Jason Michael "Big Jay" Oakerson (born December 7, 1977)[1] is an American stand-up comedian, radio show host, podcaster and actor.[2][3]
| Big Jay Oakerson | |
|---|---|
 Big Jay Oakerson performing at The Stand in May 2016. | |
| Born | December 7, 1977 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Medium | Television, stand-up, radio, podcasting |
| Education | Robert E. Lamberton HS (Overbrook Park, Philadelphia) |
| Alma mater | Camden County College |
| Genres | Observational comedy, crude humor, off-color humor, shock humor, insult comedy, sarcasm, blue comedy, black comedy |
| Subject(s) | Everyday life, current events, pop culture, human behavior, sex, race relations, self-deprecation |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | bigjaycomedy |
Life and career
editOakerson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in West Philadelphia, where he attended Robert E. Lamberton High School.[4] During his senior year of high school, Oakerson moved to the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township, New Jersey with his mother and step-father who worked full-time. His father was absent for most of his childhood. He enrolled at Camden County College but left after a month to pursue comedy. He worked as a chauffeur/bouncer for strippers and children's parties to make ends meet.[5] He has opened for Dave Attell and toured with Korn before touring as a headliner.
His television credits include Comedy Central's Premium Blend, Comedy Central Presents, Inside Amy Schumer, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir, along with multiple appearances on BET's Comic View, HBO's P. Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy and Crashing. He co-hosted Movies on Tap on Spike TV. He played Neil on the series Z Rock and appeared in the pilot episode of Louie, as well as an episode in the third season. On December 1, 2014, Oakerson headlined a free charity show for supporters of morning show Preston & Steve and radio station WMMR in Philadelphia for the annual Campout for Hunger which supports Philabundance.[6] On June 17, 2016, Oakerson released his first hour long special titled, Live At Webster Hall.[7] He also hosted Big Jay Oakerson's What's Your F@%king Deal?! on Seeso.[8]
Podcast and radio show host
editOakerson hosts a podcast called Legion of Skanks with fellow comedians, Luis J. Gomez[9] and Dave Smith. He also co-hosts the podcast The SDR Show on GaS Digital Network's station with Ralph Sutton (who co-owns the network with Luis J. Gomez).
On July 27, 2015, Oakerson, along with fellow stand-up comedian Dan Soder, began their two-hour live radio talk show, The Bonfire, on SiriusXM's Comedy Central Radio channel airing every Monday through Thursday (previously Mondays and Wednesdays) from 6-8pm EST.[10][11][12] As of March 1, 2021, the show has aired on Faction Talk from 5-7pm EST after Comedy Central Radio ceased production on all of its talk shows.[13] In 2023, Robert Kelly replaced Dan Soder as the co-host of The Bonfire.
Personal life
editOakerson divorced from his now ex-wife Carla in 2023 and they share custody of their daughter.[14] He has been in a long-term relationship with Christine Evans, a radio producer, since 2011. Oakerson is Jewish.[15]
References
edit- ^ "Big Jay Oakerson on Twitter". Twitter.
- ^ Leijn, Erik (July 21, 2011). Big and tall tales: There’s nothing small about Big Jay Oakerson and his big wild stories. Archived May 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Montreal Mirror
- ^ Zinoman, Jason A Blunt Yet Kindly Bedside Manner, Big Jay Oakerson, a Master of the Dirty Joke New York Times. April 30, 2015
- ^ Eichel, Molly. "Q&A: Big Jay Oakerson", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 17, 2016. Accessed June 22, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "I want it to be well-received and I want people from my high school (Overbrook Park's Robert E. Lamberton High School) to know I didn't just fade into obscurity."
- ^ Loeffler, William (November 25, 2009). Comedian Jay Oakerson's career path gives him plenty of material.[permanent dead link] Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- ^ "Preston & Steve's Camp Out for Hunger Collects Record Food Donations". Greater Media Philadelphia. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- ^ Tomsic, Jeff (June 17, 2016), Big Jay Oakerson: Live at Webster Hall, retrieved July 21, 2016
- ^ "Big Jay Oakerson's 'What's Your F@%king?!' Deal Has a Trailer and It Looks Amazing". The Interrobang. February 23, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- ^ "Legion of Skanks Podcast". Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (July 27, 2015). "Jay Oakerson, Dan Soder To Host Live Comedy Central Show On SiriusXM". Variety. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ "Comedy Central Radio - The best comedy skits from the CC Archives". siriusxm.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ "The Bonfire Moves to Four Days a Week on SiriusXM - The Interrobang". theinterrobang.com. June 27, 2017. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ "SiriusXM's Faction Talk Adds the Bonfire; While Covino & Rich Exit for Patreon". March 2021.
- ^ "18 of the Hardest Hits From the Big Jay Oakerson Roast, And Who Said Them - The Interrobang". July 17, 2015.
- ^ "Big Jay Oakerson". January 31, 2020.