You may have heard him on Angelo Cataldi’s show on 610 WIP every Friday at 9:30 a.m.
Or maybe you listen to him on the Big Daddy Graham show, also on 610 WIP.
His name?
Jay Black.
He will be performing at a concert on Nov. 20, 6:30 p.m., at the Ramblewood Country Club in Mount Laurel. All proceeds will benefit the Armed Forces Heritage House museum.
The mission of the museum is to preserve, present, interpret and educate all on the rich history, artistry, heritage and environment of the armed forces located on the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in the state of New Jersey, to present the unique contribution of its military members’ and mission.
Black also did a fundraiser for veterans last year in part because his father-in-law, Mike Panarella, is active with veterans.
For the show, Black will do about an hour of standup comedy with some new material.
He was a high school English teacher before becoming a comedian. Black taught at Shawnee for four years and Seneca for three and a half years.
He has been a stand up comedian for almost 10 years.
He said he was thinking comedy would be just a hobby until he started getting called back by the Comedy Cabaret in Philadelphia. Then he started making more money doing stand up than teaching.
He said his wife became pregnant with Keane, their first child, just as he was starting his career as a comedian. Black said that’s because God has a funny sense of humor.
He said his act is about observational comedy. Black talks a lot about being a family guy.
He said he has been described as “like Seinfeld with more curse words.”
Jerry Seinfeld is one of his influences as is Bill Cosby.
In fact, he remembers being a child watching the movie “Bill Cosby: Himself” from the early 1980s and seeing his dad laugh harder than ever before.
That’s what made him decide to go for comedy.
“That’s what probably changed me,” Black said.
“Chris Rock is probably the funniest guy alive right now,” he said. “He still has the crown although Louis CK (check) is nipping at his heels.”
Black grew up in Marlton, graduated from Cherokee High School in 1994, and got his bachelor’s from the College of New Jersey.
He calls himself a “Jersey boy through and through.”
Black said he met his father-in-law before he met his wife, Kristina, both of whom are from Medford.
“I consider myself an honorary Medfordite, or is it Medfordonian?” he said.
Black toured military bases in Germany and Italy last year and got to meet a lot of the troops convalescing.
“I signed a lot of casts and met a lot of guys with canes,” he said. “It’s easier for us not to think about those guys and what they go through” despite whether you are for or against the wars.
Black said he hopes his concert will help raise awareness about the sacrifices made by those in the armed forces.
So where does he get his material?
“I have a wife and two kids and I watch,” Black said, laughing.
He said he talks about universal things like marriage and family.
Black has done some television and sold a screenplay in 2008.
Sometimes he does “punch up” work, meaning he works on screenplays that need help with humor.
Black also worked with a group of writers on the screenplay for the remake of “Police Academy.”
It’s a good life.
“Everything about it is awesome” except the travel, Black said. “I’m away from home more than I would like to be.
“Usually the places that need comedy the most are the places that you want to go to the least,” he said, chuckling. “It’s everything I ever wanted and I love it.”
