LAUGHIN with Gaffigan
Comedian Jim Gaffigan on life during the coronavirus, dinners on YouTube and his gig with the pope.
Jim Gaffigan knows this has been a difficult time, to say the least. But he’d like to assure you that laughing really does make it better. “I did stand-up in New York two days after 9/11,” he says. “People need a break from the news.”
The Grammy-nominated comedian and actor has certainly been doing his part to help spread some cheer. Since going into quarantine at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, he and his family—Jeannie, his writer-director wife of 17 years, and their five kids, Marre, 16, Jack, 14, Katie, 11, Michael, 9, and Patrick, 7—have broadcast their 6 p.m. dinners from inside their downtown New York City apartment every night.Titled
Dinner With the Gaffigans, the live and lively donation-driven YouTube series gives viewers a peek inside Gaffigan’s home and also has raised more than $65,000 for the Imagine Society, a youth-centered nonprofit organization with which Gaffigan and his wife are very involved, to help provide food to hospitals across NYC’s five boroughs during the pandemic. In addition to a fascinating glimpse into his bustling family life, the series also serves up a generous helping of Gaffigan’s well-honed observational humor.The strawberry-blond Midwesterner has become an everyman favorite over the past 15 years with his numerous multimedia appearances on TV shows, in movies (like his latest, the biographical crime thriller, Most
Wanted, in theaters now) and commercials, and he’s also an author (see “Essential Gaffigan,” right). In his eighth comedy special, The
Pale Tourist (watch it now on Amazon Prime), he offers his wry take on travel destinations all over the world. Gaffigan, 54, recently Zoomed in on a typically chaotic morning to talk to Parade about his upbringing, fatherhood, funny things, his career and more.
What are the challenges of being home 24/7?
Distance learning has been an impossible task. You’re not just the tutor of your children; you’re the personal assistant and class monitor. With five kids, someone is always late for an online school meeting. And because my wife is high-risk [she had a benign brain tumor removed in 2017], we are on double-secret quarantine and very risk-averse. I’ve only been outside to take out the garbage and pick up [deliveries]. But she’s doing well and we’re very fortunate.
How do you explain the appeal of
Dinner With the Gaffigans? This isn’t The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
It’s like comfort food. We started it because there was a real possibility of me being quarantined away from my family, and I know tons of people who are single or separated. I thought it would be slightly entertaining to see a family eating dinner.
No qualms about putting everyone on camera?
We live in this age of voyeuristic exhibition. But there was a time I wouldn’t post photos of my kids. And we’ve turned down opportunities for reality shows: We’ve been on a tour bus together and people wanted to put cameras on us, and we’re not interested in that. I do wish my kids weren’t on the internet all day and were reading more books.
Which of your five kids inherited your sense of humor?
Gosh, it’s interesting, because my sense of humor is a combination of my older brothers’. My brother Mike is dark and cynical; my brother Mitch is observational and warm; and my brother Joe is silly. I think my kids are all like that at different times. My son Jack is cynical and irreverent, and my daughter Marre is insightful. But Patrick reminds me of me. I was the youngest of six and was a goofylooking kid, so the attention went my way. Patrick, in a similar way, rolls with it.
When was the comedy-career seed planted?
I remember the night before I graduated from Georgetown [in 1988], I told a friend that I wanted to be an actor and comedian. She said, “Why don’t you do it?” I said because I assumed everyone wanted to do that, and it didn’t seem practical. I was not raised in a family that was like, “Think of the craziest dream you have and pursue it!” So I moved to New York and started as an account executive in advertising. It didn’t become real until a friend dared me to take an improv class with him years later.
Ever try out for Saturday Night Live?
I never did.There was a point where somebody wanted to submit me as a writer, but I wanted to be a performer. I did try out several times for an appear
ance on David Letterman’s show before I got on [in 1999].
How did you overcome all the rejections?
Rejection has been a really important gift in my life. I was probably the last of my comedic peers to get an opportunity to do a late-night appearance. It was very frustrating, because back in the ’90s, everyone had done either Letterman’s or Conan [O’Brien]’s show. So I made peace that I was going to be the weird uncle that lived in New York City and said he was a stand-up [comic].
Do you consider that Letterman spot your big break?
There’s never been a breakthrough moment. Appearing on Letterman was a terrific opportunity because he liked me and wanted to produce a show with me [the short-lived CBS sitcom Welcome to New York in 2000]. But when I did the Beyond the Pale special [in 2005], it was at a time when Comedy Central was on in every college dorm room. That changed my career. I went from doing clubs to theaters.
And you’ve embraced being a family-friendly comic.
Nobody pays to see a comedian because they don’t curse. I suppose there are comedians that like to be irreverent and brave—but if it’s not funny, then those bolder adjectives don’t matter. It’s strange about the whole “clean thing.” I do curse in everyday life. I’m from Indiana; you curse if you stub your toe. But if you’re telling a joke for the fifth time, do you really need to curse, or can you think of a better adjective?
Was opening for Pope Francis in Philadelphia in 2015 your most pressure-packed set?
No, that was more of a no-win situation. People were there to see the pope, not me. I knew that my sarcasm or nihilism was going to hit people as inappropriate because of the context. So it was less nerves and more of just understanding the audience and how [my work] was going to be digested.
Do your advertising skills come into play in your comedy career?
Oh, yeah. I switched into copywriting and learned the importance of being economical in your work. Also, it helped me when I used to audition for commercials, because I knew the strategy of the brands and understood to not improvise and disparage the product. I’ve done about 200 commercials.
You’ve also been in several movies and TV shows. Do you still audition for acting roles?
I [do]. I’m not thrilled about it, because auditioning is like
stripping without the money. But you have to enjoy the journey and the process, which I do. I love acting and I love dramatic roles because playing complex and flawed characters is interesting to me. I was supposed to be doing an indie movie right now, but it got delayed. I don’t want to say what it was, but I’m not going to be the next Iron Man.
Any comedic TV roles you would have wanted to do?
I loved the British version of The Office. I love playing the dumb guy who thinks he’s smart. I think the series captured the humorous nature of mundane life.
What do you miss most about performing?
The audience. Standup is very much a conversation, even though it’s not a balanced conversation, because one person is talking with a microphone and the others are responding with laughter or silence.
When you did Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld in 2016, you asked him if he felt lucky because he does what he loves. Is that how you feel?
Jerry has great conviction that you create your own opportunities. I think it’s important to be humble and be in touch with gratitude, because I do know a lot of very funny and talented people. Yeah, they’re making a decent living, but they should be at a different level in their career. I was very frustrated for a couple years, maybe 20 years ago. But when you realize how much you can’t control, you have some peace surrounding it and focus on what you can control. Does that even make sense?