Dunham is an English surname and place name and may refer to:

Surname[link]

• Dunham (surname), includes a list of people with the surname

Places[link]

• Dunham, Nottinghamshire, England
• Dunham, Quebec, Canada
• Dunham Castle, Greater Manchester, England
• Great Dunham, Norfolk, England
• Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester, England
• Dunham on the Hill, Cheshire, England
• Dunham Tavern, the oldest building in Cleveland, Ohio
• Dunham Town, Greater Manchester, England
• Dunham Castle at Oaklawn Farm, Dunham Woods Riding Club, Wayne, Illinois
• Dunham House, near Kempton, Indiana
• Jonathan Singletary Dunham House, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
• Dunham Laboratory, Collegiate Gothic building on the campus of Yale University, gift of Austin C. Dunham

Other[link]

• Dunham classification, a classification system for carbonate sedimentary rocks created by Sir Kingsley Charles Dunham
• Dunham's Sports, chain of sporting goods stores
• USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy

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

Jon Hamm
Hamm at the Vancouver Olympics in February 2010
Born	Jonathan Daniel Hamm (1971-03-10) March 10, 1971 (age 41) St. Louis, Missouri United States
Alma mater	University of Missouri
Occupation	Actor, Director
Years active	2000–present
Partner	Jennifer Westfeldt (1997–present)

Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor best known for playing advertising executive Don Draper in the AMC drama series Mad Men, which premiered in July 2007. His performance on the show earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2008.

Early life[link]

Hamm was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Daniel and Deborah Hamm. His father ran a family trucking company and his mother was a secretary.^[1][2] Hamm's parents divorced when he was two, and he lived with his mother in Creve Coeur, Missouri,^[2] until she was diagnosed with terminal abdominal cancer when he was 10.^[3] Hamm then moved in with his father,^[4] who died when Hamm was 20.

Hamm's first acting role was as Winnie-the-Pooh in first grade. At 16, he was cast as Judas in Godspell.^[5] Although he enjoyed the experience, he did not take acting seriously. Hamm attended John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri, where he was a member of the football, baseball, and swim teams.^[6] Following graduation in 1989, Hamm enrolled at the University of Texas,^[7] where he was a member of the Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity.^[8] Hamm returned home to attend the University of Missouri after his father's death.^[7] At Missouri, he auditioned for and won a role in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[4] Other roles followed, including Leon Czolgosz in Assassins.

After graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English,^[9] Hamm returned to his high school to teach eighth-grade acting.^[2][4][10] One of his students was Ellie Kemper, an actress best known for her role on The Office and as Hamm's co-star in Bridesmaids.^[11]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Hamm relocated to Los Angeles in 1995.^[12] He moved into a house with four other aspiring actors and began waiting tables while attending auditions.^[4]

He found employment as an actor difficult despite representation by the William Morris Endeavor.^[13] In 1998, having failed to obtain any acting jobs after three years,^[1] he was dropped by William Morris. Hamm continued working as a waiter,^[4] and briefly took a job as a set designer for a softcore pornography film.^[14] After repeatedly failing to find acting jobs, he set his thirtieth birthday as a deadline to succeed in Hollywood,^[5] observing that:

You either suck that up and find another agent, or you go home and say you gave it a shot, but that's the end of that. The last thing I wanted to be out here was one of those actors who's 45 years old, with a tenuous grasp of their own reality, and not really working much. So I gave myself five years. I said, if I can't get it going by the time I'm 30, I'm in the wrong place. And as soon as I said that, it's like I started working right away.^[4]

In 2000, Hamm was cast as firefighter Burt Ridley on NBC's drama series Providence.^[15][16] Hamm made his feature film debut in Clint Eastwood's 2000 space adventure Space Cowboys. His role consisted of one line. More substantial roles followed in the independent comedy Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)^[17] and the war film We Were Soldiers (2002).^[18] Hamm played the recurring role of police inspector Nate Basso on Lifetime's television series The Division from 2002 to 2004.^[15][16] Other television appearances included roles in What About Brian, CSI: Miami, Related, Numb3rs, The Unit, and The Sarah Silverman Program.^[15][16]

Breakthrough role[link]

Hamm's breakthrough role came in 2007 when he was chosen from more than 80 candidates^[14] to portray protagonist Don Draper in AMC's drama series Mad Men, despite initial concerns by director Alan Taylor and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner that he was too handsome for the role. In the series, set in a fictional 1960s advertising agency, he plays a suave advertising executive with a mysterious past.^[19] Hamm recalled, "I read the script for Mad Men and I loved it. I never thought they'd cast me. I mean, I thought they'd go with one of the five guys who look like me, but are movie stars."^[20]

Hamm in November 2008

Mad Men debuted July 19, 2007, with almost 1.4 million viewers.^[21] It quickly developed a loyal audience, with both the show and Hamm receiving strong reviews. Robert Bianco of USA Today was complimentary of Hamm, noting that his interpretation of Draper was a "star-making performance".^[22] The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert called Hamm a "brilliant lead".^[23]

Hamm appeared in the 2008 science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name.^[24] Although the film received negative reviews,^[25] it was financially successful, earning $230 million worldwide at the box office.^[26] Hamm hosted Saturday Night Live on October 25, 2008,^[27] as well as on January 30 and October 30, 2010.^[28][29] In 2009, Hamm appeared in three episodes of the NBC comedy 30 Rock as Dr. Drew Baird, a neighbor and love interest of Liz Lemon, portrayed by Tina Fey.^[30] For his work on the sitcom, he received an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.^[31] On December 12, 2010, Hamm lent his voice to Fox's animated series The Simpsons, portraying an FBI supervisor.^[32]

Hamm's first leading film role was in 2009's Stolen, an independent mystery thriller in which he portrayed a father attempting to discover the circumstances surrounding his son's kidnapping.^[33][34] The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck stated that the feature never came together, and added that Hamm was unable to do much with his "underwritten role".^[35] Hamm had a voice cameo in the animated feature Shrek Forever After, released in May 2010, as an ogre named Brogan.^[36] Also in 2010, Hamm appeared opposite Ben Affleck as an FBI agent in The Town.^[37] Hamm was pleased that the film offered him a chance to play a role unlike that of Don Draper, explaining that he had received "about forty scripts that were all set in the 60s, or had me playing advertising guys."^[38] The film received generally favorable reviews^[39] and earned $144 million worldwide.^[40] Still another 2010 project found Hamm playing a defense attorney in Howl, based on Allen Ginsberg's 1956 poem of the same name.^[41] 2011 projects included roles in Zack Snyder's action-fantasy movie Sucker Punch and the independent feature Friends with Kids, directed by real-life partner Jennifer Westfeldt, which he helped co-produce.^[42]

He has a recurring role in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret as the servant of sociopathic billionaire Dave Mountford, the role of which is later revealed to in fact be a fictionalized version of Jon Hamm, complaining that being made into Dave's servant has made him need to be written out of the first four episodes of Mad Men.

Personal life[link]

Hamm with girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, 2008

Hamm has been in a romantic relationship with actress and screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt since 1997.^[3] They own homes in Los Angeles and the Upper West Side of New York.^[3][17] In an interview, Hamm stated: "We may not have a piece of paper that says we're husband and wife, but after 10 years, Jennifer is more than just a girlfriend. What we have is much deeper and we both know that. To me, people [should] get married when they're ready to have kids, which I'm not ruling out."^[43] Hamm, along with Westfeldt, has appeared in Gap advertisements.^[44] In April 2009, Hamm and Westfeldt formed their own production company, Points West Pictures.^[45][46] The couple are advocates of animal rescue and adopted a dog named Cora from the Much Love Animal Shelter in California.^[47]

Although his role as Draper requires him to smoke, Hamm gave up smoking when he was 24.^[48][49] Due to laws regulating workplace safety, he does not smoke actual cigarettes, but rather herbal cigarettes that do not contain tobacco or nicotine.^[49][50]

Hamm was named Salon.com's Sexiest Man Living in 2007,^[51] and was named one of People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive in 2008.^[52] Hamm won GQ's 'International Man' award in September 2010^[53] and was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Entertainers of the Year in 2008 and 2010.^[54]

Hamm is an avid golfer^[55] and a devoted fan of both the NHL's St. Louis Blues (going as far as appearing in two television ads for the team)^[56] and the MLB's St. Louis Cardinals.^[57] He narrated the official highlight film for the 2011 World Series in which the Cardinals won. Growing up, Hamm was a fan of the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals, who in 1988 moved to Phoenix, eventually becoming the Arizona Cardinals. Hamm states, however, that given the Cardinals' dismal performance during the 1970s, he adopted the Pittsburgh Steelers as his fallback team. Hamm cites the Steelers' success during the 1970s and his distaste for the Cowboys' prowess over the Cardinals as a reason for choosing the Steelers.^[58]

In March 2010, Hamm replaced actor Richard Thomas as the voiceover for Mercedes-Benz' S400 Hybrid ad campaign.^[59]

Filmography[link]

Hamm on the set of The Town in September 2009

Feature films[link]

Television[link]

Music Videos[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Rochlin, Margy. "Those Were the Good Old Days? Hardly". The New York Times. September 30, 2007. Accessed February 12, 2009.
• Alston, Joshua. "Bryan Cranston and Jon Hamm: Get 'Bad,' Get 'Mad,' And You'll Get Glad". Newsweek. December 31, 2007. Accessed June 4, 2009.
• Hainey, Michael. "The Man In The Gray (Indestructible) Suit". GQ. January 1, 2008. Accessed June 18, 2009.
• Wilson, Benji. "Jon Hamm: Why Mad Men was an instant star". The Daily Telegraph. March 14, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
• Seltzer, Ian. "Jon Hamm: Suave, Successful, Mad Man". ABC News. July 14, 2008. Accessed April 28, 2009.
• Ryan, Maureen. "'Mad Men' Calvacade of Stars, Part 2: Jon Hamm". Chicago Tribune. July 15, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
• Guest, Jocelyn. "Jon Hamm of 'Mad Men' on the Future of Don Draper". New York Magazine. July 24, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
• Neuman, Clayton. "Q&A – Jon Hamm". AMC. October 26, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
• Wolf, Jeanne. "Jon Hamm's Sudden Fame". Parade Magazine. Accessed April 27, 2009.
• Hill, Erin. "Jon Hamm: 'Everyone Deserves a Little Good-Natured Ribbing'". Parade Magazine. March 11, 2010. Accessed March 11, 2010.
• Torvalds, Linus. "Pearls before swine..". LINUS' BLOG. February 28, 2011. Accessed May 24, 2011.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jon Hamm

• Jon Hamm at the Internet Movie Database
• Jon Hamm at Emmys.com

AMCtv.com - Jon Hamm Ultimate Fan Game

Alex Karpovsky
Born	United States
Occupation	Actor, writer, film director, producer, editor

Alex Karpovsky is an American director, actor, screenwriter, producer and editor.^[1][2]

Alex Karpovsky's first feature-length film, The Hole Story, was completed in 2006. The dark comedy garnered numerous awards on the festival circuit before being released theatrically by Indiepix. Karpovsky's follow-up feature, Woodpecker premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival and was released by Carnivalesque Films in September 2009. Alex's most recent film, Trust Us, This Is All Made Up, premiered at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival and was released by B-Side Entertainment in February 2010 before the company folded a few days later (the film was subsequently released by the New Video Group and continues to air regularly on The Documentary Channel). His new film, Rubberneck, premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in April.

Film Career[link]

As an actor, Karpovsky recently played the male lead in Beeswax which premiered at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival; the voices of several Russian gangsters

Mean Man Mike in Harmony and Me, which premiered at the 2009 New Directors/New Films Series;

Paul Lucas in Lovers of Hate, which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival;

Vlad in Bass Ackwards, which also premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival;

Jed in Tiny Furniture, which premiered at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Narrative Jury Prize for Best Feature Film;

Paul in The Grownups, which screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival,

Rookie Agent in Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival

Wally Combs in Wuss, which premiered at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival,

Sasha in Almost in Love, which premiered at the 2011 Abu Dhabi Film Festival,

Ian Gilmore in Sleepwalk With Me, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival,

Peter in Gayby, which premiered at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival

Nick Berger in Supporting Characters, which premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in April.

The character of Marty Green in "Inside Llewyn Davis", the latest film by Joel and Ethan Coen,

Television Work[link]

Karpovsky will play the recurring character of Ray Ploshansky in the new HBO comedy series "Girls (TV series), created by Lena Dunham and produced by Apatow Productions.

Filmography[link]

As a writer/director
2006 The Hole Story
2008 Woodpecker
2009 Trust Us, This Is All Made Up
2012 Rubberneck

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• recent Wall Street Journal profile piece on Alex Karpovsky
• Alex Karpovsky at the Internet Movie Database
• The Hole Story official site
• Woodpecker official site
• Trust Us, This Is All Made Up official site