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Jeff Foxworthy

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Jeff Foxworthy
Foxworthy in 2010
Birth nameJeffrey Marshall Foxworthy
Born (1958-09-06) September 6, 1958 (age 65)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
MediumStand-up, film, radio, television
Years active1982–present
GenresObservational, word play, sitcom
Subject(s)Marriage, Southern culture, everyday life, family, rednecks
Spouse
Pamela Gregg
​
(m. 1985)​
Children2
Websitejefffoxworthy.com

Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American comedian, actor, author, radio and television host, and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and formerly Ron White. Known for his "You might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy has released six major-label comedy albums. His first two albums were each certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. He has written several books based on his redneck jokes, as well as an autobiography entitled No Shirt, No Shoes... No Problem![1]

Foxworthy has also made several ventures into television, starting in the mid-1990s with his own sitcom called The Jeff Foxworthy Show. He has also appeared alongside Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy in several Blue Collar television specials, including Blue Collar TV for The WB. In addition, he hosted the game shows Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? and The American Bible Challenge, as well as the radio program The Foxworthy Countdown.

Early life

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Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 6, 1958, the first of three children of Carole Linda (née Camp) and IBM executive Jimmy Abstance Foxworthy. His parents were both of English descent,[1][2][3] with his roots lying in the county of Essex.[1] His grandfather, James Marvin Camp, was a Hapeville firefighter for over three decades.[1] He has two younger siblings, Jay Foxworthy and Jennifer Foxworthy.[4]

Foxworthy graduated from Hapeville High School. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, but left just before graduating.[5] He worked for five years in mainframe computer maintenance at IBM, where his father also worked. At the urging of IBM co-workers, Foxworthy entered and won the Great Southeastern Laugh-off at Atlanta's Punchline comedy club in 1984.

Career

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Comedy albums

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In 1993, he released You Might Be a Redneck If…, which topped the comedy albums chart and started the "You Might Be a Redneck" fad. The album went gold in 1994, platinum by 1995, and 3× platinum by 1996, which is more than three million copies.[6]

Foxworthy's July 1995 release Games Rednecks Play received a 1996 Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Comedy Album.[7]

Totally Committed was released in May 1998. In conjunction with the album was a one-hour HBO stand-up special by the same name. The album reached "gold" status and received a 1999 Grammy Award nomination.[8] The video for the Totally Committed song featured frequent references to then-Atlanta Braves pitcher, Greg Maddux as well as an appearance at the very end by Maddux himself (along with teammate John Smoltz).

In 2001, Foxworthy received a nomination for Best Spoken Comedy Album for the 43rd Annual Grammys.[9]

Television

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In 1995, Foxworthy starred in The Jeff Foxworthy Show, a sitcom created out of his stand-up comedy persona. It aired on ABC, but was canceled after one season. NBC subsequently picked up the show, but it was again canceled after one season. Later, he remarked that the network did not understand how to properly market his humor; thinking his routine was "too Southern" for a national network ("Has anyone heard me talk?", he commented in one of his stand-up routines), they based the first season of his sitcom in Bloomington, Indiana. Later, the series aired on Nick at Nite and CMT in 2005 and 2006. He also appeared in Alan Jackson's video for "I Don't Even Know Your Name" in 1995.

Foxworthy hosted Country Weekly's "TNN Music City News Country Awards" show for 1998, 1999, and 2000.[10]

In 1998, Foxworthy appeared on the mock talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, where he attempts to explain his famous "You might be a Redneck" joke to Space Ghost, yet fails entirely. Throughout the episode, Space Ghost, Zorak, and Moltar are taking the Ghost Planet to the US, with plans to make it the 51st state. By the end of the episode Foxworthy is sent to "The Box".

He hosted Are You Smarter than A 5th Grader? on Fox in prime time. He hosted the syndicated version of the series from September 21, 2009, until its cancellation on March 24, 2011.[11] In 2015 it was announced that Foxworthy would return as host of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?[12] In addition, he is a host on The Bucks of Tecomate which airs on the NBC Sports Network with Alabama native David Morris.[citation needed]

He was the subject of a Comedy Central Roast in 2005.[13]

In 2011, Foxworthy appeared as a guest “Shark” for two episodes of ABC's second season of Shark Tank.[14]

Since August 2012, Foxworthy has been the host and a producer of the GSN biblical-themed game show The American Bible Challenge, which has aired two seasons.[15] He is also the host of the food reality competition series The American Baking Competition, which aired its first season in summer 2013.[16]

Foxworthy has appeared as host and featured guest on several programs on the Outdoor Channel and Versus.[17][18]

In February 2019, Foxworthy was announced as a judge for NBC's comedy competition series Bring the Funny.[19]

In 2020, a new episode of Ellen's Game of Games featured Jeff Foxworthy on a game of Stink Tank.

Blue Collar Comedy

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Foxworthy in performance at the Resch Center in Green Bay in 2015

In the early 2000s, Foxworthy had a career resurgence as a result of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, in which he and three other comedians (Larry the Cable Guy, Ron White, and Bill Engvall), specializing in common-man comedy, toured the country and performed for record crowds. The tour lasted three full years, constantly being extended after an initial run of 20 shows.

In 2004, he launched a new television series called Blue Collar TV on The WB. He served as executive producer and starred alongside Blue Collar Comedy Tour-mates Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall. (Ron White made occasional guest appearances.) On Larry the Cable Guy's website, he posted that the show was canceled on October 17, 2005, by The WB. Reruns of Blue Collar TV continued until the network merged with UPN to form The CW. In 2006, Foxworthy resurrected the Blue Collar TV format on Country Music Television (CMT) with Foxworthy's Big Night Out. The show began airing in the fall and was canceled after one season of 12 episodes.

Books

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Foxworthy has authored several books, including You Might Be a Redneck If... (1989), as well as his autobiography, No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem! (1996). Artist Layron DeJarnette provided illustrations for the Redneck Dictionary books. R. David Boyd has been the exclusive illustrator for most of Foxworthy's books and album covers.

He also has released a cookbook entitled The Redneck Grill, co-authored with Newnan, Georgia, artist R. David Boyd, and "Redneck Extreme Mobile Home Makeover" (2005), a book with some of his redneck jokes.

Written works

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  • Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary: Words You Thought You Knew the Meaning Of (2005)
  • Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary II: More Words You Thought You Knew the Meaning Of (2006)
  • Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary III: Learning to Talk More Gooder Fastly (2007)
  • Rednecks in College

In February 2008, Foxworthy released his first children's book Dirt On My Shirt. This was followed by Silly Street in 2009 and Hide!!! in 2010, both of which were illustrated by Steve Bjorkman.

In May 2008, Foxworthy released How to Really Stink at Golf, with co-author Brian Hartt and illustrations by Layron DeJarnette. In May 2009, he released How to Really Stink at Work, A Guide to Making Yourself Fire-Proof While Having the Most Fun Possible. This book was also co-authored with Hartt and illustrations by DeJarnette.

Radio work

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In April 1999, Foxworthy began The Foxworthy Countdown, a nationally syndicated, weekly radio show, which featured the top 30 country hits of the week, as reported by Mediabase. In 2001, he received a Country Music Association nomination for "Broadcast Personality of the Year". The program's last broadcast, the 2009 year-end countdown, aired the weekend of December 27, 2009.[20] In 2006, Sirius Satellite Radio launched the Blue Collar Comedy channel, which featured stand-up comedy centered around the Blue Collar group. In 2015, now under the SiriusXM banner, the station rebranded as Jeff & Larry's Comedy Roundup, which featured similar programming to the previous channel with an enhanced focus on Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy.[21]

Foxworthy Outdoors

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In August 2011, Foxworthy launched Foxworthy Outdoors, a website carrying an assortment of Foxworthy-brand hunting and outdoors products. On the site, he also hosts a web series called Jeff Foxworthy: Inside & Out, featuring some of his friends as they document hunting trips, fishing outings, and land conservation on his Georgia farm.[22][23]

Other

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In 2017 Foxworthy created the card game Relative Insanity, a game similar to Cards Against Humanity with a family theme. Family Game Shelf praised the game, saying "it will have you laughing until your sides hurt".[24]

Foxworthy accepting a new jacket from 3rd Infantry Division Commander Army Maj. Gen. William G. Webster for his support

Personal life

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Foxworthy met his wife Pamela Gregg at the Punchline in Atlanta, Georgia, and they married on September 18, 1985.[25] They have two daughters, Jordan and Julianne.[26][27][28] He is a noted hunting enthusiast, beginning when he was a teen hunting on his father's farm property in Central Georgia.[citation needed]

Political positions

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Foxworthy's claims to be apolitical and has criticized the memes circulating on social media that appear to show him making jokes at the expense of liberals in his stand-up.[29][30] Despite this, he donated to the presidential campaign of George W. Bush, as well as the Republican National Committee in the 2000's.[31] In 2012, Foxworthy endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney,[32] and later stated that Donald Trump is "tapping into the American spirit".[33]

Discography

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Main article: Jeff Foxworthy discography

Foxworthy has released five comedy albums for Warner Bros. Records, as well as one for DreamWorks Records. One of his albums included the novelty Christmas song "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas", which reached No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs charts in late 1995 to early 1996.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie Himself
2005 Racing Stripes Reggie Voice role
2005 Ron White, Jeff Foxworthy & Bill Engvall: Live from Las Vegas! Himself Direct-to-video
2006 The Fox and the Hound 2 Lyle Voice role
2008 The Aviators Linberg Voice role
2010 I Am Comic Himself Documentary
2011 The Smurfs Handy Voice role
2013 The Smurfs 2 Handy Voice role
2013 Crackerjack Narrator
2013 Hatched Charlie Horse Voice role
2016 The Gate Narrator Short film
2016 Ozzy Grunt Voice role
2017 Bunyan and Babe Babe the Blue Ox Voice role
2024 The Garfield Movie Shocked bird Voice role

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Jeff Foxworthy: Check Your Neck Himself TV special
1993 Banner Time Jeff TV movie
1995 A.J.'s Time Travelers Thomas Jefferson "Thomas Jefferson"
1995–1997 The Jeff Foxworthy Show Himself series regular (41 episodes)
1996 Cybill Lyle Clocum "Pal Zoey"
1996 Funniest Comedy Duos Himself TV movie
1996 23rd Annual AMA Awards Himself (host) TV special
1997 The Larry Sanders Show Himself "Larry's New Love"
1997 ESPY Awards Himself (host) TV special
1998 Jeff Foxworthy: Totally Committed Himself TV special
2000–2003 Scruff Peter
2004 Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again Himself TV special
2004–2006 Blue Collar TV Various characters series regular (45 episodes)
2005 Reno 911! Fast Eddie McClintock (voice) "Fastest Criminal in Reno"
2005 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Himself "The Harper Family"
2005 Comedy Central Roast of Jeff Foxworthy Himself TV special
2005 2005 CMT Music Awards Himself (host) TV special
2006 Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road Himself TV special
2007 American Idol Himself (Season 6) "Finale"
2007–2015 Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Himself (host) series regular (111 episodes)
2008 Larry the Cable Guy's Star-Studded Christmas Extravaganze Himself TV special
2009 Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy Himself TV special
2009 Biography Himself "Larry the Cable Guy"
2010 Blue Collar Comedy: Ten Years of Funny Himself TV movie
2011 Shark Tank Himself (shark) 2 episodes: "#2.4", "#2.7"
2012 Phineas and Ferb Southern Meap (voice) "Meapless in Seattle"
2012 The American Bible Challenge Himself (host) series regular (27 episodes)
2013 Bounty Hunters Jeff series regular (13 episodes)
2013 The American Baking Competition Himself (host) 5 episodes
2016 Jeff Foxworthy & Larry the Cable Guy: We've Been Thinking Himself TV special
2018 Jay Leno's Garage Himself "Down and Dirty"
2019 Biography Himself "Jeff Foxworthy"
2019 Bring the Funny Himself (judge) 2 episodes
2020 Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? Himself (voice) "The Wedding Witch of Wainsly Hall!"
2020 What's It Worth? Himself 10 episodes
2022 The Good Old Days Himself Netflix Special

Writing credits

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Year Title Notes
1993 Jeff Foxworthy: Check Your Neck TV special
1996 Games Rednecks Play Short Film
1996–1997 The Jeff Foxworthy Show 3 episodes
— "Before You Say 'No' Just Hear Me Out" (1996)
— "One Wedding and a Baby" (1996)
— "The Briarton Syndrom" (1997)
1998 Jeff Foxworthy: Totally Committed TV special
2000 Bill Engvall's New All Stars of Country Comedy Vol. 1 Direct-to-Video
2003 Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie
2004 Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again TV special
2004–2006 Blue Collar TV Creator (44 episodes)
Writer (43 episodes)
2005 Ron White, Jeff Foxworthy & Bill Engvall: Live from Las Vegas! Direct-to-Video
2006 Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road TV special
2006 Foxworthy's Big Night Out "Kenny Rogers"
2012 Them Idiots Whirled Tour TV special

Producing credits

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Year Title Notes
1993 Jeff Foxworthy: Check Your Neck TV special (Executive Producer)
2004–2006 Blue Collar TV Executive Producer (45 episodes)
2007–2015 Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Executive Producer (12 episodes)
Producer (12 episodes)
2013 Crackerjack Executive Producer
2013 Bounty Hunters Executive Producer (13 episodes)
2016 Jeff Foxworthy & Larry the Cable Guy: We've Been Thinking TV special (Executive Producer)

Accolades

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Year Title Association / Category Results Ref
1990 — American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Stand-Up Comic Won
1994 Jeff Foxworthy: Check Your Neck CableACE Award for Stand-Up Comedy Special Nominated
1996 Games Rednecks Play Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album Nominated [34]
1996 The Jeff Foxworthy Show People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Series (tied with Drew Carey) Won
1997 Redneck Games Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals (shared with Alan Jackson) Nominated [34]
1999 Totally Committed Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album Nominated
2001 Big Funny Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album Nominated
2007 Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album (shared with Bill Engvall, Ron White & Larry the Cable Guy) Nominated
2010 Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show Nominated
2014 The American Bible Challenge Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Nominated
2014 The American Bible Challenge Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host Nominated

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d From Essex England to the Sunny Southern USA: A Harris Family Journey, Robert E. Harris, Genealogical Press, 1994, page 870.
  2. ^ "Jeff Foxworthy Biography (1958-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  3. ^ "Surname Database: Foxworthy Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database.
  4. ^ "Jeff Foxworthy: a Heart for the Underdog". All Pro Dad. February 8, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "Redneck Repartee". Gtalumni.org. Archived from the original on May 19, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  6. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "List of Grammy nominees - Jan. 4, 1996". CNN. January 4, 1996. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  8. ^ "Jeff Foxworthy Bio". Utopia Artists. June 12, 2000. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  9. ^ "Directory.distributeyourarticles.com". Archived from the original on October 12, 2013.
  10. ^ "Nl.newsbank.com". Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  11. ^ Pursell, Chris. "Foxworthy Signs on for Syndie '5th Grader'". In Depth. TVWeek. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  12. ^ "Fox.com". Archived from the original on February 9, 2015.
  13. ^ Video on YouTube
  14. ^ "ABC renews 'Shark Tank,' adds Jeff Foxworthy'". The Hollywood Reporter. August 9, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  15. ^ "Jeff Foxworthy to host 'The American Bible Challenge'". Washington Post. March 21, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  16. ^ Bibel, Sara (March 5, 2013). "Jeff Foxworthy to Host 'The American Baking Competition' premiering Wednesday May 29 on CBS". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  17. ^ Channel, Outdoor. "Outdoor Channel - Watch Videos Hunting". Outdoorchannel.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  18. ^ "Fallingblind.com". Archived from the original on August 10, 2014.
  19. ^ Otterson, Joe (February 1, 2019). "NBC Orders Comedy Competition Series With Jeff Foxworthy Among Judges". Variety.
  20. ^ "News | Sara Evans Soars to New Heights with 2001 CMA Nominations". BMI.com. August 28, 2001. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  21. ^ "Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy to launch 24/7 comedy channel exclusively on SiriusXM" (Press release). March 13, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  22. ^ "Comedian, Outdoorsman, Guy - Jeff Foxworthy". Foxworthyoutdoors.com.
  23. ^ "Watch the best outdoor shows for free on CarbonTV". CarbonTV. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  24. ^ "Relative Insanity Game Review". Family Game Shelf. October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  25. ^ "Family time comes first for comedian - Entertainment - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH". Dispatch.com. March 3, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  26. ^ "Jeff Foxworthy Leaves Daughters 'Mortified'". People.com.
  27. ^ "Jeff Foxworthy on Being a Dad". Atlantaparent.com. November 29, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  28. ^ "Comedy star Jeff Foxworthy depressed after losing one daughter, writes family book". www.miamiherald.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  29. ^ Hickman, Matt (August 21, 2019). "The Good Redneck: Jeff Foxworthy wonders what the hell happened to our country". The Anchorage Press. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  30. ^ "Comic Jeff Foxworthy Says All Those Right-Wing Memes That Quote Him Are Fake". HuffPost. March 2, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  31. ^ Dana, Rebecca (May 21, 2014). "Why Game Show Hosts Vote Republican". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  32. ^ Bingham, Amy (March 12, 2012). "Celebrity Endorsements: Jeff Foxworthy Backs Mitt Romney". ABC News. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  33. ^ Caterina, Peter (September 1, 2015). "Jeff Foxworthy On Donald Trump: He Is Tapping Into The American Spirit".
  34. ^ a b "Jeff Foxworthy". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2021.

References

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  • Gilbert, Calvin (1998). "Jeff Foxworthy". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 180–1.
[edit]
Preceded by
None
 Host of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader
2007-2011, 2015 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Foxworthy&oldid=1234702930"