Jeff Dunham

Even though he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson’s couch way back in 1990, ventriloquist and standup comedian Jeff Dunham didn’t truly break through until 2006 when his first special aired on the Comedy Central network. Born in 1962 in Dallas, TX, Dunham’s 1990 Tonight Show appearance coincided with a role on the television special Jonathan Winters and His Traveling Road Show. He then spent years on the road, averaging 250 dates a year, - and made talk show appearances on Ellen, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Tonight Show, but this time with Jay Leno as host. By 2004, his act had evolved into a rebellion against political correctness so an appearance on the Blue Collar TV show was well timed. Dunham and his grumpy old man puppet Walter were a huge hit on the show, drawing the attention of the Comedy Central network, who gave the ventriloquist his own hour-long special in 2006. Titled Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, the special earned a Platinum sales award when it was issued on DVD that same year. A year later ,the special Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity introduced the controversial character Achmed the Dead Terrorist, a skeleton with a turban plus the catchphrase “I Keel You!”. A hit with the ventriloquist’s ever-growing audience, Achmed was back for 2008′s Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special which, by the end of the year, would become Dunham’s third DVD to sell over a million copies. At the same time, the CD Don't Come Home for Christmas landed with Walter singing “I Hate Christmas” while Achmed offered “Jingle Bombs”. In 2009, Dunham signed a deal with Comedy Central network to produce his own television series. ~ David Jeffries