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Jeff Dunham Tour - Standup ventriloquist :
 In an era of flashy handheld digital devices, Jeff Dunham has single-handedly, so to speak, resurrected the old-fashioned art of the standup ventriloquist and his dummy.
But the straight man/ringleader with his posse of politically incorrect alter egos has also harnessed modern technology and amassed numbers that Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy could only dream of: 360 million views worldwide on YouTube, 4 million DVDs sold and the most-watched telecast (6.6 million viewers) in Comedy Central history.
"If Comedy Central was the launchpad, YouTube and the Internet was the booster rocket that sent it into the stratosphere worldwide," Dunham says. "I just did my first European tour, and the one huge surprise of the past year has been the international fanbase. I never expected that."
Currently on a U.S. tour expected to gross $45 million, Dunham, who began performing when he was 8 and cautions that "you never know when your 15 minutes may be up," is unlikely to return to earth anytime soon.
With his own merchandise company, deals with Amazon.com and iTunes, an autobiography titled "All by Myselves" scheduled for spring and a new series premiering Oct. 8 on Comedy Central starring Achmed, Peanut and the rest of the gang, he has his hands full. ...Source...
Comedian Jeff Dunham Strikes Gold on European Tour :
In his first overseas tour, comedian Jeff Dunham sold nearly 30,000 tickets to fill major venues in London, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo.
The European release of his three DVDs on TV, retail and mobile platforms prior to the tour have been key to his overseas success. A Very Special Christmas Special topped the Danish entertainment chart. Dunham is the only American to boast two titles on the UK chart. Spark of Insanity hit #2 in DVD sales in The Netherlands and is also the most viewed show ever on Comedy Central Holland.
In addition, Dunham boasts 360 million worldwide views on You Tube, with which he recently struck a content partnership after scoring three of the all-time most viewed clips on the site. ...Source...
Jeff Dunham Stand-up Comic of the Year Tour :
Breathing life into an elderly curmudgeon, a purple creature known as a "Woozle" and a self-effacing Jalapeño, among other  lovable characters, Jeff Dunham is straight man to some of the funniest partners in show business.
Comedic skill and impeccable technique serve as the sleight-of-hand for this ventriloquist extraordinaire.
Dunham has won several prestigious awards. These include the following: twice winner of the "Ventriloquist of the Year," "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City Awards, "Comedian of the Year" by the Las Vegas Review Journal and one of the "Top 10 Showroom Entertainers" by the People's Choice Poll in Las Vegas.
Few achievements in the comedy industry come close to the honor and recognition of the American Comedy Awards. They have the reputation of spotlighting the stars of the future, with winners such as Tim Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Brett Butler, Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall to name a few. Once a year comedy venues across the United States have the opportunity to cast their votes for the nomination of "Comedian of the Year." The winners are determined by public vote.
This veteran of performing has certainly honed his craft: performing 40 weeks and 250 dates a year in concert venues and the occasional comedy club, Jeff Dunham is one of the hardest working entertainers around.
It is the believability of Dunham's characters that endear them to audiences everywhere. His characters are so vivid, he usually opens with ten minutes of solo stand-up simply to establish himself as the hub of the wheel.
The full tour date schedule for the Jeff Dunham concert tour can be found here. ...Source...
Jeff Dunham Launched 2008/2009 Tour :
Jeff Dunham embarked on a tour of the country on the 6th of November, kicking off with the opening show at the Arena in Lake Charles, LA. The stand-up comedian’s trek will end in January next year at the Universal City in CA.
The American funny man is also a ventriloquist and his puppets include a woozle called ‘Peanut’, an old man by the name of ‘Walter’, ‘Achmed the Dead Terrorist’ and ‘Melvin’ the superhero. Apart from performing on numerous comedy shows including ‘Comedy Central Presents’, Dunham has also featured on a DVD - ‘Jeff Dunham: Arguing With Myself’ in 2006. ... Source ...
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Jeff Dunham Short Biography :
 There are many sides to the comedic genius of Jeff Dunham, who has risen in recent years to become a genuine entertainment phenomenon with an international 360-degree reach that includes record-breaking television specials, staggering DVD sales over 4 million (and rapidly counting), 360 million views on YouTube, a current international tour expected to gross $45 million, his own merchandise company that enjoys brisk sales of nearly 50 Dunham items, and a publishing deal that will see the publication of his first book in 2009. Ever-increasing legions of devoted and highly active fans savor Dunham's concert appearances, TV shows, DVDs, CDs and YouTube clips over and over and fervently spread the word on an entertainer who is not just a favorite with but beloved by his followers. Time Magazine calls Dunham "the most popular stand-up comedian in the U.S." His widespread fame has led Dunham to sign a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central to encompass all areas of entertainment, including television, DVDs, a stand-up special, a consumer products partnership, and a 60-city Comedy Central Live stand-up tour. His new series, "The Jeff Dunham Show," premieres Thursday, October 22.
It's all because Jeff Dunham is not just one of the funniest humans on the planet but the ringleader of a cast of comedic characters of his own creation like Walter the grumpy retiree; the beer-swilling, NASCAR-loving and resolutely redneck Bubba J; the furry and manic Peanut; Jose Jalapeno, the spicy pepper from south of the border; and the bumbling, skeletal Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Taking his cues from the stuff of everyday life, people he and we all know and the world around us, Dunham invests his suitcase posse of sidekicks with such believable and lovable personality as they banter, quip and interact that audiences frequently forget that the characters are crafted by Dunham's own hand and comedic brilliance.
 It's no wonder that Dunham has struck content partnerships with Amazon.com, iTunes and YouTube in the wake of his stunning across-the-board triumphs in recent years. His most recent self-produced Comedy Central program, "A Very Special Christmas Special," drew 6.6 million viewers on its premiere airing to become the channel's most-watched program ever, following in the wake of top ratings for his previous Comedy Central specials "Arguing with Myself" (in April 2006) and "A Spark of Insanity" (September 2007). When they hit the home market on DVD, all three almost immediately earned multiple platinum sales awards, with Dunham's holiday special achieving quadruple-platinum sales of 400,000 in a mere 10 days and in less than six weeks becoming his third DVD to sell more than a million copies (in a market where average comedy DVD sales are 35,000). "Spark of Insanity" was also the most popular DVD in customer reviews on Amazon for 2008.
Concert dates on his continuing tour of theaters and arenas with 7,000 to 10,000 capacities quickly sell out, generating the sort of audience response and excitement more often found at a superstar rock show while earning rave media reviews night after night. In 2008 Dunham sold out major venue headlining shows at the prestigious and star-studded Comedy Festival in Las Vegas and the Just For Laughs festival in Toronto. In 2009 he made his first performing visit to Europe, selling out arenas in London, Stockholm, Oslo, Norway and Copenhagen. 2009 will also mark his first full tour of Canada.
After leaving his hometown in Dallas, Texas, where he was born in 1962, Dunham relentlessly toured comedy clubs for years, renewing a lost art that he has taken to new levels of finesse and technique with hilarious results. Frequent guest appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night with David Letterman," as well as a host of other TV programs also primed the pump. But what has been instrumental in launching Dunham to record new levels of comedy success over the last two years has been the strong bond he has forged with his fans, who not only eagerly await and consume his latest multimedia offerings, but avidly tout them to family and friends, as well as the world at large on the Internet.
Fan postings of his routines on YouTube abetted the grassroots surge of Dunham's popularity. This awareness resulted in ever-increasing millions of online views that helped launch Dunham and his comedic cohorts into the stratosphere of contemporary entertainment. According to Visible Measures, an online video view measurement firm, his Achmed the Dead Terrorist clip is the fourth-most watched video across the internet with 196.5 million worldwide views and is #2 in clips on You Tube that viewers have added as a favorite.
 In 2008 Dunham also released his first CD, "Don't Come Home For Christmas," which jumped to #1 in comedy sales and #6 in overall CD sales in preorders alone when it was announced on Amazon, and entered the Billboard Independent Album charts in the Top 10. His merchandise operation enjoys gross sales in the millions of dollars for his 42 items of merchandise -- including t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, character dolls, Christmas ornaments, posters, DVDs, CDs, character etched iPods and now even Dunham Cellars wine -- at his shows, on his website and via 150 Hastings stores in 21 states. And he is now poised to also make his mark in the literary world this year when Dutton Books publishes his as-yet-untitled memoir, which will also include commentary from his hilarious characters.
After conquering North America, the Dunham phenomenon is swiftly spreading worldwide. His three specials have been released on television, DVD and mobile platforms in Canada, UK, Benelux, Scandinavia, Italy, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The DVD of "A Very Special Christmas Special" topped the Danish entertainment chart and "Spark of Insanity" hit the Top 5 of the overall DVD charts in Holland (#2) and South Africa (#5). "Spark of Insanity" is the most viewed show ever on Comedy Central Holland, and the only two titles by an American in the Top 20 of the U.K. comedy DVD charts are both Jeff Dunham releases. His burgeoning European popularity is evident through the success of his recent European Tour, selling almost 30,000 tickets over five shows in five cities.
 Dunham has achieved all that and more by keeping many millions around the globe laughing heartily with his sharp yet always humane and lovable humor, which has resulted on such character catchphrases as Achmed's "Silence! I will keel you!" and Jose Jalapeno's "On a steek!" becoming embedded in the contemporary lexicon. And he has done it as an independent business entity that creates, produces and finances his TV specials/DVDs, merchandise, tours and more, and through a highly interactive relationship via his website and an email list to rival any in the entertainment industry with the fans who not just love his comedy but also love to bring others into the Dunham fold of followers.
His hometown Dallas Morning News declares Dunham "easily one of the funniest stand-up comics alive" and Slate.com hails him as "the country's most popular stand-up comedian." Forbes Magazine named him in their most powerful celebrity list this year, noting "Dunham has suddenly become a cash machineÂ…making him the third-highest-earning comedian in America behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. He had the top-grossing comedy tour in North America in 2008, and has performed 145 shows since last June. His DVDs have sold more than 4 million copies. And when fellow comics and friends like Jay Leno say, "Jeff Dunham really is the best there is," and David Letterman praises, "tremendous talent, great star!," it's no understatement.
"They're not coming out to see a ventriloquist," Dunham says of the audiences at his consistently sold-out shows. "They're coming out because they love the characters. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I truly believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech and that laughter can heal many wounds." ...Source...
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