Franklyn Ajaye (born May 13, 1949) is an American stand-up comedian,
actor, and writer. His nickname is "The Jazz Comedian" for his
distinctive jazz inflected style of delivery, timing, and astute use
of silence. He released a series of comedy albums starting in 1973 and
has acted in film and television shows from the 1970s through the
present, including as a primary character in the 1976 ensemble comedy
Car Wash and a supporting role in the Sam Peckinpah-directed Convoy
(1978).Ajaye was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised in Los Angeles
by a Sierra Leonean father, after whom he is named, and an American
mother (named Quetta), making Ajaye, as he likes to joke, a "true
African-American". He has released five comedy albums to date:
Franklyn Ajaye, Comedian (1973), I'm a Comedian, Seriously (1974),
Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair (1977), Plaid Pants and Psychopaths
(1986), and Vagabond Jazz & the Abstract Truth (2004). The last two
were recorded in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.Ajaye made his
network debut on The Flip Wilson Show in 1973 and made his first
appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson a year later.
Ajaye emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, in 1997 but returns to the
United States periodically to do work on television. His last American
television appearance was on Paul Provenza's The Greenroom on Showtime
in 2011. He is known in Australia for his appearances on The Panel and
Thank God You're Here and for his popular one-man shows "Nothing But
The Truth", "Talkin' Vagabond Jazz", and "Vagabond Jazz & The Abstract
Truth" at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
actor, and writer. His nickname is "The Jazz Comedian" for his
distinctive jazz inflected style of delivery, timing, and astute use
of silence. He released a series of comedy albums starting in 1973 and
has acted in film and television shows from the 1970s through the
present, including as a primary character in the 1976 ensemble comedy
Car Wash and a supporting role in the Sam Peckinpah-directed Convoy
(1978).Ajaye was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised in Los Angeles
by a Sierra Leonean father, after whom he is named, and an American
mother (named Quetta), making Ajaye, as he likes to joke, a "true
African-American". He has released five comedy albums to date:
Franklyn Ajaye, Comedian (1973), I'm a Comedian, Seriously (1974),
Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair (1977), Plaid Pants and Psychopaths
(1986), and Vagabond Jazz & the Abstract Truth (2004). The last two
were recorded in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.Ajaye made his
network debut on The Flip Wilson Show in 1973 and made his first
appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson a year later.
Ajaye emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, in 1997 but returns to the
United States periodically to do work on television. His last American
television appearance was on Paul Provenza's The Greenroom on Showtime
in 2011. He is known in Australia for his appearances on The Panel and
Thank God You're Here and for his popular one-man shows "Nothing But
The Truth", "Talkin' Vagabond Jazz", and "Vagabond Jazz & The Abstract
Truth" at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
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