Early Career
Jay began doing standup comedy in 1999 while studying at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. He entered a comedy competition at a local pool hall called the "Red Spot" on a dare and made it all the way to the semi-finals. The following summer, after doing shows around town with a short lived sketch/standup troupe in Fredericton, Jay made the move to Toronto to pursue comedy full time. Within two short years he was headlining across the country and appearing on television in both national and international commercials and comedic series. He made three straight appearances at the Halifax Comedy Festival (2003, 2004, 2005) and was featured on The Toronto Show (Toronto One) in 2003.
In 2004 Jay was invited to the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival to perform in the national Homegrown Competition. He took first place in the contest and was immediately signed with a US management/agency team. Later that year he was flown to Los Angeles where he met with casting agents in Hollywood and would return in February/March the next year to audition for network sitcoms. In the fall of 2004 Jay shot his first nationally televised special, a one hour episode of the standup series Comedy Now on CTV and The Comedy Network. The special was chosen by the network to be the 100th episode special and received nationwide critical acclaim.
In 2005 Malone returned to the Just For Laughs Festival to shoot a gala for CBC Television. He is one of only two comedians to have won the Homegrown Competition and be invited back to perform a gala the very next year. Also in 2005, he was nominated in the "Best Male Standup Comic" category at the Canadian Comedy Awards. The CTV sketch comedy series Comedy Inc. commissioned Jay to write sketches for the show in 2005. In 2006, Malone was hired on staff by the show and was featured in a few sketches and went on to write for the show for three seasons. Later that same year he shot a pilot for CTV and the Comedy Network, called House Party, co-starring David Reale.
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