subject: Jeff Dunham Tickets : The Special Premiere Was The Highest Rated Telecast In Comedy Central History [print this page] Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager,in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them.
Dunham's earliest television exposure was doing commercials for Datsun dealerships while in high school. 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 (Dunham notes in his autobiography that the latter was an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes).
In college, he flew around the country on weekends to perform private shows for customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine.After graduating from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1986,he moved to Los Angeles, California,never having, as he has commented, "a real job."Dunham appeared in the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in 1985, and at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island.
These early experiences, in which he used characters like Jose Jalapeno on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeno jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island.Dunham made his debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1990. At the end of his act, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson couch, considered a mark of approval.
At the time, Dunham saw this as his big break, though 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.One of these was such as a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with the character of Walter, whom he had begun using around this time. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz.
His other appearances include 60 Minutes II, Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, Hollywood Squares, Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America and the WB's Blue Collar TV.On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased Jose Jalapeno on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls.
The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. Dunham manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand.
In 2006, it gave Dunham his first one hour special, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California, and drew two million viewers when it aired, cementing Dunham's stardom.His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. in 2007. It was available at Redbox stands and on DVD in September 2007.
Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2008, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008.The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.
Dunham appeared as "The Amazing Ken" with Jose Jalapeno on a Stick in the 2007 Larry the Cable Guy movie Delta Farce.In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs".
All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who has joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.
