Jeff Dunham Biography

Fast Facts

• Forbes included him on its Celebrity 100 list of most powerful entertainers three years in a row
• Got his first big break on a touring version of the Broadway show "Sugar Babies," which included a variety spot for a juggler or ventriloquist that he was hired for in 1984
• His interest in ventriloquism started when his parents gave him a toy Mortimer Snerd dummy and an instructional record at the age of 8
• Quote: "I saw what Edgar Bergen did and I thought, 'I want to do that․'"
• Quote: "(On touring in the Middle East): "There's so many differences between these cultures․․․and there's all the fighting․․․and then this idiot from America with a doll gets up on stage, and everyone's laughing at the same stuff․ It was very moving to me․""
• His comedy routines are based around a cast of zany and often politically incorrect characters represented by handcrafted puppets, which he voices using ventriloquism
• Is credited with bringing ventriloquism back into mainstream popularity
• Obtained a replica of the Batmobile that was used in Tim Burton's "Batman․"
• Began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion, an annual meeting of ventriloquists, when he was in sixth grade and has missed only one year since, eventually earning the title of "retired champion" since other guests were too intimidated to compete
• In his free time, he restores antique dummies and builds and flies kit helicopters