Jeff Dunham
Jeffrey Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist and comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including "Late Show with David Letterman", "Comedy Central Presents", "The Tonight Show" and "Sonny With a Chance". He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: "", "", "Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special", "", "", and "". Dunham also starred in "The Jeff Dunham Show", a series on the network in 2009.
Jeff Dunham
By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career went as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job", much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes this initial reaction to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-Rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.