so cool, though."
Gaffigan's act is relatively clean compared to many of today's performers, and he says he enjoys the challenge of not relying on such comedic crutches as cursing and sex.
"Any comic would admit if you curse or talk about sex, it's an easy sell, meaning the audience is going to love it," he said. "About five years ago I just gave myself the challenge to work without that crutch ... if I'd have a joke and if there was a curse word in it, to me it meant the joke wasn't finished being written."
The topics he chooses also present a challenge.
"If I started ranting about politicians, people would be kinda like 'you're the guy who talks about cake and napping. That doesn't work.'
"I also like taking topics that might be kind of hurdles to be funny . . . (such as) talking about bottled water or Hot Pockets for six or 60 minutes," he said.
One of Gaffigan's trademarks is the high, falsetto-like voice Gaffigan uses on stage when he assumes the role of an audience member reacting to his material. Even this took time to develop.
"It definitely was a gradual development. (Early on,) you have to differentiate yourself from the five other comics they've seen before you. And, also, everyone's yelling. I almost kind of ended up whispering to be different."
He and his wife, who is also a comedian, met in a deli in his Manhattan neighborhood. Both being from the Midwest and from large families, the two considered theirs a fateful meeting.
"It was really this amazing coincidence in a lot of ways that we had so much in common," he said. With two kids under the age of 3, balancing a family life with work can be a difficult task.
"She is kind of a little bit of a superwoman - I don't know how she does it."
Observer-Dispatch
December 21, 2006
VERONA - When Jim Gaffigan takes to the stage Friday, Dec. 29 at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino, the Indiana native will be a long way from his Midwestern roots and from the 24-year-old who ventured to New York City 16 years ago for a job in advertising.
Gaffigan found over time that his desire to be a performer could really become a career option.
"I had to do something I enjoyed or I was going to go crazy," he says. "I was raised in a very risk-adverse family. It wasn't 'don't follow your dream,' it was more 'don't end up homeless.'"
Unlike some other comics, Gaffigan has found a steady stream of success in multiple arenas including his stage shows, his Comedy Central specials, Sierra Mist commercials, the animated "Pale Force" on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," or his new show "My Boys" on TBS.
"It's kind of a bunch of cool things happening at once," he said. "The fact they added a show in Verona ... you sit there and say 'Was it "Pale Force? Was it Comedy Central? Was it the numerous appearances on Conan? Was it a bunch of tiny acting roles?' I don't know. It's so cool, though."
Gaffigan's act is relatively clean compared to many of today's performers, and he says he enjoys the challenge of not relying on such comedic crutches as cursing and sex.
"Any comic would admit if you curse or talk about sex, it's an easy sell, meaning the audience is going to love it," he said. "About five years ago I just gave myself the challenge to work without that crutch ... if I'd have a joke and if there was a curse word in it, to me it meant the joke wasn't finished being written."
The topics he chooses also present a challenge.
"If I started ranting about politicians, people would be kinda like 'you're the guy who talks about cake and napping. That doesn't work.'
"I also like taking topics that might be kind of hurdles to be funny . . . (such as) talking about bottled water or Hot Pockets for six or 60 minutes," he said.
One of Gaffigan's trademarks is the high, falsetto-like voice Gaffigan uses on stage when he assumes the role of an audience member reacting to his material. Even this took time to develop.
"It definitely was a gradual development. (Early on,) you have to differentiate yourself from the five other comics they've seen before you. And, also, everyone's yelling. I almost kind of ended up whispering to be different."
He and his wife, who is also a comedian, met in a deli in his Manhattan neighborhood. Both being from the Midwest and from large families, the two considered theirs a fateful meeting.
"It was really this amazing coincidence in a lot of ways that we had so much in common," he said. With two kids under the age of 3, balancing a family life with work can be a difficult task.
"She is kind of a little bit of a superwoman - I don't know how she does it."
