Jim Gaffigan in Jacksonville

Food, laziness and parenthood are the big three in a Jim Gaffigan set. He works mostly clean, and he often interrupts himself with a high inner voice that plays someone in the crowd judging the joke he just told. That voice runs through his classic bits, including his famous Hot Pockets routine.

Gaffigan grew up in Chesterton, Indiana, earned a finance degree from Georgetown in 1988 and moved to New York to work in advertising. A dare from an improv classmate got him into a stand-up seminar. After years of auditioning, his 1999 set on Late Show with David Letterman became his big break.

Specials have followed at a steady clip, from Beyond the Pale (2006) and King Baby (2009) to Mr. Universe (2012), Cinco (2017), Quality Time (2019), Comedy Monster (2021) and The Skinny (2024). Mr. Universe, Obsessed, Cinco and Quality Time were all nominated for the Grammy for Best Comedy Album.

He co-created and starred in The Jim Gaffigan Show on TV Land, played Andy on TBS's My Boys, and took dramatic turns in Tesla (2020) and Linoleum (2022). His books on fatherhood and eating, Dad Is Fat (2013) and Food (2014), both made The New York Times best seller list.