A quick glance of Jeff Dunham’s childhood photos reveals the milestones of youth—birthdays, graduations, awkward first dates… very awkward first dates. Nothing unusual – except for the fact that in almost every photo, he’s joined by a dummy seated on his lap. Literally.
Luckily for Dunham—and the millions of fans who continue to be entertained by his suitcase posse worldwide—those early wooden characters were a hint of the spectacular career to come.
Sold-out global concert tours. Ratings-shattering broadcast specials. A best-selling author. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A few Guinness Book of World Records set for good measure.
Dunham has nine record-breaking comedy specials to his credit – two were Comedy Central’s most viewed specials of their respective years (Minding the Monsters, 2012; Controlled Chaos, 2011), and his Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special, 2008; remains the network’s highest rated program of all time. His NBC primetime special, Unhinged, ranked as the time period’s top non-sports program on the Big 4, rebroadcast six weeks later on Comedy Central to become its top rated special of 2016.
The versatile entertainer created an animated film for CMT, hosted the Food Network’s Halloween Baking Championship, guested on ABC’s “Ellen,” NBC’s “30 Rock,” Disney’s “Sonny with a Chance,” done commercials for Hertz, and appeared in Jay Roach’s “Dinner for Schmucks,” featuring Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd. He was also the subject of TWO Biography documentaries on A&E: “Birth of a Dummy” 2011, and “Talking Heads”, 2019.
With headline-generating performances in over 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, China, South Africa, and the Middle East, Dunham understands what connects people – regardless of culture, gender, age or political beliefs. He creatively adapts to local customs or concerns; in 2014 when the Malaysian government requested Achmed not be part of the show, Dunham enlisted Jacque Merde, the Dead French Terrorist, who looked suspiciously like Achmed, but instead donned a French chapeau, rather than the trademark white cloth headpiece.
With standing ovations across cultures (winning audiences in Israel and Saudi Arabia on consecutive concert nights), Dunham has become arguably the most successful comedian over the past three decades. With 3.6 million YouTube subscribers and 11 million Facebook followers, he has amassed over a billion views and sold over seven million DVDs.
Dunham has been named Billboard’s Top Comedy Tour three years in a row, cited by Forbes as the third highest paid comedian behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, and has been profiled in virtually every publication, platform and late night variety show, including The Los Angeles Times, ABC’s Nightline, Variety, The New York Times, People, The Today Show, The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman.
Don’t miss your chance to see Jeff Dunham at Truist Arena on February 26, 2026 at 7:00 pm.
Buy tickets at Ticketmaster.com, TheTruistArena.com. JeffDunham.com or at the Truist Arena Box Office.
