jeff dunham

By Josh LevinPosted Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at 4:58 PM ET

Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham performs with PeanutVentriloquist Jeff Dunham's latest concert special begins with an old-man puppet named Walter detailing the best strategy for dealing with a Kwanzaa reveler: "Throw away the Champagne and pull out the frickin' malt liquor." Dunham then brings out Achmed the Dead Terrorist—essentially a skeleton with jutting eyeballs—who shouts his catchphrase, "Silence, I keel you!" to great audience acclaim. A short while later comes the comedy duo of Peanut—afurry purple being of indeterminate heritage—and José Jalapeño, a sombrero-wearing pepper on a stick who punctuates most thoughts with the punch line "on a steeeek." What does José want for Christmas? "I think he needs a bigger stick," Peanut says. "That's not what your mother said," the jalapeño replies.

By every conceivable measure, Jeff Dunham is America's favorite comedian. Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, which aired on Comedy Central in November, was the most-watched broadcast in the network's history. His previous concert film,Spark of Insanity, got the best reviews of any DVD on Amazon.com in 2008. And according to the concert-industry watchers at Pollstar, Dunham was last year's highest-grossing stand-up act in North America, with $19.2 million in tickets sold.