Comedian, TV star and author Jeff Foxworthy visited Utah a few weeks ago to do some downhill skiing.
"The plane landed and I looked at the mountains and thought, `Oh, oh, there must have been a lot of sun this spring.' And I was right. We went skiing up in Park City and got slushed."Foxworthy will return to Salt Lake City on Friday, May 9, to do a full night of stand-up comedy at the Huntsman Center. The laughter begins at 8 p.m.
The Atlanta, Ga., native said if he had to choose between any of his career branches, he'd stick to live performances. "It's always been my favorite," the comedian said during a phone call from his present home in Los Angeles. "I do enjoy the TV show, though, because I get to collaborate with 12 other writers and other people get the laughs. With my books, my records and all that I have always been on my own. So it's nice to work with other people.
"But I really can't imagine not doing stand-up," Foxworthy said in a subtle Southern drawl. "I have as much fun as the audience. It's also a nice break from the TV show," which usually airs Mondays at 7 p.m. on NBC.
But, Foxworthy added, "there are advantages in doing TV. You get tired of living on airplanes and airports (when touring). And I get to spend time with my wife and two kids."
The man who made "rednecks" the centerpiece of a comedy routine said his material basically comes from what's going on around him and from people he knows.
"I think that's been my secret," Foxworthy said. "I have found that if I keep the jokes closer to the truth, they work better. And I feel more comfortable talking about things I know. I wanted to talk about my life.
"But I found out how universal some of the material can get," Foxworthy said with a chuckle. "I've had hundreds of people come up to me after a show and say, `Oh, my gosh. You've been in my house.' "
Then again, Foxworthy doesn't just poke fun at rednecks. He takes on the world. He made fun of his generation, commonly known as the baby boomers, in his book "You're Not a Kid Anymore. . . ."
"My stand-up show is two hours long," he said. "And only about five minutes is dedicated to redneck jokes. My wife says that's what draws the crowd, but its the other things that keeps people coming back."
It's been almost 12 years since Foxworthy hung up his day job at IBM to do stand-up. And he doesn't regret the move a bit.
"I've always done comedy," he said. "I've been doing it since I was in first grade. I've always enjoyed making people laugh. The people who grew up with me are not surprised and there have been some twists. I had a former principal come backstage after a show and he said, `I can't believe I'm paying money to see you do the things that used to land you in my office every week.' "
Foxworthy said he relates more to the clean family humor of Bill Cosby than to the rebel tongues of George Carlin, Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler.
"Bill is my biggest influence," Foxworthy said without hesitation. "We find similar things that are funny - family, wives and kids. And I like the way he did jokes without becoming dirty. It takes creative effort to say something with out saying too much, if you know what I mean."
His sitcom, "The Jeff Foxworthy Show," just finished its first season on NBC. (ABC originally ran the show but dropped it two years ago). So he has time to take a comedy tour.
"We're in limbo right now with the show," he said. "If NBC wants to renew it, we'll know in August. If that's what's supposed to happen, I'll finish up the touring for the year. If, by any chance, the show doesn't get picked up again, I can always return to the thing I love - stand-up."