Jeff Dunham became interested in ventriloquism when he was eight, after he received a Mortimer Snerd dummy from his parents. Snerd was the dummy used by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who was a staple on the radio show “The Chase and Sanborn Hour” from 1937 to 1956. With Bergen as his model, Dunham spent hours practicing in front of a mirror to perfect his routines and decided on ventriloquism as a career.
He began performing in public when he was in high school, and continued his career in college, performing 100 shows a year on average. He made his Broadway debut in 1985, where his experiences taught him to tailor his jokes to his audience.
He is now a frequent guest on late night television, had six specials on Comedy Central, and his own network show. He is one of the highest-paid comedians in the world.
Dunham’s style leans heavily on insult comedy, and he has been called:
“. . . a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder."
He has also been praised as having almost singlehandedly revived ventriloquism. A review says:
“Great show, very funny. I was entertained the whole time. Great job Jeff!”
Dunham will be at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Wednesday, January 10. Organizers of events like this can promote them by using poster printing to create advertisements.