Jonah Ray

Jonah Ray
Born Jonah Ray Rodrigues
(1982-08-03) August 3, 1982
Kailua, Hawaii, U.S.
Occupation Actor, comedian, writer
Years active 2004–present
Jonah Ray

Jonah Ray Rodrigues (born August 3, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and writer from Los Angeles. He is one of the three hosts of The Nerdist Podcast and the co-host of Comedy Central's The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail. In November 2015, it was announced that Joel Hodgson had selected Ray to be the new host of the revival of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Life and career

Originally from Kailua, Hawaii on the island of Oahu, Ray played in local Hawaii rock / punk bands and later moved to Los Angeles. Once there he first pursued opportunities in punk rock, but later started to focus on writing and performing comedy.

Ray started his TV career as a writer's assistant for The Andy Milonakis Show, as well as working as a writer and performer on Showtime's sketch comedy pilot "The Offensive Show". He is also a frequent sketch and stand-up performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles and has made appearances on programs such as Saul of the Molemen, Crossballs, The Sarah Silverman Program, and Jimmy Kimmel Live![1] He also hosted "Joe Genius", an online program about humor and homegrown science, on Revision3.[2] Previously, he worked as a writer and occasional voice actor on Current TV's program SuperNews!. He previously wrote for Web Soup on the G4 network, and then The Soup on E!. He left The Soup in 2012.

Ray hosts a weekly comedy show called The Meltdown with Kumail Nanjiani, produced by Nanjiani's wife, Emily Gordon, at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.[3] In Late June 2013 Comedy Central announced a television production of the show titled The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, which debuted in July 2014.[4]

Ray is one of Chris Hardwick's co-hosts of The Nerdist Podcast and television show. In February 2011, Ray revealed on an episode of the podcast that "Jonah's Arcade", a video gaming-comedy pilot he created and stars in, was not picked up by Comedy Central.[5] The pilot was later released on YouTube, produced by the same producers of Web Soup.

In October 2012, Ray began hosting his own podcast Jonah Raydio featuring guests from various independent music scenes. Regular contributors and guests on the show include Man Man, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Pup, and Har Mar Superstar.

On a 2014 episode of his podcast, Ray announced the launch of his own record label through ATS, Literally Figurative Records, a comedy/music label aimed to feature "a comic on one side and band they are friends with on the other."

On November 16, 2015, Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson announced plans for Ray to host the series' upcoming continuation.[6]

Releases

Ray recorded a seven-inch record of his stand-up comedy for AST Records entitled "This is Crazy Mixed-up Plumbing", released in 2006. He followed this up with his second release entitled "Hello, Mr. Magic Plane Person, Hello" on May 15, 2012, which received mixed reviews.[7][8]

Ray had several videos from South by Southwest on comedy website Super Deluxe as well as his own web-series called "The Freeloaders Guide To Easy Living with Jonah Ray".

Appearances

References

  1. Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. Archived July 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. "Home – #THEMELTDOWN with Jonah and Kumail". Nerdmeltla.com. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  4. "Comedy Central Greenlights 'The Meltdown With Jonah and Kumail' | TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com | Page 188292". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  5. "Podcast #64: BURGER SALAD". Nerdist.com. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  6. "Bring Back MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 by Joel Hodgson —Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  7. "Saying "Hello, Mr. Magic Plane Person, Hello" with Jonah Ray". Nerdist.com. 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  8. L. Ray, Austin. "Jonah Ray Hello, Mr. Magic Plane Person, Hello album review". The Spit Take. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  9. Steve Bryant (April 28, 2008). "Review: Jonah Ray on SuperDeluxe". Reep Pop. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
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