Walter may refer to:

People[link]

• Walter (name)
• [[Walter (alias) for Josip Broz Tito]]

Television[link]

• Walter (TV movie)
• W*A*L*T*E*R, a pilot for a spin-off of the TV series M*A*S*H

Astronomy[link]

• Walter (crater), on the Moon, more commonly known as Diophantus
• Walther (crater), also on the Moon

Businesses[link]

• Walter Engines, Czech manufacturer of aero-engines
• Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft, German manufacturer of rocket engines

Places[link]

Italy

• Gualtieri, Italy

United States

• Walter Township, Minnesota

Characters[link]

• Walter, a puppet of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham
• Walter, a fictional character from The Beano comic strip, Dennis and Gnasher
• Walter, a Muppet introduced in The Muppets.

See also[link]

• Gautier (disambiguation)
• Walters (disambiguation)
• Walther (disambiguation)
• Wolter

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Jeff Dunham
Dunham and his character "Achmed the Dead Terrorist", February 2009
Birth name	Jeffrey Dunham
Born	(1962-04-18) April 18, 1962 (age 50) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up
Nationality	American
Genres	Ventriloquism, observational comedy, black comedy
Influences	Edgar Bergen[1]
Spouse	Paige Dunham (1994-2008)
Notable works and roles	Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special The Jeff Dunham Show Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos
Website	jeffdunham.com

Jeff Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has four specials that run on Comedy Central: Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, and Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.^[1] His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder".^[2] Describing his characters, Time observes, "All of them are politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered."^[3] Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism,^[4] and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.^[1]

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 November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales,^[5] and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009 (his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time).^[1] 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.^[6] Forbes.com ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock,^[5] and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period.^[7]

Early life[link]

Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas on April 18, 1962.^[8][9][10] When he was three months old he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household^[10] in an affluent Dallas neighborhood as an only child.^[11] He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album.^[9] The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library,^[1][10] and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever.^[10] 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,^[1] finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire.^[12] Dunham explains that as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.^[10]

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.^[1]

Career[link]

Career beginnings and move to Los Angeles[link]

Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager,^[9] 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.^[1] Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story.^[10] Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while in high school.^[1][10] While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience.^[10] 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^[1] as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes.^[13] He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.^[10]

That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus.^[10] He would also fly around the country on weekends,^[1] doing up to 100 private shows a year,^[10] entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine.^[1] By his junior year in college (1983–1984), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.^[10] He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing the outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes.^[10] Dunham also performed 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.^[2]

After graduating from Baylor University in 1986,^[12] he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and Jose Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true a comedian because he relied on props. His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.^[10] By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career went as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California,^[9][10] never having, as he has commented, "a real job",^[2][14] much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, the owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-Rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.^[10]

[edit] The Tonight Show and beyond

At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled Tonight Show taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. His dreams dashed, the humiliated Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing same six minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his Tonight Show appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King.^[10] Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson’s couch, a mark of approval that only three comedians had ever garnered during their first Carson appearance.^[2][10] Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn",^[10] and 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.^[5] One of these was such as a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter.^[1] Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz.^[15] Dunham would appear on The Tonight Show a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as Hot Country Nights, appearing in one segment on that show with singer Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid 1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.^[10]

Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to get a word in edgewise during his appearance.^[10]

Finding stardom: Dunham's first Comedy Central specials[link]

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.^[1] By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California.^[10] Dunham’s manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, 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 late 2006, Comedy Central aired Arguing with Myself, drawing two million viewers when it aired,^[1] and selling two million DVDs.^[10]

In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film Delta Farce.

His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from Insanity attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube,^[10] making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.^[1] By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China and the Middle East.^[10] Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people.^[1] It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008.^[16] The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.^[3][17]

In September 2008, Dunham's career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.^[10]

In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008.^[18] 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 joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.

2009 – present[link]

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.^[6][19] Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.^{[20] [21]}

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.^[22] 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 Diane.^[23]

His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011 on Comedy Central.

Critical praise and controversy[link]

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,^[14] and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing.^[14]

Some have accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.^[5][24] 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.'"^[25][26] 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.^[1]

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.^[1][27] In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics,^[28] 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.^{[29][30][31][32]}

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.^[1] Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.^[10]

Books[link]

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.^[33]

Dunham's autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in November 2010.^[13]

Characters[link]

Walter[link]

Dunham with Walter, in a shot from a 2007 performance.

Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis' final appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own.^[10] 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 four 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.^[34]

Peanut[link]

Peanut is a hyperactive,^[1] purple-skinned "woozle"^[35] 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".^[3] 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[link]

José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish 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.^[36] Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.^[37]

Bubba J[link]

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".^[36] Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba has a prominent role as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos.

Sweet Daddy Dee[link]

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."^[36]

Melvin the Superhero Guy[link]

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.^[34]

Achmed the Dead Terrorist[link]

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.^[3][38] The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the Jurassic Park films.^[10]

Diane[link]

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.^[39]

Achmed Junior[link]

Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and makes his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent, and does not wish to be a suicide bomber.

Others[link]

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.^[40] The miniature Dunham puppet was also used in Dunham's 2011 Comedy Central special, Controlled Chaos.

Personal life[link]

Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one and a half year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage,^[10] and in November 2008 he filed for divorce.^{[1][3][10][13]} By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with fellow Texan Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer and competition bodybuilder,^[10][13] and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged.^[41]

In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) 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.^[1]

Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit.^[10][11][13] He is also an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple Computer products.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeff Dunham

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jeff Dunham

• Jeff Dunham's official website
• Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central
• Jeff Dunham at the Internet Movie Database

Dubioza kolektiv (a.k.a. Dubioza as referred to by some fans) is a Bosnian band^[1][2] from Zenica, whose music consists of various styles ranging from Reggae, Dub^[3] and Rock intermixed with political lyrics along with uplifting and melodic tendencies.

History[link]

Dubioza Kolektiv's lyrics revolve around themes of peace, understanding and tolerance, alongside an extreme criticism of nationalism and injustice carried in Bosnia and Herzegovina that resulted in the Yugoslav Wars of the early 1990s. The band was founded from members of bands Gluho doba Against Def Age -Alan Hajduk, Adisa Zvekic, Almir Hasanbegovic and Adis Zvekic from Zenica and Ornamenti - Brano Jakubovic and Vedran Mujagic from Sarajevo. Later, guitarist Armin Busatlic (ex-SCH, Beastly Stroke), drummer Senad Suta and percussionist Orhan Oha Maslo joined Dubioza kolektiv.^[4][5]

Dubioza Kolektiv release 2004[link]

Gramofon records released Dubioza's first self-titled album in April 2004.^[3] In December 2004, Dubioza kolektiv second CD is released: EP Open Wide containing tracks featuring dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah and Mush Khan from Pakistani-UK band Fun-da-mental.^[6] In June 2006 Dubioza kolektiv released a new album on Gramofon record company. The album Dubnamite, containing ten new songs, was recorded in 2005/2006. Guests on the album are Defence and a French artist Niköll (Nicolas Cante).^[7]

Wild Wild East[link]

Dubioza Kolektiv's 2011 album, Wild Wild East, has garnered international attention. Most of the songs are in English which opens the band up to new audiences. Critics have generally given it good reviews and cited the originality of mixing so many styles of music. Also the album is mostly responsible for the band's victory of the Best Adria Act in MTV European Award 2011.^[8]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2004 - Dubioza kolektiv
• 2004 - Open Wide (EP)
• 2006 - Dubnamite
• 2008 - Firma Ilegal
• 2010 - 5 do 12
• 2011 - Wild Wild East

Videos[link]

• Bring The System Down-(2004)
• Be Highirly-(2004)
• Bosnian Rastafaria-(2005)
• Ovo Je Zatvor-(2005)
• Receive (Live)-(2006)
• Wasted Time-(2006)
• Triple Head Monster-(2007)
• Svi u Štrajk-(2007)
• Šuti i trpi-(2008)
• Walter-(2010)
• Kokuz-(2010)
• Making Money-(2011)

Band members[link]

Current Line-up[link]

• Almir Hasanbegović: vocals
• Adis Zvekić: vocals
• Brano Jakubović: Electronics
• Vedran Mujagić: Bass
• Armin Bušatlić: Guitar
• Mario Ševarac: Saxophone
• Senad Šuta: drums

Festivals[link]

The band performed at:

• Sziget Festival, Hungary (2005)
• Soča Reggae Riversplash festival, Slovenia (2005)
• Exit Festival Serbia (2005, 2009)
• Eurosonic Festival, Netherlands (2005)
• Topvar Rock Festival, Slovakia (2005, 2006)
• Barevná planeta festival, Czech Republic (2005)
• Rototom Festival, Italy (2006)
• Colors of Ostrava Festival, Czech Republic (2006)
• Green Valley Festival, Austria (2006)
• Fête de l'Humanité, France (2006)
• Barbakan festival, Slovakia (2007)
• Taksirat Festival, Macedonia (2007, 2010)
• Bruis Maastricht, Netherlands (2008)
• Beer Festival Prilep, Macedonia (2009)
• Pohoda festival, Slovakia (2010)
• Vrbovské Vetry, Slovakia (2011)
• Hıdrellez Parkorman 2012, Turkey (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Dubioza kolektiv on MySpace
• Dubioza Kolektiv live concert and interview

v t e Winners of MTV Europe Music Award for Best Adria Act 2000's Siddharta (2005)  • Aleksandra Kovač (2006)  • Van Gogh (2007)  • Laka (2008)  • Lollobrigida Girls (2009) 2010's Gramophonedzie (2010)  • Dubioza kolektiv (2011)

Walter Röhrl

Röhrl in 2003.
Personal information
Nationality	German
Born	(1947-03-07) 7 March 1947 (age 65) Regensburg
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1973–1987
Teams	Porsche, Fiat, Opel, Lancia, Audi
Rallies	75
Championships	2 (1980, 1982)
Rally wins	14
Podiums	31
Stage wins	420
Total points	494
First rally	1973 Monte Carlo Rally
First win	1975 Acropolis Rally
Last win	1985 San Remo Rally
Last rally	1987 Acropolis Rally

Walter Röhrl (born 7 March 1947 in Regensburg) is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW.

Career[link]

At the age of 16, Röhrl began working for the commercial director of a company that legally represented the Bishop of Regensburg along with 6 further Bishops in Bavaria, and skiied in his spare time. In time he became a qualified ski instructor and a keen driver, and became the chauffer to the commercial director, covering up to 120,000 kilometres annually. Some unqualified reports have stated he was once the Bishop's own driver, but this has been acknowledged as untrue. Having also now been active in sports like skiing, Röhrl was invited to drive his first rally in 1968.

Röhrl was a World Rally Championship favorite throughout the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Monte Carlo Rally four times with four different marques. His co-driver for many years was Christian Geistdörfer. His Fiat 131 Abarth carried him to the 1980 title, clinched with his victory in that year's San Remo rally, but it was arguably his equivalent success in 1982 that impressed most of all, with Röhrl fending off audacious four-wheel drive opposition, led by Audi's resurgent Michèle Mouton, to take the title, by virtue of consistency, in his increasingly outmoded rear-drive Opel Ascona 400. It was also during this time that he won the African Rally Championship, in 1982.^[1]

Röhrl driving a Quattro in 2005.

In 1983, he joined Lancia to pilot the new, rear-wheel drive Lancia 037, before finally changing his machinery, in 1984, to the four-wheel drive Audi Quattro, an automobile actually incidentally produced in his home state of Bavaria.

Despite being selective in his choice of top-level events, albeit during a time when this was a less unusual occurrence for top-line drivers in the championship, he still scored 14 WRC victories in his career.

Röhrl was also successful in road racing events, and called "Genius on Wheels" by Niki Lauda. In the 1992 24 Hours Nürburgring race which saw fog and heavy rain in the night, he hardly slowed down, anticipating the corners by timing. The race was nevertheless interrupted for hours.

In Italy, he was elected "Rallye driver of the century". In France he was elected "Rallye driver of the millennium" in November 2000. A jury out of 100 worldwide motorsports experts elected him "Best Rallye driver ever" in Italy.

In recent years, he has been retained as the senior test driver for Porsche road cars, famously setting quick laptimes for them testing round the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife, for example with the Porsche Carrera GT.

Röhrl was expected to make his competitive return to the Nürburgring 24 hour race in 2010 at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. However, he was forced to withdraw from the event due to a back injury.^[2] It was to be his first 24 hour race in 17 years, since his last start in 1993. In 2011, Röhrl was inducted into the Rally Hall of Fame along with Hannu Mikkola.^[3]

WRC victories[link]

#	Event	Season	Co-driver	Car
1	22nd Acropolis Rally	1975	Jochen Berger	Opel Ascona
2	25th Acropolis Rally	1978	Christian Geistdörfer	Fiat 131 Abarth
3	Critérium du Québec	1978	Christian Geistdörfer	Fiat 131 Abarth
4	48th Rally Monte Carlo	1980	Christian Geistdörfer	Fiat 131 Abarth
5	14th Rally Portugal	1980	Christian Geistdörfer	Fiat 131 Abarth
6	1st Rally Argentina	1980	Christian Geistdörfer	Fiat 131 Abarth
7	22nd Rally Sanremo	1980	Christian Geistdörfer	Fiat 131 Abarth
8	50th Rally Monte Carlo	1982	Christian Geistdörfer	Opel Ascona 400
9	14th Rallye Côte d'Ivoire	1982	Christian Geistdörfer	Opel Ascona 400
10	51st Rally Monte Carlo	1983	Christian Geistdörfer	Lancia Rally 037
11	30th Acropolis Rally	1983	Christian Geistdörfer	Lancia Rally 037
12	13th Rally New Zealand	1983	Christian Geistdörfer	Lancia Rally 037
13	52nd Rally Monte Carlo	1984	Christian Geistdörfer	Audi Quattro A2
14	27th Rally Sanremo	1985	Christian Geistdörfer	Audi Quattro Sport S1

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Walter Röhrl

• Webpage from Walter Röhrl
• Walter Röhrl at rallybase.nl

Walter H.G. Lewin
A 2003 photo of Lewin
Born	(1936-01-29) January 29, 1936 (age 76) Netherlands
Residence	Netherlands, United States
Nationality	Dutch
Fields	Astrophysics
Institutions	MIT
Alma mater	Delft University of Technology
Notable awards	NASA Award for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1978) Alexander von Humboldt Award (1984 and 1991) Guggenheim Fellowship (1984) MIT Science Council Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1984), W. Buechner Teaching Prize (1988) Everett Moore Baker Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2003)

Walter H. G. Lewin (born January 29, 1936), PhD, is a Dutch American astrophysicist and professor emeritus of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Education and career[link]

He earned his Ph.D. degree in nuclear physics in 1965 at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Walter Lewin went to MIT in January 1966 as a post-doctoral associate, and became an assistant professor later that year.^[1] He joined an X-ray astronomy group at MIT and conducted all-sky balloon surveys with George W. Clark. Through the late seventies, there were about twenty successful balloon flights. These balloon surveys led to the discovery of five new X-ray sources, which doubled the number known at the time. Furthermore, some of these X-ray sources were found to be varying, and some were X-ray flares. The rockets used by other researchers could not have discovered that the X-ray sources varied because they were only in the air for a few minutes, whereas the balloons could be in the air for many hours. The surveys also resulted in the discovery of GX 1+4, which was the first slowly rotating X-ray pulsar found.

Walter Lewin received the "2003 Everett Moore Baker Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching" award. Some of his lectures are available online in video format.

Lewin is also an art enthusiast and collector. He has given one lecture in art history for MIT World.^[2]

Lectures[link]

Many of the Walter Lewin Lectures on Physics at MIT have been shown for over six years on UWTV in Seattle, reaching an audience of about four million people. Lewin personally responded to hundreds of e-mail requests that he received per year from UWTV viewers. For fifteen years he was on MIT Cable TV, with programs aired 24 hours per day helping freshmen with their weekly homework assignments. Videos of Lewin's lectures on Newtonian Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, and Vibrations and Waves, among others, can be viewed from the MIT OpenCourseWare web site, and easily viewed as video podcasts on The Internet Archive.

A video of Lewin drawing dashed lines on chalkboards during lectures has become a viral video.^[3]

Selected publications[link]

• Lewin, Walter H.G.; Jan van Paradijs, Ronald E. Taam (204-10-27). "X-ray Bursts". Space Science Reviews 62 (3-4): 223–389. Bibcode 1993SSRv...62..223L. DOI:10.1007/BF00196124. 

• D. Pooley, W.H.G. Lewin, S.F. Anderson, H. Baumgardt, A.V. Filippenko, B.M. Gaensler, L. Homer, P. Hut, V.M. Kaspi, B. Margon, S. McMillan, S. Portegies Zwart, M. van der Klis, & F. Verbunt (2003). "Dynamical Formation of Close Binary Systems in Globular Clusters". Astrophysical Journal 591 (2): L131–L134. arXiv:astro-ph/0305003. Bibcode 2003ApJ...591L.131P. DOI:10.1086/377074. 

• J. Miller, A. Fabian, R. Wijnands, R. Remillard, P. Wojdowski, N. Schulz, T. Di Matteo, H. Marshall, C. Canizares, & W. Lewin (2002). "Resolving the Composite Fe K-alpha Emission Line in the Galactic Black Hole Cygnus X-1 with Chandra". Astrophysical Journal 578: 348–356. arXiv:astro-ph/0202083. Bibcode 2002ApJ...578..348M. DOI:10.1086/342466. 

• D. Pooley, W. Lewin, L. Homer, S. Anderson, B. Gaensler, B. Margon, F. Verbunt, J. Miller, D. Fox, V. Kaspi & M. v.d. Klis (2002). "Optical Identifications of Multiple Faint X-ray Sources in the Globular Cluster NGC~6752: Evidence for Numerous Cataclysmic Variables". Astrophysical Journal 569: 405. arXiv:astro-ph/0110192. Bibcode 2002ApJ...569..405P. DOI:10.1086/339210. 

• C. Kouveliotou, J. van Paradijs, G. J. Fishman, M. S. Briggs, J. Kommers, B. A. Harmon, C. A. Meegan, W. H. G. Lewin (1996). "Discovery of a New Type of Burster from the Galactic Center Region". Nature 379 (6568): 799. Bibcode 1996Natur.379..799K. DOI:10.1038/379799a0. 

• M. v.d. Klis, J. Swank, W. Zhang, K. Jahoda, E. Morgan, W. Lewin, B. Vaughan, & J. van Paradijs (1996). "Discovery of Sub millisecond Quasi-periodic Oscillations in the X-ray Flux of Scorpius X-1". Astrophysical Journal 469: L1. arXiv:astro-ph/9607047. Bibcode 1996ApJ...469L...1V. DOI:10.1086/310251. 

• W.H.G. Lewin, G.W. Clark and W.B. Smith (1968). "Observation of an X-Ray Flare from Sco X-1". Astrophysical Journal (Letters) 152: L55. Bibcode 1968ApJ...152L..55L. DOI:10.1086/180177. 

Selected books[link]

• Lewin, Walter; Goldstein, Warren, For the Love of Physics: From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time - A Journey Through the Wonders of Physics, Simon and Schuster, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4391-0827-7
• Lewin, Walter; van der Klis, Michiel (editors), Compact stellar X-ray sources, Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-521-82659-4
• Lewin, Walter H.G.; van Paradijs, Jan; van den Heuvel, Edward P.J., (editors), X-ray binaries, Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-521-41684-1
• Truemper, J.; Lewin, W.H.G.; Brinkmann, W., (editors), The evolution of galactic X-ray binaries, Dordrecht, Holland ; Boston : D. Reidel Pub. Co.; Hingham, MA : Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada by Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1986. ISBN 90-277-2184-X

See also[link]

• Walter Lewin Lectures on Physics
• MIT Physics Department

References[link]

1. ^ Instructor Profile: Walter Lewin at MIT OpenCourseWare (archived 2009)
2. ^ "Looking at 20th Century Art through the Eyes of a Physicist - Walter Lewin (video)", MIT World, January 14, 2004
3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l789l6np-qA&feature=related

Further reading[link]

• Clark, Kim (2008-01-10). "A New Physics Superstar". US News and World Report. http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/e-learning/2008/01/10/a-new-physics-superstar.html. Retrieved 2009-01-08. 
• Rimer, Sara (2007-12-19). "At 71, Physics Professor Is a Web Star". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/education/19physics.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Walter Lewin

• Walter Lewin's page at MIT
• MIT Physics Department website
• Walter Lewin's Physics I Course Page with Video Lectures
• Walter Lewin's Physics II Course Page with Video Lectures
• Walter Lewin's Physics III Course Page with Video Lectures
• WalterLewin's Physics I Course on iTunes U (needs iTunes)
• WalterLewin's Physics II Course on iTunesU (needs iTunes)
• WalterLewin's Physics III Course on iTunesU (needs iTunes)
• The Elegant Universe PBS Video featuring Walter Lewin
• Walter Lewin Playlist Appearance on WMBR's Dinnertime Sampler radio show February 4, 2004