The recent runaway success of this shrewd, contemporary, and cutting-edge comedy team has now moved Dunham and his three-foot tall sidekicks out of comedy clubs and into sold-out concert halls and performance arenas across the country. Dunham’s team consists of ‘Peanut’, a frenzied and fast self-described ‘comic genius’, who claims origin from an uncharted island in Micronesia. Then there’s ‘Walter’, an everyman-curmudgeon whose opinions on any person or any subject spew forth in a delightfully unbridled fashion; ‘José Jalapeño’ avoided his destiny to be eaten when he teamed up with Jeff after an accident in his home country of Mexico, which permanently placed him, ‘on a stEEK!’; There’s ‘Melvin’, a mild-mannered, no-real-power superhero who wants to save our country from evil, meanwhile he keeps getting locked inside the suitcase; And finally there’s ‘Achmed’, the dead terrorist… Yes, the dead terrorist. Did we mention this show was cutting-edge?

“These guys are my secret weapon,” says Dunham, “There’s some sort of unspoken rule that allows them to say things and make observations that no mere human could ever get away with, and it’s all under the guise of comedy.”

Another reason for Dunham’s success could be that he has been able to create truly subjective comedy and multi-generational entertainment where literally every age group comes away with their own quotable comic jewels that are relatable and easily become part of peoples vernacular. José Jalapeño’s, “On a STEEK”, and Achmed’s “I KILL YOU!” are quickly becoming catch-phrases which are quickly becoming audience favorites. Says Dunham, “You really have to have been there to understand it when folks walk out of a comedy show saying to each other, “I KILL YOU!”

Next up for this comic and his buddies is another Comedy Central one-hour special: Jeff Dunham – Spark of Insanity. Scheduled to premiere September 23rd, it will quickly be followed by the DVD release. “The sophomore album or DVD historically isn’t as good as the first, but the comedy in Spark of Insanity is sharper, edgier, and more contemporary. The taping could not have gone any better and in every way this is a better special. I honestly think it’s going to have the appeal like a successful sitcom does in its second or third season: The audience already identifies with the characters and they’re ready for more. As for the actual production itself, I’ve been surrounded by an Emmy-award-winning team who has taken this project to an entirely new level. It’s literally a beautiful thing to watch…. Oh, and laugh at too!”

Late night television has discovered Dunham as well, including Late Night with David Letterman and more appearances on The Tonight Show than any other ventriloquist in history. Walter brought the house down by deadpanning after being invited back again, “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I come back here.” Jeff and his posse feel equally comfortable on the sports, comedy and country couches and have guested on The Best Damn Sports Show Ever, Blue Collar TV and CMT’s Fast Living among many others.

Jeff was featured On Fast Living along with another passion, building and flying his own full-sized personal helicopter. “One of my oldest friends said to me once when he was in the passenger seat at 1200 feet, ‘I just realized I’m flying in a helicopter built by the same guy who built WALTER’.” In the DVD extras of ‘Spark of Insanity’, we won’t see Dunham building a helicopter, but you will see Melvin the Superhero go from start to finish. Says Dunham, “I would set up my video camera in each step of the process then talk about and show what it takes to create a dummy. After editing all the footage to a nice little 30-minute extra, my manager said, ‘It’s like Monster Garage with a puppet.’ I THINK that was a compliment!”