Comedian, Ind. native Jim Gaffigan to perform Thursday

Jim Gaffigan is no stranger to television, commercials, movies or comedy nightclubs. If you don't recognize his name from his recent successes, chances are you have seen him somewhere. His one-hour special on Comedy Central and subsequent CD and DVD releases have given him the rare comedic stardom of his own national tour.\nOn Thursday, Gaffigan will perform at the IU Auditorium as part of his Beyond the Pale tour, which frequently sells out large venues. \n"I've been doing stand-up for 15 years, and, as you go along, your act sort of evolves," Gaffigan said.\nHaving omitted profanity and other "crutches" from his act, Gaffigan has been able to branch out into a much wider audience.\n"It's not to say that I don't curse in everyday life," Gaffigan said. "For me, it was just that when I did curse, it was always kind of a crutch. ... It was a personal thing of mine to get rid of the curse words."\nGaffigan also believes cursing is not very suited to his type of comedy, joking in his typical, slightly higher-pitched voice of confusion that "there's no reason to curse when you're discussing elevators."\nGaffigan grew up in Chesterton, a small town in northwest Indiana close to Chicago but still rife with haystacks and trailers.\n"It's interesting being from 'the Region' -- it's like we're the communist part of Indiana," Gaffigan joked of the Midwest area where he grew up.\nAfter living in New York for more than 15 years, Gaffigan has performed at various clubs in the nightclub circuit. He's been in Sprite commercials, played small roles in films -- including "Super Troopers," as the "meow" guy -- and various TV roles. One of his recent successes, aside from his stand-up, is the TBS sitcom "My Boys," in which he plays the brother of the main character.\n"Typically I play guys that have the IQ of 20, like on 'That '70s Show' or 'Super Troopers,'" Gaffigan said.\nHe added that unlike his usual characters, he enjoys his role as a person who is "sarcastic and sardonic."\nGaffigan also has agreed to write and be the voice in "Pale Force," a cartoon that has aired on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." As part of the agreement Gaffigan will appear in 20 episodes that will continue to be shown on "Late Night," as well as being aired on NBC.com as "Webisodes." The cartoon depicts the duo of pale misfits -- Gaffigan and O'Brien -- defeating enemies with their pale skin and laser-spurting nipples. Gaffigan, the more courageous of the two, takes the meek and wimpy Conan under his coattails to fight crime.\nWith the already large amount of work he has done, Gaffigan surprised critics and audiences with his character in the 2005 film "The Great New Wonderful." His role, as an office worker overcome with misfortune, is an obvious sign of his wide range of talents.\nStill, with all the recent successes, Gaffigan has made time to come back to Indiana and perform his stand-up comedy. After the show he will conduct a meet-and-greet session in which he will talk to fans.\nIt's the least he can do to show his appreciation for coming to see him, Gaffigan said.\n"I'm definitely looking forward to it," he said.