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Born and raised in Philadelphia, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Temple University with a degree in Radio-TV-Film and a focus on film directing. Branching off into acting, he began his acting studies at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, and went to New York to study acting at HB Studios and improvisation at Chicago City Limits. While on the east coast, he had a successful theater career, highlighted with leading roles in "P.S. Your Cat is Dead! (Vito Antonucci), the original Atlantic City run of "Tony and Tina's Wedding" (Louigie Dominico), "The House of Blue Leaves" (Ronnie Shaughnessy), and "Gemini" (Herschel Weinberger) for which he was awarded the "Dramateurs Award" for Best Supporting Actor of the Season.
Upon moving to Los Angeles, Jay continued his successful theater career
* highlights include productions of "Corpus Christi" (Peter), "Much Ado
About Nothing" (Dogberry), "Fourplay" (Ethan), "Psycho Burger Bistro" (originated the roles of "Pickled Punk"),"Four Hot Brunettes" (Brad Bodyrock), and was in the original cast (along with Billy Campbell) of the ongoing improv show "Dungeon Master".
In addition to his theater work, Jay has also appeared in many independent films - highlights include "The Return of Tuvia", "Legally Dead", "Frankie Goes to Hollywood", and the lead role of Chester LaFever in the independent feature, "Ghost in the Garden". He also directed and appeared in the short film "Lonely Boy" (Best LGBT Film Nominee, "Swansea Film Fest"), written for Jay by Patrick Moore. His television credits include two seasons as a series regular on "Heartbreak Cafe" (Tom Wades), and most recently the SyFy Channel pilot, "The Treaty of Amarog" (Clive). He has also worked in print and TV as a hand model.
Alongside his music career, Jay is a professional singer and songwriter, and playwright. He has released four full length CDs of his original music, which have been played on radio and podcasts around the world, and he was recently named "The One to Watch" on the "Off the Charts" UK radio show. His second CD, "Ready", includes the Top Ten internationally charting single, "Boy". In 2010 he released his first music video for the song, "Love is Love", (from his CD "Revelations") which created a buzz (including stories in USA Today Online, On Top Magazine, and Towleroad), and it has since won multiple awards in film festivals. In addition to his solo work and recordings, he sang back-ups for Liza Minnelli on "The Tonight Show", and at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, as part of the Ewing Concert Chorale.
In the summer of 2012, Jay produced his first stage show, "Mental Creatures". The show, written by him, followed the journeys of three different people (a young painter, a widowed woman, and an elderly man) along with several supporting characters, weaving songs from his catalogue of CDs throughout the show. It was performed by Jay as a one-man-show, (with him playing all 9 characters) without props or costume changes. This critically acclaimed show, and audience favorite, had a successful six week run in Hollywood, California at "The Lounge Theater 2". It was his first play as a writer or producer.
