Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Jeff Foxworthy was one of the biggest names in
comedy!
Jeff made a name for himself appealing to the blue-collar crowd, and some of his most
notable work during the time period saw him performing with similarly minded comedians
via the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.
Jeff Foxworthy still performs comedy today, and also works in television occasionally.
However, he isn’t seen quite as much as he used to be due both to the fact that his
popularity has waned and to the fact that he has been devoting himself to endeavors
outside of the entertainment industry.
Join Facts Verse as we explore how Jeff Foxworthy works these weird jobs when he’s not on
TV.
Jeff Foxworthy Isn’t as Famous as He Used to Be
Jeff Foxworthy used to be one of the most ubiquitous faces in the entertainment industry,
but you don’t see the comedian all that much anymore.
During the height of his success, Jeff joined the superstar ranks of such previous comedians
as Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby.
Much of Jeff’s success in the entertainment industry during the time period in which he
was at his peak level of exposure came as a result of his work with the Blue Collar
Comedy Tour.
The Blue Collar Comedy Tour was a comedy troupe consisting of Jeff Foxworthy and three other
comedians that appealed to a similar demographic.
Those three comedians were Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy, and Ron White.
In 2003, the troupe released a theatrical movie, appropriately dubbed Blue Collar Comedy
Tour: The Movie.
The release of this film arguably represented the peak of all four comedians’ success.
In 2004, they premiered a sketch series by the name of Blue Collar TV on The WB, with
the show getting a mixed reception and only going on to last for two seasons.
In 2007, Jeff Foxworthy started up a gig hosting the popular game show Are You Smarter Than
a Fifth Grader?
Jeff performed his role as host of the series until 2015.
During that time period, Jeff also lent his voice for one season to an animated series
on CMT, which went by the name of Bounty Hunters.
The show premiered in 2013 and only lasted for one season.
It also featured the voices of former Blue Collar Comedy Tour members Larry the Cable
Guy and Bill Engvall, with all three of the veteran comedians voicing caricatures of themselves
that decided to become bounty hunters.
Following this poorly received animated series and the subsequent end of Are You Smarter
Than a Fifth Grader?, not much has been seen from Jeff Foxworthy.
Jeff Has Been Working for the Lord One of the reasons that Jeff Foxworthy hasn’t
been seen so much on television lately is because he’s been busy with endeavors outside
of the entertainment industry.
In the mid-2000s, around the same time that he started up his gig hosting Are You Smarter
Than a Fifth Grader?, Jeff also became involved with the Atlanta Mission as a bible teacher.
As the name of the organization suggests, the Atlanta Mission is an organization that
reaches out to the homeless population of Atlanta, Georgia.
According to Jeff, he was asked to become a teacher with the organization almost out
of the blue, and he was initially hesitant to take on the role.
However, he has always been a man of faith and ended up feeling that he was chosen for
the job for a reason.
As of a few years ago, it seems that Jeff Foxworthy has been continuing his work with
the Atlanta Mission.
The classes that Jeff started out teaching with the organization saw him preaching to
a small group of homeless men, and Jeff seems to have done some of the men some good!
Jeff has reminisced about how one of the first men he encountered during his time working
with the organization was a homeless 21-year-old that had developed a substance-abuse habit
after the separate suicides of several close family members.
According to Jeff, the comedian got to experience over the course of several years how this
homeless young man turned his life around and got a nursing degree.
Today, the young man has been sober for many years, and it’s all thanks to Jeff Foxworthy!
Jeff Foxworthy’s confidence grew after teaching a few classes.
Now, it seems that he’s such a great bible teacher that he can fill up entire auditoriums!
However, Jeff’s bible classes aren’t the only things that the man has been doing to
prove his faith.
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Jeff Works with Compassion International In addition to Jeff Foxworthy’s work with
the Atlanta Mission, the comedian also works closely with the child-sponsorship organization
Compassion International.
Beyond being a child sponsor himself, Jeff also works with the organization to help spread
the word about all the good that can be done through the practice.
Jeff’s work with the organization has even seen him visiting Rwanda and seeing first-hand
the effects that child sponsorship seems to have on the population there.
According to Jeff, sponsoring a child doesn’t only affect the child themselves, but that
child’s entire family.
Much of Jeff’s work with Compassion International has seen him utilizing his public speaking
skills, much the same way that he has done with the Atlanta Mission.
However, his work with the Atlanta Mission sees him trying to get people to help themselves,
while his work with Compassion International sees him trying to get people to help others.
Jeff is certainly just as passionate about spreading the word of the Lord as he is about
comedy, and he seems to be doing some good!
Beyond the altruistic deeds that we’ve already explored, insurance company Aflac also honored
Jeff Foxworthy for his contributions to putting an end to child cancer in 2015.
Jeff Tried to Open Up Two Separate Restaurant Chains
Jeff Foxworthy has also made several bids over the course of his career to become an
entrepreneur.
Sadly, none of these bids seem to have turned out nearly as successful as his other endeavors.
In 1998, towards the beginning of Jeff’s superstar period, the comedian entered into
a deal with some people in the food industry to start up not only a line of barbecue sauces
and salsas, but also two separate chains of restaurants!
One of these restaurant chains was intended to be classier, while the other was intended
to be more casual.
In line with Jeff’s blue-collar theming, however, both were centered on serving barbecue
at low prices.
The classier of Jeff Foxworthy’s two restaurant-chain concepts was deemed the Foxworthy Smoke House
Grill, while the more casual of the two was deemed the Foxworthy Backyard Bar-B-Q.
One of the men in the food industry that Jeff had made his deal with was also partially
responsible for the creation of Kenny Rogers Roasters.
For those that don’t know, Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken restaurants
named after country-music legend Kenny Rogers.
The chain was founded in 1991, and even centered into the plot of a memorable episode of Seinfeld!
Sadly, most who see this Seinfeld episode today likely think that Kenny Rogers Roasters
was made up just for the occasion.
However, it wasn’t, and there are still a few Kenny Rogers Roasters locations operating.
Sadly, the same can’t be said for either of Jeff Foxworthy’s two intended restaurant
chains.
While Jeff Foxworthy’s two restaurant concepts didn’t prove successful, the comedian’s
deal with the aforementioned people in the food industry did lead to the release of a
line of barbecue sauces.
These were made available to consumers in the late 1990s via Wal-Mart and similar budget
stores.
Jeff’s barbecue sauce came in a variety of flavors and was sold for a number of years,
but doesn’t seem to be available anymore today.
If you can find a bottle, you’re likely holding onto one of the last vestiges of Jeff
Foxworthy’s unsuccessful venture into the world of food.
Still, the comedian is a barbecue connoisseur that often brags about having eaten barbecue
in all 50 American states.
What Else Has Jeff Foxworthy Been Up To?
After Jeff’s attempt to become an entrepreneur in the world of food, the comedian also ventured
into the world of outdoor supplies in the 2010s.
If his blue-collar reputation wasn’t enough to make a name for himself in the world of
barbecue, he felt that he might still be able to make an impression in the outdoors market.
Jeff Foxworthy founded Foxworthy Outdoors in 2011, with the company’s intention being
to distribute a number of outdoor products with theming related to the comedian himself.
It’s uncertain how successful this operation was, but going to the company’s website
now only links to Jeff Foxworthy’s main page, which makes no mention of his entrepreneurial
endeavors.
Though Jeff Foxworthy no longer performs with the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, he does still
tour himself.
In fact, it seems that the comedian has a number of shows booked through the remainder
of 2022 and into 2023.
After all these years, Jeff is certainly still welcome in the world of comedy, even if he
isn’t quite the superstar that he was during the peak of his success.
While the comedian is still currently performing on the stage, he hasn’t appeared on television
since lending his voice to a 2020 episode of the animated series Scooby-Doo and Guess
Who?
The title of the series stemmed from the fact that a different
celebrity always joined the Scooby-Doo gang during their adventures in each episode, with
Jeff Foxworthy being one of the celebrities.
When superstar comedian Jeff Foxworthy isn’t on television, he can be found teaching bible
classes to the homeless, advocating for the practice of child sponsorship, working to
cure cancer, and failing at becoming an entrepreneur.
Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Jeff Foxworthy tried to open up
two separate chain restaurants during the late 1990s and that the comedian has apparently
been teaching bible classes for over a decade?
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