Comedian Jeff Dunham proves he is no dummy
One man, eight different personalities... yet he still claims sanity
Bryant West
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Detour
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"I just wish everyone would sit back, eat a piece of fruit, and just laugh at each other," said Dunham, "Does that make me the Pageant person who is just asking for world peace?"
The 47 year old comedian, who made a name for himself with three separate specials on Comedy Central, now has his own television series, The Jeff Dunham Show, which was the most watched premiere in Comedy Central history. Dunham, who has been practicing ventriloquism for over 30 years, has seven well known characters-Walter, a grumpy old geezer; Peanut, a purple Muppet look-a-like with a bad kid attitude; Bubba J, a beer drinking redneck; José Jalapeño on a Stick, a talking pepper with a sombrero (on a stick); Sweet Daddy Dee, an African American pimp/manager; Melvin, a superhero; and Achmed the Dead Terrorist, a incompetent suicide bomber. Dunham shares that he has a trunk full of failed characters which he calls his "What the hell was I thinking?" trunk.
Dunham's career started when he eight, when he first starting learning ventriloquism. "I didn't have any brothers or sisters telling me 'what you're doing is lame'," he said, "I wasn't really good at anything else, and I never considered doing anything else." And since then, it's been a natural part of his life. "It's a never ending process for me," he said, "I try to always continue developing the characters."
Dunham will have conversations with his characters during his shows, and sometimes even brings out two puppets at the same time. "Every character I've had was an extension of me," Dunham said, "with the exception of Sweet Daddy Dee and Achmed." But while many of his characters represent some aspect of his personality, Dunham says he never gets lost in a character. "It's easy to differentiate," he said laughing, "because what they say, I would never say."
And like any politically-incorrect comedian, Dunham has always faced a bit of backlash from his comedy. In 2008, a commercial featuring a ringtone with Achmed was banned in South Africa, and much of the criticism of his new show has been about his stereotypical humor. But he hopes that people will keep his humor in perspective. "I just wish people could laugh at themselves, and take a step back," he said, "We try to make it 'Equal Opportunity' across the board. The bottom line is what will get the laughs… we just try to make fun of everything, and everyone."