Jeff Dunham,\ at the Vibrant Arena @ the MARK -- October 19.
Thursday, October 19, 7 p.m.
Vibrant Arena @ the MARK, 1201 River Drive, Moline IL
Appearing locally with familiar traveling companions such as Peanut, José Jalapeño, Bubba J., Sweet Daddy Dee, and a new friend not unreminiscent of a current U.S. president, comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham brings his national "Still Not Canceled" tour to Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK on October 19, the performer's comic talent and audience rapport establishing why he holds the Guinness World Record for “Most Tickets Sold for a Stand-Up Comedy Tour.”
A Texas native and graduate of Baylor University, Dunham began performing his ventriloquist-standup in New York-based comedy clubs in the early 1980s, and after a move to Los Angeles later in the decade, he made his debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in April of 1990. Touring engagements and a cameo on Ellen DeGeneres' sitcom Ellen followed, and in 1998, Dunham was voted “Funniest Male Standup” at the American Comedy Awards. He made his first solo appearance on Comedy Central in 2003's Comedy Central Presents and released the comedy DVD Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself in 2005, with Dunham's recorded performance drawing two million Comedy Central viewers when it premiered the following year. By the decade's end, the artist had his own Comedy Central series in The Jeff Dunham Show, and was on his way to becoming a household name through his frequently controversial characters that Time magazine admiringly described as “politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting, and ill-tempered.”
Dunham, who was deemed “America's favorite comedian” by Slate magazine, has consequently been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen. According to the concert-industry publication Pollstar, Dunham is the top-grossing standup act in North America and among the most successful acts in Europe, and as of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube. Dunham's A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with its DVD selling over 400,000 copies in its first two weeks, and Forbes magazine ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. His autobiography All by My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, & Me, meanwhile, spent three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and his TV and film appearances include roles in 30 Rock, Angie Tribeca, and the Steve Carell comedy Dinner with Schmucks.
Dunham’s latest hour-long Comedy Central outing Me the People premiered last November and became the network’s highest-rated stand-up special since his last broadcast, Jeff Dunham’s Completely Unrehearsed Last-Minute Pandemic Holiday Special in 2020. The international sensation has also completed nine international tours with shows in more than 20 countries, including arenas in Canada, the U.K., Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France, Australia, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa, where he is the highest-selling international comedian. Of particular note, Dunham sold more than 12,000 tickets in the city of Amsterdam alone, and in Iceland, a full 2 percent of the population attended his performance.
Jeff Dunham's touring “Still Not Canceled" show lands in Moline on October 19, admission to the 7 p.m. engagement is $59.50, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting VibrantArena.com.
