Morgan Jay
| Morgan Jay | |
|---|---|
 Jay performing at the Wiltern, LA in 2025 | |
| Birth name | Morgan Jay Venticinque |
| Born | February 2, 1987 Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Medium |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
| Genres | |
| Subject(s) | |
| Website | Official website |
| Musical career | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, Pitch_correction |
Morgan Jay Venticinque (born February 2, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, musician, actor, and YouTuber. Jay rose to fame through by packaging his work in music and stand-up comedy into short-form content on TikTok and Instagram. His music often combines Auto-Tune pitch correction, guitar, and vocals. His focus on social media has driven 2.3 million followers to his Instagram and 5.7 million followers to his TikTok.
Early life
[edit]Jay was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S., to parents Gaetano, who died in 1993, and Sylvia.[1] He cites his dad's singing as an influence on his career.[2] He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before moving his home base to Los Angeles. He is of Brazilian and Italian descent.[3]
Career
[edit]Jay started doing comedy in 2007 in New York,[4] performing in open mics while working as an intern on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and as a New York City bicycle tour guide.[5]
For the first six years of his career,[6] his performances were only stand-up comedy.[7] A year after he moved to Los Angeles, he started doing music comedy.
He cites Rory Scovel, Reggie Watts and Karen Kilgariff as several of his influences.[7] In other interviews, he’s cited comedians Stephen Lynch and Adam Sandler.[2]
In 2019, Jay appeared on the NBC comedy competition series Bring the Funny. He finished in the top 9, being eliminated Week 9. He said the performance didn’t “move the needle” of his career.[8] However, a focus on posting his crowd work to social media during the COVID-19 pandemic did.
Jay released his latest special “Live from the Village” on Hulu in 2025. In its creation, he focused on short-form content in the release.[9]
He has also performed guest appearances on comedy series such as Loosely Exactly Nicole, Night Court, and St. Denis Medical.
Since season 19, he’s been on the cast of the sketch comedy and battle rap improv game show series Wild ’n Out.
As a touring comedian, Jay has visited Europe[10] and Australia.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Gaetano Venticinque obituary". The Record. June 15, 1993. p. 44.
- ^ a b "New In Town | Morgan Jay". Man About Town.
- ^ Jay, Morgan. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "Rising Stars: Meet Morgan Jay". Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide. August 14, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
- ^ Jordan, Leila (April 8, 2025). "Morgan Jay is giving his audience the musical sex comedy they want (and an auto-tuned microphone)". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Tatum, Erin (June 12, 2023). "Morgan Jay Presents a Night of Seductive Absurdity in New Comedy Special, "Live At The Village" - Cliché Magazine". Digital Online Fashion Magazine | Free Fashion Magazine | Best Lifestyle Blog.
- ^ a b "Meet Morgan Jay". Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide. January 8, 2017.
- ^ Jones, C. T. (March 4, 2024). "'I'm an Internet Bitch': How TikTok Created a New Kind of Comedy Career". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Stand-up comics on selling specials to the streamers: 'You do not need them'". Los Angeles Times. June 15, 2023.
- ^ "Morgan Jay announces additional UK/EU dates for 'The Goofy Guy' tour to overwhelming demand - Theatrefullstop". November 26, 2024.
- ^ Bairagi, Aastik (April 16, 2024). "Morgan Jay Announces 2024 'Love Down Under' Australian Tour". Music Feeds.