Coordinates	44°25′57″N26°6′14″N
Name	Part Two: The Endless Not
Type	Album
Artist	Throbbing Gristle
Cover	TG_PartTwo.jpg
Released	April 1, 2007
Recorded	2004-2005
Genre	Industrial
Length	67:25
Producer	Throbbing Gristle
Label	Mute
Last album	''TG Now''(2004)
This album	''Part Two: The Endless Not''(2007)
Next album	''The Third Mind Movements''(2009)
Misc	}}

''Part Two: The Endless Not'' is an album released by British industrial group Throbbing Gristle on April 1, 2007. All of the original line-up are present. Included with the first 4000 copies is one of four "totemic gifts", each made from one of the following materials: bone, wood, rubber and copper. A fifth stainless steel totem was made available in a Japanese edition of the CD. A sixth Totemic Gift is made of 23 carat gold, of which at present only one exists. The gifts were handmade under the supervision of Peter Christopherson in Thailand. In a similar vein to ''D.o.A: The Third and Final Report'', the album features four tracks which were created by each individual member of the group. The cover image is a picture of Mt. Kailash taken by Martin Gray.

Track listing

#"Vow of Silence" - 7:02 #"Rabbit Snare" - 8:55 #"Separated" - 4:51 (Chris Carter solo) #"Almost A Kiss" - 6:47 #"Greasy Spoon" - 9:31 #"Lyre Liar" - 7:51 #"Above The Below" - 4:28 (Cosey Fanni Tutti solo) #"Endless Not" - 8:01 #"The Worm Waits Its Turn" - 5:50 (Genesis P-Orridge and Bryin Dall) #"After The Fall" - 4:05 (Peter Christopherson solo)

See also

Throbbing Gristle discography

References

Category:2007 albums Category:Throbbing Gristle albums Category:Mute Records albums

Coordinates	44°25′57″N26°6′14″N
Name	David Blaine
Birth name	David Blaine White
Birth date	April 04, 1973
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Illusionist & Endurance arntist
Years active	1997–present
Website	David Blaine }}

David Blaine (born David Blaine White; April 4, 1973) is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records. Theatre owner James Nederlander as well as ''The New York Times'' have referred to Blaine as a modern day Houdini.

Early life

Blaine was born David Blaine White in Brooklyn, New York and is of Puerto Rican descent on his father's side, and Russian Jewish on his mother's. His mother, Patrice Maureen White (1946–1995), was a school teacher living in New York, and his father William Perez was a Vietnam veteran. When he was four years old, he saw a magician performing magic on the subway. This sparked an interest in Blaine. He was raised by his single mother and attended many schools in Brooklyn. When he was ten years old, his mother married John Bukalo and they moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, where he attended Passaic Valley Regional High School. He has a half-brother named Michael James Bukalo. When he was 17 years old, Blaine moved to Manhattan, New York.

Personal life

Blaine and his fiancee Alizee Guinochet have one daughter born on January 27, 2011. At the time that Guinochet went into labor, there was a massive blizzard where they lived in New York. Due to the intense weather, no cars or taxis were on the road, so Blaine had to hail a snowplow, which transported the couple to the hospital.

Stunts and specials

''Street Magic'' and ''Magic Man''

On May 19, 1997, Blaine's first television special, ''David Blaine: Street Magic'' aired on the ABC network. According to the New York ''Daily News'', “Blaine can lay claim to his own brand of wizardry. The magic he offers in tonight’s show operates on an uncommonly personal level.” When asked about his performance style, David explained, “I'd like to bring magic back to the place it used to be 100 years ago.”' ''Time'' magazine commented, "his deceptively low-key, ultracool manner leaves spectators more amazed than if he'd razzle-dazzled." The concept of focusing on spectator reactions (for example, in his rendition of the Balducci levitation) changed the way that magic has been shown on TV. ''The New York Times'' wrote, “He's taken a craft that's been around for hundreds of years and done something unique and fresh with it." Penn Jillette, of ''Penn & Teller'', stated, "the biggest break through done in our lifetime was David Blaine's 'Street Magic,' where his idea was to do really simple tricks but to concentrate... to turn the camera around on the people watching instead of the people doing. So to make the audience watch the audience, which that first special 'Street Magic,' is the best TV magic special ever done and really, really does break new ground."

In ''Magic Man'', Blaine is shown traveling across the country, entertaining unsuspecting pedestrians in New York City, Atlantic City, Dallas, San Francisco, Compton, and the Mojave Desert recorded by a small crew with handheld cameras. Jon Racherbaumer commented, "Make no mistake about it, the focus of this show, boys and girls, is not Blaine. It is really about theatrical proxemics; about the show-within-a-show and the spontaneous, visceral reactions of people being astonished." ''USA Today'' calls David “The hottest name in magic right now”.

''Buried Alive''

On April 5, 1999, Blaine was entombed in an underground plastic box underneath a 3-ton water-filled tank for seven days across from Trump Place on 68th St. and Riverside Drive. According to CNN, "Blaine's only communication to the outside world was by a hand buzzer, which could have alerted an around-the-clock emergency crew standing by." BBC News reported that the cramped plastic coffin offered six inches (152 mm) of headroom and two inches on each side. During the endurance stunt Blaine ate nothing and drank only two to three tablespoons of water a day. An estimated 75,000 people visited the site, including Marie Blood, Harry Houdini's niece, who said, "My uncle did some amazing things, but he could not have done this." On the final day of the stunt, April 12, hundreds of news teams were stationed at the site for the coffin-opening. A team of construction workers removed a portion of the of gravel surrounding the six-foot-deep coffin before a crane lifted the water tank. Blaine emerged and told the crowd "I saw something very prophetic ... a vision of every race, every religion, every age group banding together, and that made all this worthwhile." BBC News stated, "The 26-year-old magician has outdone his hero, Harry Houdini, who had planned a similar feat but died in 1926 before he could perform it." During the preparation of the stunt, Jonathan Demme told ''Time Out New York,'' “He’s the most exciting thing in America ... And I’m not just talking entertainment.”

''Frozen in Time''

On November 27, 2000, Blaine began a stunt called "Frozen in Time", which was covered on a TV special. Blaine stood encased in a massive block of ice located in Times Square, New York City. He was lightly dressed and seen to be shivering even before the blocks of ice were sealed around him. A tube supplied him with air and water while his urine was removed with another tube. He was encased in the box of ice for 63 hours, 42 minutes and 15 seconds before being removed with chain saws. The ice was transparent and resting on an elevated platform to show that he was actually inside the ice the entire time. CNN confirmed that "thousands of people braved the pouring rain Wednesday night to catch a glimpse of Blaine as workers cut away at the ice." He was removed from the ice in an obviously dazed and disoriented state, wrapped in blankets and taken to the hospital immediately because doctors feared he might be going into shock. ''The New York Times'' reported, "The magician who emerged from the increasingly unstable ice box seemed a shadow of the confident, robust, shirtless fellow who entered two days before." Blaine said in the documentary follow-up to this feat that it took a month before he was able to walk again and that he had no plans to ever again attempt a stunt of this difficulty.

''Vertigo''

On May 22, 2002, a crane lifted Blaine onto a 100-foot (30 m) high and 22-inch (0.56 m) wide pillar in Bryant Park, New York City. Although he was not harnessed to the pillar, there were two retractable handles on either side of him to grasp in the event of harsh weather. The ''Evening Standard'''s James Langton wrote, "He was battered by high winds and unusually cold May weather during his first night and would have been killed or seriously injured if he had fallen." He remained on the pillar for exactly 35 hours. ''The New Yorker''’s Adam Gopnik wrote, “David Blaine, standing up there, is actually as good a magical metaphor for the moment as Houdini, fighting his way out of the straitjacket of immigrant identity toward prosperity, was for his." With his legs weak from standing atop the pillar for so long, he ended the feat by jumping down onto a landing platform made out of a 12-foot (3.7 m) high pile of cardboard boxes and suffered a mild concussion.

''Mysterious Stranger''

On October 29, 2002, Random House published David Blaine's ''Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic''. Part autobiography, part history of magic, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform card tricks and illusions. Editing director, Bruce Tracy, explains “David Blaine is the most exciting and creative magician since Houdini, and now, readers have the opportunity to enjoy Blaine's unique book about magic, and they can participate by testing their own ability to discover and interpret clues.”

The treasure hunt, Blaine's $100,000 Challenge, was devised by game designer Cliff Johnson, creator of ''The Fool's Errand'', and solved by Sherri Skanes on March 20, 2004, 16 months after the book's publication.

''Above the Below''

On September 5, 2003, Blaine began his 44-day endurance stunt sealed inside a transparent Plexiglas case suspended 9 metres (30 ft) in the air next to Potters Fields Park on the south bank of the River Thames, the area between City Hall and Tower Bridge in London. The case, measuring by by , had a webcam installed so that viewers could observe his progress. During the 44-day period, Blaine went without any food or nutrients and survived on just 4.5 litres of water per day.

The endurance stunt became the subject of much media attention. ''The Guardian'' wrote, "Blaine has created one of the most eloquent and telling visual images of our time." ''The Times'' reported that "1,614 articles in the British press have made reference to the exploit." Then U.S. President George W. Bush referred to Blaine’s stunt in a speech at the Whitehall Palace in London, saying “The last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames. A few might have been happy to provide similar arrangements for me.”

A number of spectators were mischievous or hostile towards the endurance artist. ''The Times'' reported that eggs, lemons, sausages, bacon, water bottles, beer cans, paint-filled balloons and golf balls had all been thrown at the box. The ''Evening Standard'' reported that one man was arrested for attempting to spike the water supply to Blaine's box with monkey urine. According to BBC News, a hamburger was flown up to the box by a remote-controlled helicopter as a taunt.

On September 25, BBC News reported that Blaine announced via webcam that he was feeling the taste of pear drops on his tongue. Dr. Adam Carey, who performed a medical examination of Blaine before he entered the box, said that the taste was produced by ketones produced by the body burning fatty acids, which are themselves produced from fat reserves.

Blaine emerged on schedule on October 19, murmuring "I love you all!" and was quickly hospitalized. The New England Journal of Medicine published a paper that documented his 44 day fast and stated that his re-feeding was perhaps the most dangerous part of the stunt. The study reported, “He lost 24.5 kg (25 percent of his original body weight), and his body mass index dropped from 29.0 to 21.6. His appearance and body-mass index after his fast would not by themselves have alerted us to the risks of refeeding. Despite cautious management, he had hypophosphatemia and fluid retention, important elements of the refeeding syndrome.” The event was filmed by director, and close friend of Blaine, Harmony Korine.

''Drowned Alive''

On May 17, 2006, Blaine was submerged in an diameter, water-filled sphere (isotonic saline, 0.9% salt) in front of the Lincoln Center in New York City for a planned seven days and seven nights, using tubes for air and nutrition. During the stunt, doctors witnessed skin breakdown at the hands and feet, and liver failure. The New York Times' Kenneth Silverman wrote "his feat of endurance brought a diverse crowd of thousands of New Yorkers together, renewing for a while the city's waning spirit of democratic community."

He concluded this event by attempting to hold his breath underwater to break the then-current world record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds held by Tom Sietas for static apnea—holding one's breath without the aid of breathing 100% oxygen beforehand, although Blaine's attempt would not have qualified as static apnea under AIDA International rules. Due to his producers' request to make the show more exciting, Blaine attempted to free himself from handcuffs and chains put on him upon coming out after the week in the sphere. He seemed to have trouble escaping from the last of the handcuffs. Around the 7 minute mark, he showed some signs of distress. He was pulled up and out of the water by his support divers after 7 minutes and 12 seconds underwater—one minute and fifty seconds short of his goal. Although he did not take home the record for breath holding, he was called “an everyday hero for an everyday age,” by ''The Boston Globe'', and ''The Washington Post'' stated, “Blaine represented an opportunity to see something unbelievable.”

Blaine did claim to succeed in setting a record for being fully submerged in water for 17 minutes and 4 seconds, and has since broken the record for holding one's breath using oxygen beforehand (as permitted by the Guinness book of records).

Blaine underwent multiple short hospital visits after the stunt ended and has entered an agreement with doctors from Yale University to monitor him in order to study the human physiological reaction to prolonged submersion. In an interview on ''The Howard Stern Show'' on Sirius satellite radio, Blaine spoke of the week-long fasting he did before the "drowning alive" stunt, to avoid having to be concerned with defecation.

''Revolution''

On November 19, 2006, Blaine announced his next stunt: he would be shackled to a rotating gyroscope. His goal was to escape from his shackles after the gyroscope had been spinning for 16 hours. The gyroscope was constantly spinning at a rate of eight revolutions per minute while hanging above an empty lot in Manhattan near Times Square.

The stunt began on November 21, 2006, with Blaine declaring, "This one's exciting for me. This one's a fun one." 52 hours later, without food or water, a dehydrated and weakened Blaine landed on a wooden platform below after jumping from the hanging gyroscope.

As a result of his success, Blaine led 100 children selected by The Salvation Army on a shopping spree at Target, after each child received a $500 gift certificate from the retailer. Blaine said the stunt was particularly important since The Salvation Army had provided him with clothing while he was growing up. "This challenge is close to my heart," Blaine said.

''Guinness World Records''

After failing to surpass the then-current record of ''unassisted'' static apnea in his previous attempt ''Drowned Alive'', Blaine appeared on the April 30, 2008 episode of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', announcing that he would attempt to break the Guinness World Record for ''oxygen assisted'' static apnea set by Peter Colat of Switzerland on February 10, 2008.

Before entering his eighteen-hundred gallon water tank, Blaine spent 23 minutes inhaling pure oxygen; up to 30 minutes of "oxygen hyperventilation" is allowed under guidelines. His heart rate remained above one hundred beats per minute during much of the attempt, rising to one hundred and twenty-four bpm in the fifteenth minute. This faster heart rate increases oxygen consumption leading to painful carbon dioxide buildup. In the final minute, his heart rate became erratic and Blaine became worried he might blackout. In order to assist the medics in case he would lose consciousness, he unhooked his feet from the sphere's bottom and floated closer to the surface ; however, he kept his head submerged for a half minute longer than the previous record. Ultimately, Blaine held his breath for 17 minutes 4½ seconds, surpassing Colat's previous mark of 16 minutes 32 seconds. This was Blaine's first Guinness record and it stood for almost four and a half months, until surpassed by Tom Sietas on September 19, 2008.

During the following interview, Blaine stated: "I really thought I was not going to make it," claiming that he did so by staying in a meditative state which was helped by the studio lights reflecting off the sphere. According to Blaine, besides the pressure of performing on television, the heart-rate monitor happened to be close enough to his ear so that he heard its beeping, and he had to keep his feet locked in holds at the bottom of the sphere — instead of just floating freely, as he did in the pool on Grand Cayman months earlier. Back then he said he was so relaxed he "wasn’t even there" during most of the breath-hold. But when he emerged from the sphere today, he told Oprah, "I was pretty much here the whole time."

''Dive of Death''

thumb|150px|Donald Trump with David Blaine announcing Blaine's next event in the atrium of the Trump Tower. On September 18, 2008, Donald Trump and Blaine held a press conference at the Trump Tower in New York City to announce his latest feat, “The Upside Down Man.” Blaine was to hang upside down without a safety net for 60 hours above Central Park’s Wollman Rink, with a predicted end for 10:45 p.m. on September 24. Reportedly, Blaine risked blindness and other maladies in the stunt including having to repeatedly defecate in his own pants. Trump has helped finance this and other Blaine events. Blaine hung over the Wollman Rink and interacted with fans by lowering himself upside down. At the press conference, Blaine stated he had already gone without food for over a week and would continue to do so throughout the act. In order to drink fluid and restore circulation, he would pull himself up, all the while contending with muscle spasms and lack of sleep. Blaine began the stunt on Monday September 22, but was widely criticized when, only hours into the endurance challenge, he was seen by fans to be standing on a waiting crane platform, and not upside down, as expected. He reportedly would come down once an hour to receive a medical check, stretch and relieve himself.

When the "Dive of Death" took place, Blaine came down from the platform on a cable, and lightly touched the stage. He was then pulled back up into the air, and, in the words of the ''Daily News'' (New York), "hung in the air like a sack of potatoes with a goofy grin on his face, occasionally kicking his legs as though he were running." The plan had been for Blaine to be pulled up into the air by helium balloons and disappear into the atmosphere. Blaine attributed the problem to changes in weather conditions that occurred after the stunt was delayed due to an address by President Bush.

May 2012 show

On the 17th June 2011, David announced on a live video chat that he would be doing a show in May 2012. During this video chat he also demonstrated a few of his new tricks, showed a video of him swimming with sharks and announced his new card deck called the white lions. He stated that the show will be 100% street magic and full of completely new material.

Charity and private appearances

''Charity''

Every year, David Blaine has traveled all across the country and the world to perform magic for children’s hospital wards, burn units and juvenile wards, including Spofford, Bridges, Horizon, and Crossroads. Blaine has spent time performing magic for Paul Newman and the children diagnosed with serious illnesses at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

''Magic for Haiti''

On Friday January 15, 2010 at 9 A.M. David Blaine started performing "Magic For Haiti" in Times Square until Monday January 18, 2010 at 9 A.M, performing for the course of 72 hours and raising nearly one hundred thousand dollars.

''Private Appearances''

David Blaine has traveled internationally performing magic privately for President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Kissinger, Bill Gates and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has also performed magic for the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych, and the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. Additionally, David Blaine has performed for Lakshmi Mittal.

Blaine has performed for many other public and private entities, including Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Woody Allen, Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Muhammad Ali. Blaine has also performed magic alongside Michael Jackson and has performed during the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

See also

List of famous Puerto Ricans

Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico

Notes

References

''Mysterious Stranger'', Blaine's autobiography published by Vilard Books and Channel 4 books. ISBN 0-7522-1989-8.

BBC News on the Above the Below stunt:

Korbonits M., Blaine D., Elia M., Powell-Tuck J., "Refeeding David Blaine: studies after a 44-day fast", ''New England Journal of Medicine'' 2005 Nov 24; 353(21):2306–7. .

External links

David Blaine's official website

David Blaine Gyroscope Image Gallery

Below The Above official website

David Blaine: How I held my breath for 17 min talk given at TED

Category:1973 births Category:American autobiographers Category:American buskers Category:American Jews Category:American magicians Category:American people of Puerto Rican descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:American performance artists Category:Living people Category:Magician of the year Award winner Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Passaic County, New Jersey Category:Professional magicians Category:Television magic shows

ar:ديفيد بلين de:David Blaine es:David Blaine fa:دیوید بلین fr:David Blaine it:David Blaine he:דייוויד בליין lt:David Blaine nl:David Blaine ja:デビッド・ブレイン pl:David Blaine pt:David Blaine ro:David Blaine ru:Блэйн, Дэвид fi:David Blaine sv:David Blaine uk:Девід Блейн

Coordinates	44°25′57″N26°6′14″N
name	Jeff Dunham
birth name	Jeffrey William Robinson Dunham
birth date	April 18, 1962
birth place	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
medium	Stand-up
nationality	American
genre	Ventriloquism
influences	Edgar Bergen
spouse	Paige Dunham
notable work	''Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself''''Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity''''Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special''''The Jeff Dunham Show''
website	www.JeffDunham.com
past members	}}

Jeffrey William Robinson "Jeff" Dunham (born 18 April 1962) is an American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Star Search'', ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonight Show'' and ''Sonny With a Chance''. He is familiar to Comedy Central audiences for his three specials on that network: ''Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself'', ''Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity'', and ''Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special''. Dunham also starred in ''The Jeff Dunham Show'' for one season on the network in 2009. His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Describing his characters, ''Time'' observes, "All of them are politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism, and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.

Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate.com, and according to the concert industry publication ''Pollstar'', he is the top-grossing standup act in North America, and is among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of March 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube (his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in ''Spark of Insanity'' is the ninth most watched YouTube video). ''A Very Special Christmas Special'' was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with its DVD going quadruple platinum (selling over 400,000) in its first two weeks. ''Forbes.com'' ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period.

Early life and career

Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas in 1962, and raised in an affluent neighborhood as an only child, adopted by a real estate appraiser and a homemaker. He began ventriloquism at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to record album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record ''Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism'', finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire.

When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and his idol, Edgar Bergen.

Career

Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them.

Dunham's earliest television exposure was doing commercials for Datsun dealerships while in high school. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks (Dunham notes in his autobiography that the latter was an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes). In college, he flew around the country on weekends to perform private shows for customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. After graduating from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1986, he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job."

Dunham appeared in the Broadway show ''Sugar Babies'' with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in 1985, and at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island.

Dunham made his debut on ''The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson'' in 1990. At the end of his act, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson’s couch, considered a mark of approval. At the time, Dunham saw this as his big break, though he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was such as a 1996 episode of ''Ellen'', in which he appeared with the character of Walter, whom he had begun using around this time. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. His other appearances include ''60 Minutes II'', Fox Sports Net's ''The Best Damn Sports Show Period'', ''Hollywood Squares'', ''Entertainment Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'' and the WB's ''Blue Collar TV''.

On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on ''Comedy Central Presents'', his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. Dunham’s manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In 2006, it gave Dunham his first one hour special, ''Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself'', which was taped in Santa Ana, California, and drew two million viewers when it aired, cementing Dunham's stardom. His second special, ''Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity'', was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. in 2007. It was available at Redbox stands and on DVD in September 2007. ''Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special'' was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2008, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.

Dunham appeared as "The Amazing Ken" with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the 2007 Larry the Cable Guy movie ''Delta Farce''.

In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, ''Don't Come Home for Christmas'', on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who has joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in ''Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special''.

In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called ''The Jeff Dunham Show'' that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.

Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom ''30 Rock'', playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series ''Sonny With a Chance'', as two security guards.

Dunham appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, ''Dinner for Schmucks'', as Lewis, with a new puppet named Debbie.

Critical praise and controversy

In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's “Stand-Up Showdown.” He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice, was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the ''Dallas Morning News'' for his technique and timing.

Some have accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic. In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone featuring Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the Advertising Standards Authority noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech." He further commented, "I'm considering renaming Achmed, 'Bill.'" (Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd," or those characterized by "basic Christian values," as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.)

Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, ''The Jeff Dunham Show'', as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 ''The Jeff Dunham Show'' enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, who did not find it funny, and either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or conceded a prejudice against Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself.

J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters that it would otherwise not garner by itself.

Books

In 2003, BRASMA Publications released ''Dear Walter'', a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham, and Walter Cummings.

According to Dunham's website, his autobiography, ''All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me'', was published by Dutton in November 2010.

Characters

Walter

Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter has appeared in all three Comedy Central specials. He's been married for several decades, and when Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-''seven'' years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicon mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.

Peanut

Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in ''Arguing with Myself'' that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in ''Arguing with Myself'', after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with ''me''?"

José Jalapeño on a Stick

José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Latin accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.

Bubba J

Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in ''Arguing with Myself'' and ''A Very Special Christmas Special'' as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in ''Arguing with Myself'' that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt".

Sweet Daddy Dee

Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in ''Arguing with Myself'' as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a ''dumb'' ho."

Melvin the Superhero Guy

Also referred to in ''Spark of Insanity'' as The Superhero: Melvin, Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once." Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on ''COPS''," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 ''Comedy Central Presents'' episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in ''Spark of Insanity'', he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He also has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself.

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I kill you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in ''Spark of Insanity'', and later made an appearance in the ''Very Special Christmas Special'', singing a song called "Jingle Bombs". He also dubs the so-called Guitar Guy "You racist bastard"! for warming up with typical Arab chords. Most of the humor Dunham expresses with Achmed centers on this motif. When mentioning that Achmed appears to be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess, by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation." Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed claims he does not think he's a Muslim ("look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'"). As of June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed is the fourth most watched online video ever, having amassed nearly 200 million views.

Diane

Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film ''Dinner for Schmucks'' as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.

Achmed Junior

The son of Achmed who appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010.

Others

Other characters that Dunham has voiced include a miniature puppet of Peanut's, which turns out to be a small version of Dunham himself, and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E;'s ''An Evening at The Improv''. Dunham jokingly states in his autobiography that the tequila worm must have been somewhat "confused", as the prop Dunham used was actually an old Chianti bottle, with the visually identifiable "straw basket" (''fiasco'') design, filled with cranberry juice.

Personal life

In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girl's softball game, but which went unused and packed away for 50 years, before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.

Dunham, who says he has loved helicopters since childhood, is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits, as depicted in his appearance on the CMT television magazine ''Fast Living''.

In November 2008 Dunham separated from his wife of 14 years, Paige, with whom he has three daughters, Bree, Ashlyn and Kenna.

References

External links

Jeff Dunham's official website

Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central

Category:1962 births Category:American adoptees Category:American stand-up comedians Category:Baylor University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Dallas, Texas Category:Ventriloquists

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