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A Tribute to Jeff Foxworthy
Jeff Foxworthy
Stand-up Comedian, Stand-up Guy.
By
Michael Garee
Most people know Jeff Foxworthy as a famous stand-up comedian (in addition to being an actor, TV celebrity, producer and writer and much, much more). What many people may not know, however, is that Jeff Foxworthy is also very much a “stand-up” guy, a man whose word you can depend on. Let me tell you about my recent experiences with my fellow Atlantan.
As my first published book, 200 Sure-Fire, Lead-Pipe-Cinch, No-Question-About-It Ways to Tell If . . . You Might Be Getting OLD!, was literally coming off the presses, I contacted Jeff Foxworthy to see if he would review it for me. As anyone who visits this site knows, since my book was so strongly influenced by his You Might Be a Redneck If series of books, I dedicated my book to him. I of course thought it would be great if I could get him to review my book and let me know what he thought of it.
Even though Jeff is from and still lives in the Atlanta Metro area (actually, about a half hour from where I live), for obvious reasons, no local address or other contact information is publicly available for him. Taking a long shot, then, I decided to try and contact him through his New York City publisher. At the time I figured I had about a snowball’s chance in you-know-where of him actually receiving my letter, let alone of his responding to it. Oh, me of little faith.
About three months later—literally out of the blue—I received a personal letter from Jeff saying he would be happy to take a look at my new book and let me know if I should quit my “day job,” even though I am now retired, at least from “the real world.” He asked me to send him a copy at his local address as soon as it was published.
I was of course very grateful to receive a personal response from Jeff, but at the same time, I must admit, I was nearly floored too! Here was a man—a famous celebrity—who stays about as busy as one can imagine, but he still took the time to write me, a longtime fan, completely unknown to him, a personal letter. Amazing!
As requested, I sent a copy of my new book to Foxworthy shortly after it was published, and true to his word, within a relatively short time, Foxworthy responded with a personal note.
Now get this. Jeff began his note with, “Sorry for the delay”! Here is a man who currently is working on two new books, creating a new animated series, helping a friend with a new movie, opening new restaurants, is heavily involved in charity work with Duke University Children’s Hospital in Durham, NC, which treats children with cancer, and hosts the popular TV series “Smarter than a 5th grader,” and he apologizes to me for making me “wait” for his review of my book!
Again, amazing!
How did Jeff like my book?
He said it made him “laugh out loud, though too many of (the one-liners in my book) hit way too close to home,” since he just turned 50 himself this year.
I’ve been a fan of Jeff Foxworthy’s comedy, and especially his “Redneck” books and other publications for many, many years, and I’ve always thought of him as decent, family-oriented guy. Heck, a guy I would like to have a beer with (if I still drank!). But of course I was also aware that that could merely have been the persona he carefully cultivated. Now I know for certain that, not only is he a “class act,” he’s also a “class guy.”
In this day and age when celebrities daily make fools and asses of themselves with their outrageous lifestyles and bizarre behaviors, it’s refreshing to know that a celebrity like Jeff Foxworthy still takes his work seriously, but never himself, that he is still approachable by his fans and admirers.
Jeff Foxworthy: a stand-up comedian—and a great and very talented one—yes, but also very much a real stand-up guy too!
“I will forever be indebted to Jeff for the kindness and generosity he showed me, a fledgling senior author.” — Michael Garee
Some Legal Stuff
You should NOT get the idea in any shape, form or fashion that my featuring this tribute to Jeff Foxworthy suggests in any way that he "endorses" my book. He doesn't (or at least he hasn't yet!).
I feature this tribute to him, well, to pay him TRIBUTE because he showed this old man (who was inspired by his "Redneck" books and other publications to write a humor book) extraordinary kindness and graciousness in agreeing to review my book and then to say kind things about it.
That's all, folks!
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