As long as these pieces of his show continue to earn gasps and laughs, they become part of his comic legacy. Both times, he let the puppets have the big laughs.”ĭunham may not have fooled everyone last year in Lubbock, but he sure fooled me. In my review of Dunham’s 2016 show, I wrote, “Just as impressive was Dunham’s comic recovery time, especially when he accidentally sent Peanut flying through the air and later could not stop Achmed from temporarily losing ribs and arms. Or … wait a second … could these bits have been planned to the slightest detail? Achmed the Dead Terrorist expresses similar agitation when a bone must be replaced here, a set of ribs there.Īccidents lead to improvisational comebacks that leave fans in proverbial stitches. The show was going swimmingly without that little extra, but Dunham will do whatever it takes to make laughs louder and longer.Įven so-called mistakes actually may be planned, although it took me a while to figure that out.Ĭonsider the huge laughs that arrive when Dunham appears to accidentally lose control of Peanut, with the puppet slipping to the floor and reading him the riot act afterward. Also impressing were times when Walter, who was not present, is insulted, and the audience hears Walter’s muffled, smart aleck remarks from inside his case. Changing inflections and accents, he also moderates as two puppets demean one another, in effect contributing to three conversations. Yet Peanut has grown more aggressive, especially when learning that Jose is considering leaving the act.ĭunham’s conversing with a puppet is no easy feat. Naturally, Walter does not have much good to say about anybody. One part that is expanded is increased interaction between puppet pals. At no point Friday could fans just say, “Oh, I’ve heard this before” … because, before they got the words out, new material arrived. To his credit, though, Dunham blends old and new material like a master mixologist. However, like the best musicians, he planned to share greatest hits and re-enact some of the bits that prompted fans to see him in the first place. After all, Lubbock was the second stop on his 60-city Passively Aggressive Tour. That is, he would debut his new material. On Friday, he warned fans at the auditorium that he treats comedy like bands treat concerts. One admires the self-deprecating humor whether he speaks the insults, or they arrive from his puppet posse.ĭunham visited the larger United Supermarkets Arena 18 months ago.
ACHMED THE DEAD TERRORIST BLOOPERS SKIN
His skin is thick because he uses personal experiences from his own life as comic ammunition. 21 with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Rather, Dunham wants to be respected as a comedian, which is why he opens his own shows without the puppets - and which is why he was honored on Sept. He does not want to be known as a great ventriloquist. What sets Dunham apart is his material, his delivery, his sleight of hand. Kudos to Dunham for becoming a gifted ventriloquist. He works with props as simple as Jose Jalapeno on a Stick and is introducing a pair of new characters this year, although only one appeared at Dunham’s hilarious show Friday at the Municipal Auditorium. He never developed another interest, not even while earning a degree at Baylor University.įorty-seven years after receiving his first ventriloquist’s dummy, Dunham has created a comedy empire with the help of a cast of hilarious puppets: Walter, Bubba J, Peanut and Achmed the (“Silence, I kill you”) Dead Terrorist. Jeff Dunham began studying ventriloquism at the age of 8.