Biography for
Jim Gaffigan More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

7 July 1966, Chesterton, Indiana, USA

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Indiana native Jim Gaffigan arrived in New York City, New York 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 hand-picked Gaffigan 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 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.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Akira Horowitz

Spouse

Jeannie Gaffigan

(26 July 2003 - present) 3 children

Trade Mark

Voicing the "internal monologue" of his audiences in a comically high-pitched voice

His pale skin

Trivia

Is the youngest of six siblings.

Has 4 CDs of his stand up available on his website

Hand-picked by David Letterman to develop the sitcom "Welcome to New York" (2000).

Nominated for TV Guide Award - Best New Actor in a Sitcom

Has two daughters and one son with wife Jeannie Gaffigan named Marre (b. 2005) Jack (b. 2006) and Katie Louise (b. May 10th 2009).

Earned a B.A. from Georgetown University's School of Business in 1988.

His wife, Jeannie Gaffigan, gave birth to their third child, a girl named Katie Louise, in New York on May 10, 2009.

Played character, Larry Johnson, on two separate occasions. Both characters being under scrutiny of law enforcement officials. The NBC drama Law & Order, and the Broken Lizard comedy Super Troopers.

Personal Quotes

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.

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?"

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

Where Are They Now

(April 2003) Appeared at the U.S.O. comedy tour in Cuba.

(2004) Recurring roles on "Ed" (2000) and "That '70s Show" (1998).

(2006) Has released the new comic album "Beyond Pale" which he did a stand up show for in Chicago.