Jeff Dunham is an American comedian and ventriloquist with a net worth of $140 million. Jeff Dunham is consistently one of the world’s highest-paid comedians, earning between $15 and $30 million every year. Dunham has appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Comedy Central Presents,” “The Tonight Show,” and “Sonny With a Chance,” among others. Dunham is one of the highest-grossing stand-up comedians in North America. Dunham is credited with resurrecting the art of ventriloquism. Since Edgar Bergen, he has done more to popularise the art form than anybody else.
Early Life:
On April 18, 1962, Jeff Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas. Howard and Joyce Dunham adopted him when he was three months old. He grew up in a strict Presbyterian household. In 1970, when he was eight years old and received a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, he began experimenting with ventriloquism.
Dunham borrowed a book on ventriloquism from the library the next day, and the rest is history. Dunham knew he wanted to be a professional ventriloquist before the fourth grade, and he wanted to be the finest one ever. He spent hours practicing in front of the mirror, studying ventriloquist Edgar Bergan’s acts, and poring over a how-to tape on the subject.
Dunham began visiting the Vent Haven ConVENTion, an annual worldwide ventriloquists’ convention in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, while he was in sixth grade. Dunham has only missed one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. Dunham began playing in front of crowds when he was a youngster, at school, at church, and at his employment at Six Flags.
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In 1976, he made his television debut. While still in high school, Dunham worked on commercials for car dealerships in Dallas. In 1980, he graduated from high school with the title of Most Likely to Succeed. Within ten years, he established a goal of appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
Dunham went to Baylor University to get a degree in communications. At the same time, he was doing 100 private gigs a year while flying around the country on weekends. He was earning $70,000 a year by his junior year of college in 1983-84.
Career:
He won a role in a Broadway variety play with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in 1985. For the young comedian, this show would be a tremendous break. He relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1980s. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1988, fulfilling a longstanding ambition.
Jeff was a somewhat successful touring comedian in the 1990s. Jeff became a celebrity with his Comedy Central special in 2003. He went on to star in series including Blue Collar TV, Good Morning America, Hollywood Squares, and his own one-hour specials,
Jeff Dunham: Arguing With Myself (2006), Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007), and Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special (2008). (2008). His Christmas program drew the best ratings in Comedy Central’s history.
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Dunham signed a deal with Comedy Central in 2009, which allowed him to screen his fourth special, go on a tour of sixty cities, obtain a consumer product relationship, and get an order for the “Jeff Dunham Show” television series (which premiered on October 22, 2009), as well as DVDs.
Despite having the most-watched debut in Comedy Central history and originally higher average ratings than other shows on the network, “The Jeff Dunham” show was canceled after only one season due to low viewership, unfavorable reviews, and higher production expenses than other Comedy Central shows.
“Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos,” his fourth special, premiered on Comedy Central on September 25, 2011. “Minding the Monsters,” his fifth special, premiered on October 7, 2012. The animated feature “Achmed Saved America” was released on CMT in March 2014.
“All Over the Map,” his sixth special, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014. Dunham went from Comedy Central to NBC for his seventh special, “Unhinged in Hollywood.” On September 17, 2015, it aired for the first time.
Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno on a Stick, Bubba J, Sweet Daddy Dee, Melvin the Superhero Guy, Little Jeff, Achmed Junior, Diane, and Seamus are some of Dunham’s characters.
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Dunham is the author of two books. “Dear Walter,” composed by Walter Cummings, was released in 2003. “All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me,” his autobiography, was released in 2010.
Personal Life:
Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, in 1992 at West Palm Beach’s Comedy Corner. He adopted Paige’s one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Bree when they married in 1994. They had two daughters, Ashlyn (1995) and Kenna (1996). (1997). Dunham was frequently on the road performing, which put a strain on their relationship. He filed for divorce in November 2008.
Dunham started dating Audrey Murdick, a nutritionist, personal trainer, and bodybuilding athlete, in the middle of 2009. On Christmas Day 2011, they got engaged, and on October 12, 2012, they married. James Jeffrey and Jack Steven, their twin sons, were born in October 2015.
Salary Highlights:
He made $20 million in 2011. He earned $22 million in 2012. He made $19 million in 2013. Jeff earned $17 million between June 2017 and June 2018. He’s sold more than ten million DVDs and made tens of millions of dollars in retail sales.
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Commercial Real Estate:
Dunham’s Mediterranean-style Encino, California property was sold in December 2017 for $4.1 million. The house is 6,522 square feet and contains five bedrooms and six and a half baths. He first put it on the market in 2015 for $5.199 million. He paid $4.25 million for the house in 2009.
Dunham also sold a beach view home in Del Mar, California in 2017. The three-story Mediterranean-style home, which was built in 2007, features five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and two half baths. In 2011, he put the house on the market for $8.75 million. It was eventually sold for $5.5 million in 2017.