Jeff Dunham

I can only name a small handful of professional ventriloquists. This seems to be a dying art. However there is one performer who really keeps the art form alive. That’s Jeff Dunham. You may have seen him on Comedy Central this year. He’s probably the only ventriloquist who’s ever been on that channel; much less have his own special. All his material is original and daring. He’s not the kind of performer you would hire to entertain a bunch of children. And I think that’s wonderful. One of the bad things that television has done for the art of puppetry is to convince people that puppets are just for children. Wayland Flowers and Madam showed us that adults could enjoy puppetry and Jeff has followed in that tradition. Personally, I’ve tried to do “G” rated shows for adults and they don’t seem to do very well. But Jeff has really found his calling.

I had the privilege of spending time with Jeff after one of his shows here in Texas. We sat around for about an hour talking about puppets. He showed us a new routine he was working on and he seemed a little nervous about showing off material that wasn’t polished. However, he pulled out his lap top ad I got to see a new puppet character he’s developing. I probably shouldn’t talk about it, but you can see it on his new Comedy Central special next year.

Not only is Jeff Dunham very funny on stage, but he is genuinely a nice person to talk to. It’s rare that I find someone who I can really talk shop with.