Jason Michael "Big Jay" Oakerson (born December 07 , 1977) is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

, radio show host,

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

er and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

.Leijn, Erik (July 21, 2011)
Big and tall tales: There’s nothing small about Big Jay Oakerson and his big wild stories.
''

Montreal Mirror ''Montreal Mirror'' or just ''Mirror'' was a free English language alternative newsweekly based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was distributed every Thursday. It had a circulation of 70,000 and reached a quarter of a million readers per week. ...

Life and career

Oakerson was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and grew up in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...

, where he attended Robert E. Lamberton High School. During his senior year of high school, Oakerson moved to the Blackwood section of

Gloucester Township, New Jersey Gloucester Township is a township in Camden County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township was the state's 22nd-most-populous municipality,Camden County College Camden County College (CCC) is a Public college, public community college in Camden County, New Jersey. Camden County College has its main campus in the Blackwood, New Jersey, Blackwood section of Gloucester Township, New Jersey, Gloucester Tow ...

but left after a month to pursue comedy. He worked as a chauffeur/bouncer for strippers and children's parties to make ends meet.Loeffler, William (November 25, 2009)
Comedian Jay Oakerson's career path gives him plenty of material.
''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib", is the second-largest daily newspaper serving the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area of Western Pennsylvania. It transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, but rema ...

'' He has opened for

Dave Attell David Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's '' Insomniac with Dave Attell.'' Early life Attell was born in the New York City borough of Queens to a Jewish fa ...

and toured with

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

before touring as a headliner. His television credits include '' Comedy Central's Premium Blend'', ''

Comedy Central Presents ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series ...

'', ''

Inside Amy Schumer ''Inside Amy Schumer'' is an American sketch comedy television series created and hosted by Amy Schumer. The series aired on Comedy Central from April 30, 2013, to June 16, 2016, and was revived in 2022 for a fifth season on Paramount+. Schumer ...

'', ''

Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn ''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'' is a comedy talk show that aired on Comedy Central from December 9, 2002 to November 4, 2004. The show featured host Colin Quinn and a panel of comedian guests, discussing politics, current events, and social ...

'', and '' This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir'', along with multiple appearances on BET's

Comic View ''Comic View'' is an American stand-up comedy show that aired on Black Entertainment Television, BET on Tuesdays and Fridays from September 1992 to December 2008. In May 2014, BET announced the return of ''Comic View''. The show has been the lau ...

, HBO's ''P. Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy'' and '' Crashing''. He co-hosted ''Movies on Tap'' on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

. He played Neil on the series ''

Z Rock Z Rock was a nationally syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of several 24-hour satellite-delivered music formats offered ...

'' and appeared in the pilot episode of ''

Louie Louie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Louie'' (American TV series), comedy drama television series created by and starring comedian Louis C.K. * ''Louie'' (French TV series), animated series about a young rabbit who draws pictures which ...

'', 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''. On June 17, 2016, Oakerson released his first hour long special titled, ''Live At Webster Hall''. He also hosted ''Big Jay Oakerson's What's Your F@%king Deal?!'' on

Seeso Seeso was an over-the-top subscription streaming service owned by Comcast through NBCUniversal, launched on January 7, 2016, and closed on November 8, 2017. It provided comedy content such as original and broadcast television shows. History ...

Podcast and radio show host

Oakerson hosts a podcast called ' 'Legion of Skanks'' with comedian, Luis J. Gomez, and libertarian activist and comedian Dave Smith. He also co-hosts the podcast ''The SDR Show'' on GaS Digital Network's station with Ralph Sutton. On July 27, 2015, Oakerson, along with fellow stand-up comedian

Dan Soder Daniel Erwin Soder (born June 24, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and radio personality. He is best known for his character Mafee on the Showtime drama series '' Billions'' and as the former co-host of ''The Bonfire'' with fellow ...

, began their two-hour live radio talk show, ''The Bonfire'', on

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

's Comedy Central Radio channel airing every Monday through Thursday (previously Mondays and Wednesdays) from 6-8pm EST. 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. In 2023, Robert Kelly replaced Dan Soder as the co-host of ''The Bonfire''.

Personal life

Oakerson divorced from his now ex-wife Carla in 2023 and they share custody of their daughter.

References

External links

*
Big Jay Oakerson official site"Men Seeking Men"
bit on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakerson, Jay 1977 births Living people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews American male television actors American male comedians American comedy podcasters American stand-up comedians Camden County College alumni Comedians from Camden County, New Jersey Comedians from Philadelphia Jewish American comedians Jewish male comedians Jewish American male actors Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from Philadelphia People from Gloucester Township, New Jersey Jews from New Jersey Jews from Pennsylvania Actors from Camden County, New Jersey