Bio

Jay Lerner is a professionally trained, versatile voice actor who busted onto the voice-over scene in Los Angeles, CA, where he learned, worked and studied his craft with some of the best voice coaches and talent in the business. With some fresh, young vocal chords and an arsenal of original characters, Jay has voiced national television and radio commercials, numerous animation projects, and has performed ADR/Walla (looping) for feature films, television, and video games. He even lent his vocal chords to a children's museum installation at the renowned Cosi Museum in Columbus Ohio, which taught children the benefits of eating healthy foods. Jay sang the blues as a moldy piece of food named Johnny Rotten, as well as a duet with himself as Pinto and Soy Beans! His most recent character, Ninja Shrimp, will soon be heard as part of a brand new exhibit at the Florida Aquarium.

Jay was the voice of Kintaro for 15 episodes on the popular Japanese anime show, Duel Masters, on Cartoon Network. He also provided additional characters for the immensely popular Cartoon Network series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, which is based on the critically acclaimed anime feature film that redefined Japanese animation as we know it today. Jay was also the voice of Kakuka for six episodes of the DVD released anime series, Ikkitousen, and provided additional voices for the anime project, Dot Hack Liminality, from Bandai Entertainment.

Jay's ability to create funny, original characters led him to voice a host of web cartoons for The Romp, owned by Eric Eisner. A year later, he landed the co-lead and a supporting role in the National Lampoon animated feature film, Jake's Booty Call, produced by Eisner and Romp Films. This cutting edge film, based on The Romp web cartoon, Booty Call, debuted in theaters in April 2004 to a young, overwhelmingly "booty crazed" Spring Break crowd, with special engagement showings in select cities around the United States. It would be the first flash animated feature film to grace the silver screen, making it a true pioneering effort. In the film, Jay portrays a prince named Siton (who is Jake's partner in crime) and his evil twin. The film is currently available on DVD.

Before lending his voice to the air waves, Jay was a talent associate in Los Angeles, working with such clients as Anthony Clarke (Yes Dear, Soul Man, Boston Common), touring comic Shang Forbes (BET Comic View, Def Comedy Jam), and comedian Pat Kilbane (Mad TV). Jay co-produced actors and comedians' one man/woman shows, booked comedy showcases, and ran the office.

Before his trek to Hollywood, Jay spent four years traveling around the world and living abroad. He bought a one way ticket to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, with no job or a place to stay. His objective was to challenge himself, and his understanding of societal norms while experiencing a new culture, and living on his own for the first time in his life. Within three months of his arrival on the island, Jay was entertaining approximately 1,000 cruise ship passengers a week as the emcee and first mate on the Kon Tiki Party Raft. He provided island history to tourists as they basked in the open air, double-decker catamaran, getting pickled on rum punch, looking at a coral reef through the glass bottom, and dancing on the way back from a beach stop to a live calypso band on board.

After living the Caribbean party life, Jay decided it was time to leave one hedonistic existence for another. Jay left the islands and began working on some of the largest privately owned mega-yachts in the world, including the largest motor sailing yacht in the United States, called The Other Woman. This Australian custom built 192-foot yacht was named after the owner's um...well...mistress, who became his wife. While working as deck crew on the yacht, Jay traveled the entire circumference of Europe and visited 13 countries in 8 months, including England, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Gotland, Finland, Russia, Gibraltar, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Canary Islands, and Bahamas. It was the trip of a lifetime, including such stops to the oldest excavated city in the world, the third city of Ephesus (built in 300 B.C.), the fjords of Norway, with scenery that literally looked like it jumped off the pages of a fairytale story book, and many more amazing sites, sounds, cultures, and culinary delights.

Shortly after catching his breath from his Euro Tour, Jay got his yacht-captain's license and took a job as the second mate on the 147 foot yacht Halcyon (the bird, not the pill), working with a seasick captain, who previously ran the Sultan of Brunei's yacht. While crewing on Halcyon, Jay traveled throughout Vancouver, British Columbia, Victoria Island, Canada, and Alaska with the likes of charter guests Johnny Carson, Bob Wright (president of NBC Entertainment) and a few other entertainment big-wigs. At the end of each charter, Jay would author and recite a poem incorporating the sites and adventures embarked upon during the charter, always with some humor. They don't call him "Jester" for nothin', ya' know. While performing the spoken-word piece, the rest of the crew stood beside Jay as they gave the guests a champagne toast to top it off. Jay's idea was to send the guests off in a classy, fun, and unique way, which was always appreciated, and it didn't hurt the crew tip either.

During that trip Jay called his "Mother Nature Tour," he had many personal adventures as well, landing on a glacier by helicopter, getting up-close and personal with humpback and killer whales, within striking distance of grizzly bears, and hiking many miles in and around the beautiful town of Juneau, Alaska. These awe-inspiring experiences enriched my...uh...I mean...Jay's life in a way that words cannot accurately express.

In less than three years of yachting, Jay traveled farther by water than the circumference of the earth at the equator (almost 25,000 miles), including the entire east and west coasts of the U.S., two trans-Atlantic crossings, and dozens of rivers, seas, straights, and oceans. He encourages all young people to embark on their own amazing journey of self-discovery, to experience the wonderment of exotic locales and diverse cultures. Life is too short not to take advantage of the beauty our planet has to offer. Make every moment count!

And, if you made it this far into Jay's bio, he thanks you for being as interested in people's experiences as he is. Please feel free to contact Jay with any questions, comments, or suggestions about his website or the exciting world of voice acting.


Jay and Johnny		Captain Jay


Halcyon		The Other Woman

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