To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Comedy Central, they want people that will create ratings for them, and I have some great records there, and I think I might not be their first choice in brand of entertainment, but I think they have some executives in there now who recognize that numbers are numbers, and it doesn't matter where those numbers are coming from. Stand-up comedian Jeff Dunham is known for his hilarious characters Walter, Peanut, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, and Jos Jalapeo on a Stick. A few Guinness Book of World Records set for good measure. [11] Dunham's manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. [citation needed], In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. So, it's not like I have a Biden dummy, it's Walter saying, "I'm going to look like Biden, because everybody for years has said I looked like Biden." He's been married for several decades, and when Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" http://smarturl.it/BesideHimselfStream my comedy special, \"Jeff Dunham: Relative Disaster\" on Netflix! Jeff Dunham. Ventriloquist and comic Jeff Dunham takes to the stage to provide fresh comedic material with his classic puppets Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeo and Achmed, as well as with two never-before . You go to see a rock band, there's a couple of hits that they better play, or you're gonna be upset. "[45] Unlike Bubba J, he hates NASCAR. [42] His autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in 2010. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist. His first onscreen appearance was in the 1989 television program A&E's An Evening at The Improv. The technical thing that I pat myself on the back for is this new guy, he actually has a phone, and during the show, while I'm talking to him, he's typing on the phone. When Dunham says that Achmed must be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." Jeff Dunham: Years ago, this was back in 2015, I came up with the idea of having an internet troll. Dunham has been named Billboards Top Comedy Tour three years in a row, cited by Forbes as the third highest paid comedian behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, and has been profiled in virtually every publication, platform and late night variety show, including The Los Angeles Times, ABCs Nightline, Variety, The New York Times, People, The Today Show, The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman. Screen Rant: You've worked with Comedy Central for quite a while now. Jeff Dunham discusses his latest stand-up special, "Me the People," navigating the modern world of cancel culture, crafting a new character, and more. So, I used that same design, altered it a little bit, so he's not sole troll like, and he became this younger guy that looks a little bit like a troll. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bree. He has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. [45] Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba appears as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos. Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Do you think the bestJeff Dunham character isn't as high as it should be? By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. {{Information |Description=Jeff Dunham at the comedy night sponsored by Image Entertainment. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. Send all your fan mail to: fanmail@jeffdunham.com, Matthew Blake Creative Artists Agency Matt.BlakeAsst@caa.com 424-288-2000, If you need to make an inquiry about merchandise from the Official Jeff Dunham Store, please email: storehelp@jeffdunham.com, Judi MarmelLevity Entertainment GroupRobert HartmannLevity Entertainment GroupFor management inquiries please email:jeffdunhamtourinfo@gmail.com. Jeff Dunham is back with another hilarious special in Me the People. 224 Walter The Puppet Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 224 Walter The Puppet Premium High Res Photos Browse 224 walter the puppet photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. Dunham also establishes Seamus as a fan of United States President Donald Trump in order to poke fun at Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the 2016 United States presidential election. Dunham has assembled some of his most iconic characters for Me the People, including Walter . or "What are the top Jeff Dunham performances of all time?" [19] It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". Jeff Dunham: Beside Himself: Directed by Troy Miller. There we go! But they didn't do it the way that comedians today do it. [57] On October 12, 2012, the couple married. They sometimes do marathons on the day of my special, where it's just all me all day long, and a bunch of my specials, which is great. "[Screams]! We're talking about every puppet from Walter to Peanut. This image is a derivative work of the following images: Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. The Best Jeff Dunham Characters - Ranker Dunham received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during this tour. [43], Peanut is a hyperactive,[1] purple-skinned "woozle"[44] with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered Achmed Saves America, an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist. I think by the time you're, you know, if you're offending 60 percent of your audience, then clearly you don't care about your own future, and you don't care about the audience. Walter has appeared in all four Comedy Central specials. Read More Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, right, and his puppet character Walter are interviewed after Dunham received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, in Los Angeles. [I go] back all the way to comedians like Will Rogers, Bob Hope, and Carson and Leno, where they made fun of whoever was in office and whatever was going on. That was for the NBC special, and I never did it, and then when this special was coming along, I thought, "I gotta go back to that internet troll idea," then I thought, "Wait a second," because everybody was dealing with the phone thing, I thought, "Okay, he's gonna be troll looking like." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn",[11] and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. |Source=*, Flash did not fire, compulsory flash suppression. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and he has been described as "the bad kid". Jeff Dunham: Me the People premieres on Comedy Central on November 25 at 8 p.m. CST. Walter appeared in every Comedy Central special. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents. [45] Although Jos was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. The Best Jeff Dunham Puppets & Characters, This is a list of Jeff Dunham characters and puppets, ranked from best to worst along with clips when available. Can we expect to see him back for this one, or is he sitting out this special? I love that the new special tackles a lot of modern culture, in terms of comedy and politics. He is also one of the most popular puppets alongside Peanut and Achmed. Now that Biden is in office, I think he's fair game, and I have the luxury of having had a lot of time on stage, and a lot of fans have grown with me, so I have a really loyal fan base, and they know what they're getting. [11] He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and made his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. He's been married for several decades. "Achmed the dead terrorist and humor in popular geopolitics" by Darren Purcell, Melissa Scott Brown and Mahmut Gokmen, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Jeff Dunham throws his voice into stardom", "Jeff Dunham and Friends have found a Home at Comedy Central signing a Multi-Platform Deal to Encompass all Areas of Entertainment", "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour", "Kevin Hart Is On Track for the Biggest Comedy Tour of All Time", "Clip of Dunham from an episode of the CMT TV series, Jeff Dunham. Be the first to find out about upcoming shows, new Jeff Dunham gear and more! Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicon mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. |Source=*, Flash did not fire, compulsory flash suppression. King. I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'", he added. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.[29]. Jeff Dunham - IMDb Jeff Dunham, the only child of a real estate appraiser and homemaker, raised in a Dallas suburb, at the age of 9 received a toy ventriloquist dummy for Christmas, began to practice, and started dreaming of characters who could say what nobody else would dare. And Jos hopped the border into the U.S., only to find out his parents were born in Los Angeles, but gave birth to him while vacationing in Mexico. [1], Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager,[10] in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. His NBC primetime special, Unhinged, ranked as the time periods top non-sports program on the Big 4, rebroadcast six weeks later on Comedy Central to become its top rated special of 2016. PHOTOS: Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham's cast of characters Despite being an infant, he is a belligerent heavy drinker, traits with which Dunham pokes fun at Irish stereotypes. [1], Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate. [1] It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. In the film, which depicts the mishap that led to the character's skeletonization, Achmed finds himself in an American town called Americaville, which he plots to blow up, before developing an affinity for American culture.[27][28]. Walter's response to Jeff telling him that women in Iceland have a life expectancy of ninety to a hundred years? ", "Saddam's mustard gas was nothing compared to a Walter fart! It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. Okay, so he cant count, but Bubba J is very proud of his redneck heritage. "That's good, that's good, that's GOOOOOODD!". The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. [1] Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. Famed ventriloquist Jeff Dunham has mastered this skill, and his appearances with characters like Peanut, Walter and Achmed the Dead Terrorist have earned him legions of fans. [27][28], Dunham's seventh special, Unhinged in Hollywood, premiered on September 17, 2015. [21][22], Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sitcom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. PHOTOS: Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham's cast of characters . Jeff Dunham: We almost always, with Comedy Central, has been something that [the plan is we] come out in the fall, because they embrace that. Grant Hermanns is a News Editor, Interviewer and Hiring Manager for Screen Rant, having joined the team in early 2021. Walter is a squinty-eyed, "get off my lawn"-type old man who continually grouses about his wife. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. You mention the live videos showing how you put it together, but what was going through your mind in designing the look of Url? Bubba J likes to say that he has two loves: his country, his beer, and NASCAR. What first started out as just Jeff and the puppet, Achmed, is now a set of at least six puppets. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. He revealed on "Windy City LIVE" that there's a. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club. 2. . [5] Forbes ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock[4] and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. tour to Tucson Arena", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Dunham&oldid=1146118504, Articles with dead YouTube links from February 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected biographies of living people, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2014, Articles needing additional references from October 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Australia, United States, Canada, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, South Africa, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, France, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Israel, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore. Director: Manny Rodriguez | Star: Jeff Dunham. ", complete with hand motions to indicate that a joke went over someone's head. To say he's a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he's not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog. [11] During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks[1] as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes. Whether the cranky old man Walter, who doubled as Wonald Grump and Ben Hiden during the last election, the hyperactive and crazy Peanut, the self-explanatory Jose the Jalapeno on a Stick, the redneck clich NASCAR-loving Bubba J, the utterly befuddled Achmed the Dead Terrorist, and Url, the basement dwelling social media smart-phone addict , Dunham allows each to speak their mind, regardless of how much they embarrass their co-star in the process. According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". [15] This concerned his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. He says he is afraid of Walter, partially because he's "one mean son of a bitch" and finds Walter's flatulence to be more potent than Saddam Hussein's mustard gas. I love it. Peanut is the sidekick of comedian / ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. File:Walter (Jeff Dunham Character, 2007).jpg - Wikipedia He speaks with a British accent because he was raised in Britain after the accident. {{Information |Description=Jeff Dunham at the comedy night sponsored by Image Entertainment. Jeff dunham Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicone mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. With this one, the two, Walter isn't Biden, but he pretends he's Biden. He achieved the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide. He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing an outgoing variety act. How Many of These Jeff Dunham Characters Can You Recall? Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Jeff_Dunham_and_Walter_(2007).jpg: Cameron Yee derivative work: User:Zscout370 (Return fire) This is a retouched picture , which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to speak much during his appearance. So that's the new character, but he breaks character, and he and I have conversations, and I did that, so he could still be Walter, but then he pretends to be Biden, which is stupid fun. All structured data from the file namespace is available under the. Jeff lightly shakes him to give the feeling of jitteriness. He's been married for several decades. 4.0 out of 5 stars Authentic Looking Walter Character , Could Use Battery Box Instructions. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" Achmed was, of course, one of the ones that got me hooked on you in the first place. The ONLY official place to purchase tickets is Jeffdunham.com & Ticketmaster. He nevertheless "supports" the president. The characters are ordered by the number of votes from funny folks like you, so only the greatest roles played by Jeff Dunham are at the top of the list. . Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. Walter has appeared in all four Comedy Central specials. ", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Jos is a calming force among the suitcase gang, maybe because hes always tired. [5][20] Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows. [11], Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. Jeff Dunham Is Walter's Hero! - YouTube [11] He performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. [39][40][41], In 2003, Dunham released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. In Jeff Dunhams 11th brand new and highly anticipated standup special, the ventriloquist/comedian superstar and his eccentric ensemble take on the current state of the nation as they skewer everything from todays youth, to cancel culture. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and has appeared in every Dunham special since then. Jeff Dunham at the comedy night sponsored by Image Entertainment. Then the actual new new character, I try and create things that people can relate to and respond to, and we all are stuck on our smart devices a little too much of the time. [60], In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a 6-foot-tall (1.8m) mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008. Usually what a guy or a woman does is pick a side, starts picking on that other side, and it turns nasty, and then sometimes the comedy show turns into more of a pep rally, and the jokes are gone. The new guy (an idiot trying to practice) is the reason why he's a skeleton. Walters interactions with Darci Lynne are probably the kindest he's ever been to anyone in his life. if he happens to see, He, like Peanut, is also aware that Jeff is a Ventriloquist and he is a puppet. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever. [11] He would also fly around the country on weekends,[1] doing up to 100 private shows a year,[11] entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. While Jeff and the crew are in Abu Dhabi, Walter sees the Arab audience and promptly panics before telling Jeff to not bring out Achmed. After graduating from Baylor University in 1986,[13] he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and Jos Jalapeo, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true comedian because he relied on props. They know they're not going to come in and hear something completely horrible. [Chuckles] But I don't do that, I've always said, and as you probably were hinting at, I've always said that if you're offending a tiny percentage, maybe three 3-5 percent of the audience, that you're probably on the right track, because whatever it is that those people are upset about is what everybody else is laughing the hardest at. With 3.6 million YouTube subscribers and 11 million Facebook followers, he has amassed over a billion views and sold over seven million DVDs. "Neeeee-yooooooow! He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. jeff dunham, jeff dunham walter, bones funny - Pinterest Jeff Dunham is back with another hilarious special in Me the People. He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice. 224 Walter The Puppet Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images [11], That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. Luckily for Dunhamand the millions of fans who continue to be entertained by his suitcase posse worldwidethose early wooden characters were a hint of the spectacular career to come. Sold-out global concert tours. [4] One of these was a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter. Jos knew that hope lay just beyond the U.S.- Mexico border, so he began to hop north. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. [25][26] His sixth special, All Over the Map, which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014.