Big Jay Oakerson: Bio, Comedy Style, and Where to Watch

Who is Big Jay Oakerson?

Big Jay Oakerson was born Jamie Michael Oakerson on December 7, 1977, in Philadelphia, grew up in West Philadelphia, enrolled at Camden County College and left after a month to do comedy, and worked as a chauffeur and bouncer for strippers and children’s parties — sometimes the same weekend — to pay rent while building his career. He opened for Dave Attell. He toured with Korn. These are not sequential facts but simultaneous ones, which tells you something about the breadth of his appeal.

He has been a working Philadelphia-to-New York comedian for over two decades, becoming one of the most respected club comics in the business before wider recognition arrived. His Comedy Central special Live at Webster Hall premiered in 2016. His second special appeared in Netflix’s The Degenerates in 2018. His most recent hour, Dog Belly (2023), executive produced by Ari Shaffir and filmed at SkankFest, has accumulated over 1.7 million YouTube views and dives into his own sexual insecurities and the experience of being called a Nazi as a Jewish man — which is the kind of specific autobiographical range that most comedians can’t access. In 2025, he was cast in Netflix’s Tires as a radio host named Dogman. He co-hosts The Bonfire on SiriusXM alongside Robert Kelly, and co-hosts Legion of Skanks with Luis J. Gomez and Dave Smith. He has appeared on FX’s Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Conan. He helps produce SkankFest, the Las Vegas comedy festival that has become one of the most loyal gatherings in stand-up.

Big Jay Oakerson’s Comedy Style

Oakerson is one of the great crowd workers in comedy — not in the sense of doing prepared crowd work bits, but in the sense of genuine improvisation with whoever walked in that night. His laid-back style and dirty delivery create a room that feels loose even when he is in complete control of it. The albums he released under What’s Your F@#king Deal?! are full hours of nothing but crowd interaction, which is an extremely confident thing to record and release.

Where to Find Big Jay Oakerson

Dog Belly is on YouTube free. Tires is on Netflix. Find tour dates at bigjaycomedy.com. Legion of Skanks and The Bonfire are on all podcast platforms.

Big Jay Oakerson has performed at the Comedy Cellar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Check the current lineup and upcoming shows at comedycellar.com.

Catch Comedy Cellar shows live from New York on Mint Comedy at watch.mintcomedy.com.