For half a decade, a comedic quartet dominated the comedy sphere via a thoroughly unexpected — and hugely successful — tour.
That was the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which combined the talents of Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White, and in the process birthed a tour popular enough to run for three straight years. It also led to a massive surge in fans for each of the participating funnymen, each of whom leaned on relatable, working-man humor to connect with audiences.
And connect it did. Each of the leading lineup had enjoyed varyingly successful careers before, but the Blue Collar Comedy Tour rocketed them back to their former relevance and then soared past it, providing them with the height of their careers while each of the men was in their mid-40s.
Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, in particular, rode that success to great heights, going on — following the tour’s conclusion — to secure book deals, voice acting gigs, and hosting positions. For a few years there, they were absolutely everywhere, then they abruptly vanished. Larry the Cable Guy’s voice still graces a release or two, even two decades out from that Blue Collar career high, but Foxworthy seemingly vanished from the spotlight over night.
What happened to Jeff Foxworthy?
Nothing nefarious has been keeping Foxworthy off our screens in recent years, and in fact the comedian’s career hasn’t slowed down as much as some fans may think. He’s certainly not as popular as he was during and directly after the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, but Foxworthy’s a performer through and through. He still contributes to plenty of projects, just in a more limited capacity.
Foxworthy, along with all of his Blue Collar brothers, is now in his 60s. It’s about time his career slowed down, and the man took some well-deserved time to himself. That’s a major culprit behind his faded relevance in recent years, as Foxworthy enjoys a more low-key life than he ever experienced at the height of his fame.
But, as noted above, that doesn’t mean he’s stopped working. Following the Blue Collar Comedy Tour’s conclusion, Foxworthy went on to publish a full 11 separate books, including two children’s books, between 2005 and 2010. That’s on top of two books he published between 1989 and 1996, one of which was a cookbook leaning into the same redneck persona that made him so popular.
Foxworthy, like Larry the Cable Guy, also enjoyed a solid career in voice acting — and occasionally regular acting — following the tour’s success, appearing between 2005 and 2022 in more than 30 projects. These include children’s releases like The Smurfs and its sequel, alongside comedy cameos, hosting gigs, roasts, and various guest appearances.
Foxworthy most recently appeared in a television project in 2022, when Netflix’s The Good Old Days was released. That wasn’t the end of his public appearances, either. The 65-year-old is prepped to reclaim the spotlight in 2024 with his appearance at the the Eastern Idaho State Fair, which added him to its lineup of performers in early May.
Foxworthy is scheduled to appear at the multi-day event alongside a slew of talented performers, including musicians Craig Morgan, Matt Stell, and Journey — yes, the real Journey — and a handful of hugely talented rodeo athletes. Tickets for the fair open for the public on May 15 at 10am, and can be purchased through the fair’s official website.