Ray William Johnson | |
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Born |
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
August 14, 1981
Occupation |
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Years active | 2007–2016 |
Website | raywj |
Ray William Johnson (born August 14, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, producer, director, writer and rapper, who is perhaps best known for his YouTube channel, Ray William Johnson, and his web series on that channel, Equals Three. As of 2017, the channel had earned more than three billion views and 10.4 million subscribers, making it one of the most viewed channels on YouTube at the time. Johnson left the series in March 2014, but continues to produce it and other web series like Booze Lightyear, Comedians On, and Top 6, the first two of which were later cancelled.
Toward the end of his tenure at Equals Three, Johnson began branching out into other mediums. His first scripted web series, Riley Rewind, premiered on Facebook in 2013. He created a television concept that was purchased by FX also in 2013. He made his live-action acting debut in the indie road film Who's Driving Doug alongside former Breaking Bad star, RJ Mitte. Additionally, his production company, Mom & Pop Empires, is co-producing a documentary with Supergravity Pictures about monopolies in the cable television industry.
Johnson was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He graduated from Norman North High School in 1999. From there, he went on to Columbia University where he studied history. His goal was to later earn a law degree after completing his undergraduate studies. He began posting videos on YouTube during college. These videos were standard video blogs that Johnson published on a now-deleted channel. These early videos garnered a following of around 30 people.