Jim Gaffigan bringing serious fun to Cedar Rapids

It's not easy to surprise a fan base by becoming more daring, unpredictable and better at midlife. Rare entertainers, like funnyman Jim Gaffigan, have done that.

For much of his career, the self-deprecating, married father of five has worked clean. That's part of how he’s scored such plum gigs as delivering humorous commentary on “CBS Sunday Morning” and even bigger opportunities, opening for the Pope.

“It was a no-win situation,” Gaffigan said. “I looked out at over 1 million people, and I knew not one of them was thinking, ‘I hope the Pope has a comedian open for him.’ The upside is that I knew the crowd wouldn’t be too difficult, because the Pope was following with a message of mercy.”

However, Gaffigan, 57, who will perform Friday at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in downtown Cedar Rapids, has surprised his audience lately. His latest special, “Dark Pale,” lives up to the title. Gaffigan effectively waxes about mortality, which is a far cry from his innocuous food jokes, which are still hysterical.

Gaffigan’s take on loving McDonald’s before regret sets in — “Momentary pleasure followed by incredible guilt, eventually leading to cancer” — remains amusing. But the prolific humorist, who has released five specials in six years, is improving as he ages a la George Carlin.

But there was something special about Gaffigan early in his career at the turn of the 21st century while on the late night chat show circuit. Gaffigan easily cracked up David Letterman, who often was curmudgeonly while holding court on his iconic “Late Night with David Letterman.”

It was evident how impressed Letterman was with Gaffigan. Letterman approached Gaffigan about a development deal with his company, World Wide Pants, then the upstart comic joked with the cranky television icon.

Letterman brought Gaffigan into his office and asked him about doing the show “Welcome to New York.”

“I said, ‘No way, not with you guys,’ ” Gaffigan said while calling from New York. “But seriously, I was thrilled to be a part of it. The scripts were great.”

“Welcome to New York” lasted for only a season. Sometimes things just don’t work out,“ Gaffigan said.

He didn’t make much of a splash and was often confused with the late Academy-Award winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman after “Welcome to New York” was canceled.

“Too often people said I look like (Hoffman) or Brad Pitt,” Gaffigan cracked.

However, he impressed on Broadway in 2011 in “That Championship Season.” Gaffigan more than held his own sharing a stage with Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric and Brian Cox.

“It was amazing,” Gaffigan said. “Hard, but amazing.”

Gaffigan earned raves for his dramatic turn in 2016’s “Chuck,” the story of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner. Gaffigan co-starred in 2017’s “Chappaquiddick.”

“I loved the challenge of playing Chuck Wepner’s best friend, a guy from Bayonne (New Jersey) and a Boston guy in ‘Chappaquiddick.’ I’m a white-bread guy from Indiana and I get to challenge myself like that.”

However, the most significant challenge Gaffigan faced was dealing with his wife and writing partner Jeannie Gaffigan’s life-threatening tumor, which surrounded her brain stem in 2017. The pear-shaped growth was removed and Jeannie Gaffigan recovered.

When Gaffigan learned that it was uncertain whether his wife would make it, he realized that he might lose his spouse and his career, since he considered quitting his lifelong passion.

“The reality was that she might be gone,” Gaffigan said. “I had to think about what was going to happen with my kids. Maybe I wasn’t going to be able to do stand-up anymore since I have this responsibility. I had to do the right thing, which was to be with the kids.”

A comic who prioritizes his children over his career is uncommon. In 2013 Jim and Jeannie Gaffigan developed the pilot “The Jim Gaffigan Show.” After airing for two seasons at TV Land, the popular show, which Jeannie Gaffigan co-wrote and executive produced with her husband, ended since the couple opted to spend more time with their children.

“A television show takes so much time to make happen,” Gaffigan said. “I wanted to spend more time with my family. When the show ended, I thought, ‘I always have stand-up.’ ”

Gaffigan took a page out of the Jeff Foxworthy playbook. Foxworthy declined to work on projects in Los Angeles so he could spend more time with his daughters in Georgia during the week. focusing on stand-up gigs during weekends.

“It all comes down to what is most important to you in your life,” Gaffigan said. “I love what I do, but my family is incredibly important to me.”

Gaffigan has a relatable “everyman” persona. His family inspires his material and so does his often hilarious love of food.

“Dad is Fat” is Gaffigan’s amusing 2013 memoir. “Food: A Love Story,” is his funny follow-up.

“I think people can relate to what I talk about,” he said. “That's particularly so when I talk about food. It’s something I think about a lot. You can tell by looking at me. I’m not going to hide it. I may as well have some fun with it. Most people in America love to eat too much.”

It might not be the best idea to indulge in Hot Pockets, which Gaffigan adeptly jokes about.

“They're the contemporary potpie,” he said. “Remember when we were kids and it was all about the potpie? Now it’s Hot Pockets. There is the Vegetarian Hot Pocket for those who don’t eat meat but would still like to experience the thrill of diarrhea. You know what’s great about the Hot Pocket? Unlike the potpie, you don’t need a fork. How can you beat that?”