Jeff Dunham

[Moviefan2k4]

The only thread I saw about him was 12 years old, so here's a new one.

I first saw Jeff on TV, in the early 1990s. He did an episode of a Showtime series called A Pair of Jokers, and his co-act that night was Rondell Sheridan. Anyway, that performance introduced me to many of Jeff's now-iconic characters, such as Peanut the Woozle, Walter, and José Jalapeño (others like Bubba J and Achmed the Dead Terrorist would be invented many years later). I also read his 2010 biography, All By My Selves, humorously written in an external perspective with his characters commenting on his own life experiences.

Personally, Jeff has been married twice: first to Paige Brown, with whom he has three daughters, and more recently to Audrey Murdick, mother to his twin sons. Aside from his stage act and family, Jeff also restores antique ventriloquist dummies, builds his own homemade helicopters, and even owns the Batmobile from Tim Burton's original 1989 movie. Here's some clips of his work - I hope you like them.

 

[HellRod]

Ok?

 

[The Ghoul Next Door]

@Moviefan2k4 ,

Why do threads you start always read like Wikipedia articles? It never feels like you want to start a discussion, but rather just dump some information. If you want to just have a blog about your favourite entertainers, then, well, start a blog. If you just want to post videos about someone, then put them in the official video thread. They don’t need a thread of their own.

I’ll leave this open in case anyone wants to talk about this person… and if they don’t, the thread will just die a natural death. But please stop doing this.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

@Moviefan2k4 ,

Why do threads you start always read like Wikipedia articles? It never feels like you want to start a discussion, but rather just dump some information. If you want to just have a blog about your favourite entertainers, then, well, start a blog. If you just want to post videos about someone, then put them in the official video thread. They don’t need a thread of their own.

I’ll leave this open in case anyone wants to talk about this person… and if they don’t, the thread will just die a natural death. But please stop doing this.

I don't deny borrowing some elements of my posts from other sources, Wikipedia being just one of them. And contrary to popular belief, I'm all for discussion - I just don't like it becoming circular and filled with insults or false assumptions. As for a personal blog, I already have my YouTube channel; some of my own content I've posted in various on-site threads.

 

[The Ghoul Next Door]

I'm all for discussion

Good to hear. Then try to write your opening post like you're starting a conversation, rather than like you're writing an entry for an encyclopedia.

As for a personal blog, I already have my YouTube channel

Then if you want to infodump a performer's history, maybe that should be the place to do it.

some of my own content I've posted in various on-site threads.

Yes, I've seen. I've given you the benefit of the doubt so far, but if it looks like you're constantly plugging your YouTube content here, then that also becomes problematic.

Anyhow, I've asked nicely for you to please adjust how you're posting new threads, so please keep it in mind for the future.

And now back to the topic at hand.

 

[Marc]

Seen him live, very funny except for his transgender character and jokes.

they verge on transphobia and need to go.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Seen him live, very funny except for his transgender character and jokes.

they verge on transphobia and need to go.

I haven't seen him do any blatantly transphobic jokes, but he's openly admitted that his general style is aimed at making fun of everyone: Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, blacks, whites, Asians, Native Americans, the rich, the poor, conservatives, liberals, etc. He's repeatedly said that he doesn't aim to purposely insult a lot of people, because doing so would alienate half his audience. But if you watch the last video from the first post, he's explaining that its a comedian's job to understand the line of acceptability, and then push that boundary just a little further.

 

[Dr. San Guinary]

What always gets me about Jeff Dunham is that he's supposedly the most popular stand-up comedian, by far, in Saudi Arabia.

Really? A guy who has a bit called "Achmed the Dead Terrorist" is popular AT ALL down there?

 

[Moviefan2k4]

What always gets me about Jeff Dunham is that he's supposedly the most popular stand-up comedian, by far, in Saudi Arabia.

Really? A guy who has a bit called "Achmed the Dead Terrorist" is popular AT ALL down there?

At the very least, it proves the folks in that country aren't afraid to laugh at themselves.

Interestingly enough, Jeff originally thought up the idea of a terrorist character, very shortly after 9/11. The world was so full of chaos then, and it seemed that everyone kept asking, "Where is Osama bin Laden?" So at a certain point, Jeff thought to himself, "He's in my trunk with all my other friends." Here's a video from around that time, showing the origins of what would become Achmed.