A few things about Jim Gaffigan's tour:
• It is called “Fully Dressed,” which is probably a good thing, as he's no Magic Mike stripper guy. (He is, after all, the author of a book called “Dad Is Fat,” with the title taken from his child's first spoken line.)
• It is produced by Jeannie Gaffigan, his wife and frequent collaborator.
• The tour is blasting through 31 cities in three months, but the comic should be fresh when he hits Pittsburgh this week — just the ninth stop on the coast-to-coast run.
• It coincides with the second season of “The Jim Gaffigan Show,” on TV Land.
• There won't be heavy cursing, controversial topics or “sex talk,” as Gaffigan is known as one of the cleanest comics going.
If you're looking at his photo and thinking, “I know I've seen him,” you probably have. He's been featured in more than 200 TV commercials. He also has been in 20 movies and dozens of TV episodes.
In addition to those who have had subliminal exposure to his “everyman” face, there are many who seek this comic out: Gaffigan's “hot pockets” bit has nearly 5 million YouTube views.
On his recent “Mr. Universe” tour, he talked about the secret shame of eating at McDonald's: “We've all read the articles, seen the documentaries; it's the same message: ‘Look, McDonald's is very bad for you, it's very high in fat and calories and we don't even know where the meat comes from!
“We're all like, ‘That's disgusting! … I'll have a Big Mac, large fries and 2-gallon drum of Diet Coke.' There's a McDonald's denial.”
While many comics goof on fast food, Gaffigan is a rarity, able to complete the circle by talking about how so much of popular culture — like who Taylor Swift is dating — is “all McDonald's … and it feels good going down.”
Jim Gaffigan is a little salty, himself.
Tom Scanlon is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
