Spark of Insanity

Jeff Dunham understands the mechanics of a joke, even if his punchlines are delivered by wooden dummies. Before he even opens his trunk, he spends the first stretch of his set doing traditional stand-up about gas prices and his daughters. Then out comes the “suitcase posse,” bringing a gallery of loud, distinct characters into the act. Walter is a miserable old man venting about the weather and his marriage. José Jalapeño on a Stick is exactly what his name describes. And then there is the debut of Achmed the Dead Terrorist, an incompetent suicide bomber skeleton who insists his lack of flesh is merely a wound, threatening the crowd with a barked “Silence! I keel you!”.

Filmed at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C., this is the hour that turned a working ventriloquist into a global arena act.

Following the success of his self-financed 2006 breakout Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity aired on Comedy Central and became a massive commercial event. The introduction of Achmed specifically sent the hour into the stratosphere, turning the character’s outbursts into early YouTube sensations that generated hundreds of millions of views. Critics often rolled their eyes at the broad archetypes and repetitive catchphrases. Audiences responded by buying enough DVDs to make it one of the best-selling comedy releases of the decade.