The Comedy Doctor Jay Martin turns 50 and does it in style!

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“Having the ability to make people feel better even just for that moment is a special gift.”

Everyone deals with aging differently. Some get down on themselves, but others have a brighter perspective. Turning fifty is a time of celebration and acceptance. If you’ve been lucky enough to live a full and enjoyable life, you are fortunate. For comedian Jay Martin, turning fifty means it’s time to create some new goals for the next fifty years.

Toronto comedian known for his smooth style and cultured roots, Jay Martin grew up in Malton and has gained a loyal following throughout the city. His popular comedic routine continues to draw heavily from childhood experiences and has earned him the headliner’s spot at countless comedy joints and appearances at Montreal’s world-famous Just For Laughs festival.

This past Thanksgiving weekend, the city had the opportunity to celebrate Jay’s birthday with him in style. Now, since COVID-19, I have seen many virtual events, but none that have brought down the house like Jay’s 50th birthday extravaganza. He had everyone, and I mean everyone come out and celebrate with him.

There were tributes and performances by: Oliver Samuels, Kardinal Offishall, Russell Peters, Chris Spencer, Dean Edwards, Dwayne Morgan, Trixx, Jully Black, Jean Paul (who had people dying with his wit and charm), Patricia Shirley, Melanie Durrant, Yosvanni, Osound, Andrae Ennis (bring us back with some Luther Vandross), The Recipe Band, my favourite dance duo Tabby Rockstar & Nas, Mike Ferfolia, and all of this was followed up by an after party with the one and only Starting from Scratch.

To add to the charm, and classiness of the evening, Jay had Kilos Vodka as one of his sponsors. This alluring and smooth vodka is made in a class of its own and was displayed with its popular hand designed gold bottle. It was perfect because as a family, you could sit down, enjoy dinner with a drink, and take in some exceptional entertainment.

There was more to this night than just celebrating Jay’s birthday. It was also a crowdfunding and fundraising event for the exciting new sitcom Oliver in Charge, featuring Jay Martin, and the one and only Oliver Samuels.

For those who don’t know, Oliver Samuels is considered the Jamaican King of Comedy. He has played major roles in more than thirteen pantomimes and thirty productions, both in Jamaica and around the world. He appeared in a British series including: “My Father Son-Son Johnson,” “The Fight Against Slavery,” and “Brothers and Sisters.” He has also appeared in popular soap operas, Italian, and German films. He is known as one of the greatest talents coming from the Caribbean region.

Imagine now if you will, these two comedians coming together in a sitcom. This is happening and will become more of a reality with the help of the community. In June 2020 Jay, and Oliver came together to ink a deal which includes a package of film and television projects namely: “Destination Wedding” – a romantic comedy, and “Oliver In Charge” – a television sitcom currently in pre-production and slated for television release in 2021. This hilarious sitcom series follows Martin’s character that plays Oliver Samuels estranged son.

Last week I had a chance to catch up with Jay, and he was able to share more about it with me.

“For 20 years Simone,” Jay began, “Oliver and I owned the city. We took on the responsibility of making our Toronto community laugh. It has been different this year with the lockdowns, so we had to strategize on what we were going to do.

This is how we came up with the idea for the sitcom ‘Oliver in Charge.’ After discussing the idea with Oliver and getting his blessing, Craig Wellington and I sat down, and wrote a 13-episode synopsis, as well as four entire episodes of the sitcom.

Our goal is to shoot this with the quality of Blackish, and the dynamics of Modern Family. African and Caribbean households can be great material for comedy. What do you get when you put a fiery Jamaican, and a fiery Nigerian together? Nothing but laughter.

We are doing the most with this sitcom, and we really think the community is going to enjoy it. It’s a lot of mix up, and this is what makes this sitcom so funny.

Having my birthday extravaganza is one of the ways that we are raising funds to launch our pilot. I want to give a special shout out to I love SoundClash who donated $500.00 at my birthday event. Once you watch my birthday event that was playing throughout the weekend you will get a better idea as to what this sitcom has to offer. I am excited because we have garnered interest from BET, and Netflix.”

I have to admit, it was an exciting evening of laughter and entertainment. If you are interested in donating towards making this project come to life, you can visit
Oliverincharge.com, and Caribbeantales.tv.com. I am not sure if they will still be showing his birthday bash, but if they are, it is definitely worth the watch.