Warehouse 13 Artifact Database Wiki
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Warehouse 13 Artifact Database Wiki
Jeff Dunham's First Ventriloquist Box
Mortimer snerd box

Origin

Jeff Dunham

Type

Ventriloquist Doll Box

Effects

Remarkable skills at copying or mocking a person’s mannerisms

Downsides

Exaggerates any uncouth or profane remarks a group normally avoids saying

Activation

Talking a specific individual and a crowd

Collected by

Warehouse 13

Section

Thalia-171J

Aisle

604981-2495

Shelf

930452-5044-460

Date of Collection

April 16, 2019

[Source]


Origin[]

Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows and six specials. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009. His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Time described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen. His introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time with more than 350 million hits. Forbes ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. He achieved the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide.

Many of his puppets are handmade by himself and resemble overblown caricatures, including retired veterans, rednecks, political advisors, pimps, budget heroes, overactive children and a miniature of himself. His most notable however remains Achmed, a skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I keel you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Many of his acts with Achmed have been criticized for being offensive against Muslims. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech ... I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'".

Effects[]

Turns speaker into a copycat. Must speak to a crowd as a whole unit and interact more directly with any one person in the chosen group, one-on-one. They seamlessly duplicate any person they meet by copying their stance, speech pattern, behavioral tics and interaction with others. Performing the role to mock the subject for a laugh makes the resemblance even more uncanny.

A voice will sometimes appear in an unidentifiable tone when a large enough crowd amasses. It will probably say something vulgar, potentially insensitive about a current event or group currently on most people’s minds. The observations are often valid but said in an unrefined way that may elicit chuckles or offense. Mileage may vary on how the whole group reacts.

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