Jeff Dunham Net Worth & Biography

Jeff Dunham net worth and salary

Jeff Dunham is an American comedian and ventriloquist with a net worth of $140 million. Jeff Dunham is consistently one of the world’s highest-paid comedians, earning between $15 and $30 million every year. Dunham has been on a variety of television programs, including “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Comedy Central Presents,” “The Tonight Show,” and “Sonny With a Chance.” Dunham is one of the top-grossing stand-up entertainers in North America on a consistent basis. Dunham is largely responsible for reviving the art of ventriloquism. Since Edgar Bergen, he has done more to advance the art form than anybody else.

Early Life

Jeff Dunham was born on April 18, 1962, in Dallas, Texas. Howard and Joyce Dunham adopted him when he was three months old. He was brought up in a pious Presbyterian family. He began ventriloquism experiments in 1970, when he was eight years old and received a Mortimer Snerd dummy as a Christmas present. Dunham pulled out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library the next day, and the rest is history. By the fourth grade, Dunham desired not simply to be a professional ventriloquist, but to be the best ever. He spent countless hours practicing in front of the mirror, studying the routines of ventriloquist Edgar Bergan, and poring through a how-to video on the subject.

Dunham began visiting the Vent Haven ConVENTion, an annual international ventriloquists’ convention in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, in sixth grade. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since that time, in 1977. Dunham began performing in front of audiences as a teenager, at his high school, church, and at his employment at Six Flags. In 1976, he made his television debut. Dunham began her career in ads for Dallas car dealerships while still in high school. In 1980, he graduated from high school and was elected Most Likely to Succeed. He had a 10-year goal of appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

Dunham enrolled to Baylor University with the intention of pursuing a degree in communications. Simultaneously, he flew around the country on weekends, performing 100 private gigs per year. By the time he entered his junior year of college in 1983-1984, he was earning $70,000 a year.

Career

He won a role in a Broadway variety show starring Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in 1985. This performance would prove to be a watershed moment for the young comedian. He relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1980s. In 1988, he made his long-awaited appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Jeff was a fairly successful traveling comedian throughout the 1990s. Jeff became a celebrity following his 2003 Comedy Central show. He then appeared on television shows such as Blue Collar TV, Good Morning America, and Hollywood Squares, as well as his own one-hour specials Jeff Dunham: Arguing With Myself (2006), Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007), and Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special (2008). (2008). His Christmas program drew the highest ratings in Comedy Central history.

Dunham signed a deal with Comedy Central in 2009, which included the opportunity to show his fourth special, a tour of sixty cities, a collaboration in consumer items, and an order for the television series “Jeff Dunham Show” (which premiered on October 22, 2009), as well as DVDs. Despite having the highest-rated debut in Comedy Central history and originally receiving better average ratings than other Comedy Central shows, “The Jeff Dunham” show was canceled after only one season owing to poor reviews, low ratings, and higher production expenses than other Comedy Central shows.

“Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos,” his fourth special, premiered on Comedy Central on September 25, 2011. On October 7, 2012, his sixth special, “Minding the Monsters,” premiered. The animated feature “Achmed Saved America” released on CMT in March 2014. His sixth special, “All Over the Map,” premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014. Dunham went from Comedy Central to NBC for his seventh special, “Unhinged in Hollywood.” It made its world premiere on September 17, 2015.

Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno on a stick, Bubba J, Sweet Daddy Dee, Melvin the Superhero Guy, Little Jeff, Achmed Junior, Diane, and Seamus are just a few of Dunham’s characters.

Dunham is the author of two books. “Dear Walter” was released in 2003 and was written in collaboration with Walter Cummings. In 2010, he wrote his autobiography, “All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me.”

Private Life

Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, in 1992 at West Palm Beach’s Comedy Corner. They married in 1994, and he adopted Paige’s daughter Bree, who was one and a half years old at the time. They had two daughters, Ashlyn (1995) and Kenna (1996). (1997). Dunham was frequently on the road performing, which put a strain on their marriage. He filed for divorce in November 2008.

Dunham began dating Audrey Murdick in mid-2009. Audrey Murdick is a nutritionist, personal trainer, and bodybuilding competitor. They became engaged on December 25, 2011, and married on October 12, 2012. She gave birth to their twin sons, James Jeffrey and Jack Steven, in October 2015.

Salary Highlights

He earned $20 million in 2011. In 2012, he earned $22 million. He earned $19 million in 2013. Jeff earned $17 million between June 2017 and June 2018. He has sold over ten million DVDs and tens of millions of dollars in goods.

Real Estate

Dunham sold his Mediterranean-style Encino, California house in December 2017 for $4.1 million. The residence features five bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, and a total square footage of 6,522 square feet. He first advertised it for $5.199 million in 2015. He paid $4.25 million for the residence in 2009.

Dunham also sold a beachfront house in Del Mar, California in 2017. The three-story, 6,423-square-foot Mediterranean-style home was built in 2007 and features five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and two half baths. He advertised the home for $8.75 million in 2011. It was eventually sold for $5.5 million in 2017.