---
name: "Ricky Jay"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ricky-jay"
fi1m_id: "ricky-jay"
imdb_id: "nm0419633"
tmdb_id: 10743
wikidata_id: "Q1516734"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "26 June 1946"
died: "24 November 2018"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 81
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-23T04:11:36.379587+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ricky Jay

## Identity

Ricky Jay

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ricky-jay
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ricky-jay
- **IMDb ID:** nm0419633
- **TMDB ID:** 10743
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1516734
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Jay, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1516734, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0419633/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10743

Actor. Born 26 June 1946 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. Died 24 November 2018.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 26 June 1946, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 24 November 2018
- **Active:** 1997–2006
- **Also known as:** Richard Jay Potash
- **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 78 (3), 2000s 86 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 81 to 74 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Action 1, Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Crime 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $534m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Jay, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1516734, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0419633/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10743

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Deadwood*](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md) (91)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Ricky Jay, born Richard Jay Potash, was an American actor, magician and writer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 26 June 1946 and died in Los Angeles on 24 November 2018.

Jay appeared in films including *Boogie Nights* (1997), *Magnolia* (1999) and *The Prestige* (2006). On television he played Eddie Sawyer and wrote one episode of the first season of *Deadwood* (2004). He frequently collaborated with playwright and director David Mamet, appearing in several of his films and having his one-man stage shows directed by him.

Jay was also known for his expertise in magic and deception; he wrote books on the history of magic and card tricks, and worked as a consultant on numerous films and television productions.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *The Prestige* (2006), Fi1m 82, as Milton — [page](https://film.one/film/the-prestige.md)
- *Deadwood* (2004), Fi1m 91, as Eddie Sawyer — [page](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md)
- *Magnolia* (1999), Fi1m 84, as Burt Ramsey / Narrator — [page](https://film.one/film/magnolia.md)
- *Boogie Nights* (1997), Fi1m 86, as Kurt Longjohn — [page](https://film.one/film/boogie-nights.md)
- *Tomorrow Never Dies* (1997), Fi1m 64, as Henry Gupta — [page](https://film.one/film/tomorrow-never-dies.md)

## Complete filmography (37)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Automatic Hate* (2016), as Uncle Josh
- *Sneaky Pete* (2015), series, as T.H. Vignetti
- *Getting On* (2013), series, as Thoracic Surgeon
- *Teen Titans Go!* (2013), series, as Narrator (voice)
- *Lost Masterpieces of Pornography* (2010), as Narrator
- *FlashForward* (2009), series, as Man in Warehouse
- *Lie to Me* (2009), series, as Mason Brock
- *The Brothers Bloom* (2008), as Narrator (voice)
- *Redbelt* (2008), as Marty Brown
- *The Great Buck Howard* (2008), as Gil Bellamy
- *Ricky Jay Plays Poker* (2007), Writer, Executive Producer
- *The Prestige* (2006), as Milton — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-prestige.md)
- *The Unit* (2006), series, as Agent Kern
- *Last Days* (2005), as Detective
- *Deadwood* (2004), series, as Eddie Sawyer · Writer — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md)
- *Heist* (2001), as Don 'Pinky' Pincus
- *Heartbreakers* (2001), as Dawson's Auctioneer
- *State and Main* (2000), as Jack
- *Magnolia* (1999), as Burt Ramsey / Narrator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/magnolia.md)
- *Mystery Men* (1999), as Vic Weems
- *Tomorrow Never Dies* (1997), as Henry Gupta — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/tomorrow-never-dies.md)
- *The Story of Magic* (1997), series, as Host
- *The Spanish Prisoner* (1997), as George Lang
- *Boogie Nights* (1997), as Kurt Longjohn — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/boogie-nights.md)
- *Sink Or Swim* (1997), as The Hat
- *Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants* (1996), Writer
- *Hustlers, Hoaxsters, Pranksters, Jokesters and Ricky Jay* (1996), Actor
- *The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky* (1995), as Hawkes
- *The X-Files* (1993), series, as The Amazing Maleeni / Herman Pinchbeck / Albert Pinchbeck — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)
- *Ring of the Musketeers* (1992), series, as Kerns
- *The Water Engine* (1992), as Ratty Inventor
- *Homicide* (1991), as Aaron
- *Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women* (1990), Writer
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Ricky Jay (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *Things Change* (1988), as Mr. Silver
- *House of Games* (1987), as George
- *Doug Henning's World of Magic* (1976), Actor

## Gallery

- ![Ricky Jay](https://film.one/media/person/61284/gallery-91136ddf0c43.jpg) Ricky Jay — David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Ricky_Jay_by_David_Shankbone.jpg/1280px-Ricky_Jay_by_David_Shankbone.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ricky Jay at the premiere of Redbelt at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.](https://film.one/media/person/61284/gallery-46de4dac9ca5.jpg) Ricky Jay at the premiere of Redbelt at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. — David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Ricky_Jay_by_David_Shankbone_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Ricky_Jay_by_David_Shankbone_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ricky Jay](https://film.one/media/person/61284/gallery-dd773fba5f16.jpg) Ricky Jay — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ricky-jay