{"artistName":"Franklyn Ajaye","artistId":110646,"artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/ad9/ad9c3414e18f5c88f3982c01e88fd88e_xl.jpg","srcset":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/ad9/ad9c3414e18f5c88f3982c01e88fd88e_sm.jpg 50w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/ad9/ad9c3414e18f5c88f3982c01e88fd88e_md.jpg 80w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/ad9/ad9c3414e18f5c88f3982c01e88fd88e_lg.jpg 200w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/ad9/ad9c3414e18f5c88f3982c01e88fd88e_xl.jpg 340w","artistBio":"\u003cp\u003eFranklyn Ajaye (born May 13, 1949) is an American stand-up comedian. His nickname is \"The Jazz Comedian\" as he also played jazz for a time earlier in his entertainment career. His name is sometimes alternatively spelled Franklin Ajaye. \n Biography\nHe was born in Brooklyn, New York but raised in Los Angeles by a Sierra Leonan father and a Florida-born mother. Ajaye is, 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 \u0026amp; the Abstract Truth (2004). \nAjaye 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. In 1977, he appeared in episode 5, during season 3 of Saturday Night Live. \nAjaye emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1997, but returns to the United States periodically to do stand-up at clubs or in television specials. He is known in Australia for his appearances on The Panel and Thank God You're Here. Recently he appeared in Bridesmaids as Maya Rudolph's father. \nHe has also worked as an actor, appearing in films such as Car Wash, Convoy, Stir Crazy, The 1980 version of The Jazz Singer, Hollywood Shuffle, and The Wrong Guys. He has been seen more recently in the TV show Deadwood. Ajaye has also been nominated twice for the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program for In Living Color (1990) and Politically Incorrect (1997). \nOn his stand-up television show Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, British comedian Stewart Lee mocked Ajaye's LP I'm a Comedian, Seriously, sarcastically questioning the track titles of \"Homosexuals,\" \"Girls With Big Breasts,\" and \"Dick Caught In Zipper,\" in the context of the claim on the album sleeve that Ajaye was a deep thinker. \nOn an episode of Thank God You're Here, Tony Martin showed Ajaye a copy of his comedy album Plaid Pants And Psychopaths which has his first name misspelled. \nAjaye is the author Comic Insights: The Art of Standup Comedy (ISBN 978-1-879505-54-4), which contains tips for aspiring comedians as well as interviews with comic legends. \nIn 2011, Ajaye had a small role in the box office hit Bridesmaids, playing the father of Lillian (played by Maya Rudolph).\u003c/p\u003e","musicPath":"/music/Franklyn+Ajaye","playStationPath":"/stations/282142159/play","stationId":282142159,"bioPath":"/music/Franklyn+Ajaye/_full_bio","similars":[{"musicPath":"/music/Jim+David","artistDefaultImage":"//olds1.cdn107.com/images/defartist_md.png","artistName":"Jim David","artistId":139146,"station_id":287828958},{"musicPath":"/music/Michael+Ian+Black","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/999/999a6321067da0901ab395bf00610b7d_md.jpg","artistName":"Michael Ian Black","artistId":145086,"station_id":292816357},{"musicPath":"/music/Todd+Barry","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/e09/e090f4ac40ad1d71f8399a31b14b9ad9_md.jpg","artistName":"Todd Barry","artistId":85841,"station_id":269814992},{"musicPath":"/music/Brian+Regan","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/089/0898b666a600c3471c6a72e7ed97f111_md.jpg","artistName":"Brian Regan","artistId":101060,"station_id":280763509},{"musicPath":"/music/Aaron+Karo","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/dec/dec5edefd6fafd358dec3df629379a9f_md.jpg","artistName":"Aaron Karo","artistId":124271,"station_id":283949119},{"musicPath":"/music/Kevin+Hart","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/7d3/7d351ee1f205b012c9958b470eadb744_md.jpg","artistName":"Kevin Hart","artistId":106963,"station_id":281862229},{"musicPath":"/music/W+Kamau+Bell","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/ff8/ff84a0bd7d29152f9a8b0000265b0f7b_md.jpg","artistName":"W. 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