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Jim Gaffigan is a Grammy nominated comedian, New York Times best-selling author, top touring performer, and multi-platinum-selling father of five. He recently wrapped the first season of his semi-fictitious television[…]
Why does Jim Gaffigan tell clean jokes? Jesus Christ told him to, obviously. The real reason, which Gaffigan explains here, takes him through the history of comedy and satire in American.
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Jerry Seinfeld famously prefers not to swear during his standup set, believing that four-letter words elicit a a cheap laugh from the audience. If there is truth to that, perhaps it is a truth that comedians have known throughout the history of their craft. As Jim Gaffigan explains here, the majority of comedians have always told so-called “clean” jokes. It was only recently that humor took a turn for the vulgar.


But that is not a judgement on “dirty” comedy, says Gaffigan. For comedians like Chris Rock, that language is what is required to communicate in an authentic voice. And that authenticity is more the soul of comedy than society’s which words are used to deliver punch lines. Gaffigan says he happens to prefer discussing mini muffins and avocados more than the romantic details of his marriage (and he thanks comedians like Richard Pryor for allowing him to feel comfortable in that space).

Gaffigan has the unusual quality of being Catholic — unusual in the world of show business, at least. But it affects his comedy remarkably little, he says. Never has he censored himself because of religious dogma, but his beliefs inform who he is, and therefore what kind of material resonates as authentic to him. Comedians do not want to convert you to their faith, he says. They want only one thing: to be funny. And that requires a great diversity of comics all being truthful to their own circumstances.

Check out Jim Gaffigan’s book,Dad is Fat.

And tune in to the The Jim Gaffigan Show.


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