Local Weather Forecast
Today: Current:63	Monday: 84/66	Tuesday: 83/68
Complete Forecast for  May 12 2008

By LAUREN KEATON
Entertainment Editor

Record-setting ventriloquist and nationally recognized comedian, Jeff Dunham will bring his suitcase posse to Tyler's Oil Palace 7 p.m. Saturday, May 10.

"The thing I pride myself most on is that my show has no redeeming value whatsoever," Dunham said, laughing, during a recent phone interview. "So, check your brain at the door and have a good time. It is refreshing not to have to learn anything or be preached at, I think."

Doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are $44 each.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.oilpalace.com.

With two Amazon.com No. 1 selling DVDs, two record-setting Comedy Central specials, a sold-out national tour and YouTube hits in the multi-millions, Dunham has been praised by many as a pop culture phenomenon, and now he will bring his unequaled antics to East Texas audiences.

Dunham of course never travels alone, he is best known for his fast-talking and socially reckless "Suitcase Posse" consisting of one-of-a-kind characters.

Traditionally, these personalities used by Dunham would be called "dummies," because they are the tools of a ventriloquist, but they are indisputably much more than that.

First, and probably most recognizable to TV viewers, is "Walter," the elderly, outspoken, and politically incorrect killjoy who spouts his views on the shortcomings of marriage, politics, and anything else that needs skewering in American culture.

Next is "Peanut,'' a frenzied, loudmouthed, purple, loveable imp, who "Walter" describes as "a Muppet on crack."

Then there's "Jose Jalapeno," a chili pepper who teamed up with Dunham after a pogo accident in his home country of Mexico, permanently placing him on a stick (or, "STEEK," when spoken with "Jose's" Spanish flair).

Lowest on the I.Q. chart is "Bubba J," a trailer park native and true, diehard, beer-drinking NASCAR fan.

Finally, Dunham's latest character to join the act is "Achmed the Dead Terrorist," who thankfully has failed in multiple suicidal tasks, and has allowed Dunham to openly mock the current political climate.

Addressing his controversal addition to the group, Dunham said "You want to laugh at what scares you. You want to whistle in the dark. With Achmed, I have taken this horrible human being and created this character who is bad at what he's doing and doesn't like it ... and he loves Christmas!"

A native Texan, Dunham said he is looking forward to "coming home."

Dunham is also no stranger to East Texas.

Attending Baylor University in Waco, he became familiar with Tyler as a young comedian.

"I used to do commercials for Courtesy Pontiac. I would walk up and down with a dummy and sell cars. I would drive up from Waco (to Tyler) and shoot 40 second commericials," he said.

Dunham grew up in Richardson, graduating from Richardson High School in 1986.

He said although being in Tyler will be great, he admittedly has some alterior motives for his May show.

"Jill Hall was one of my crushes in High School," he said, adding that after college, he heard she was living in the Rose Capital. "She never knew it. So ... I hope some old friends will come out of the woodwork (on Saturday.)"

Not to worry, though, Dunham said he promises to give a stellar performance, no matter what motiviation is there.

"Obviously people are there to see a great show. That is what they are going to see," he said.

In January, Dunham was voted No. 1 in Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Showdown," by fans across America who were able to cast their vote on the Comedy Central Web site for their favorite comedian.

Dunham beat out hundreds of top-notch comedians across the country, confirming his mass appeal. Dunham's latest DVD, "Spark of Insanity," held the number one spot on Amazon.com for 11 days, and is selling at a rate of 35,000 per week, according to Dunham publicity officials.

Both of Dunham's DVDs have gone multi-platinum ("Arguing with Myself" was released in April 2006), and "Spark of Insanity" continues to be one of the highest rated hour-long standup specials in Comedy Central's history, with multiple airings every month.

Since the release of "Spark of Insanity" in September, 2007, Dunham has sold more than 250,000 concert tickets, grossing in excess of $7 million in revenue, making him one of the strongest touring artists today.

His overwhelming popularity and international appeal now has Canada taking note, as The Comedy Channel (Canada's version of Comedy Central) will premiere both record-breaking specials beginning this month.

If record sales figures and broadcast ratings aren't impressive enough, one can simply look to the Web to confirm Dunham's skyrocketing worldwide appeal and his voracious fan base.

YouTube.com reports a remarkable 80 million-plus combined views of Dunham clips over 1,200 different postings in the past few months. Dunham and "Achmed the Dead Terrorist,''are currently one of the top 10 Google searches, and Achmed's performance of "Jingle Bombs" found 2 million views on YouTube over the Christmas week alone.

That same video clip is also the No.1 Top Rated YouTube Comedy video.