Gerald Kelly is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has been making audiences laugh for over three decades. In 2021, his stand-up act got a new twist when he performed with his young son, Lil Hunter Kelly, on America’s Got Talent. The pair passed their audition, and although they didn’t make it to the quarter-finals, they found a large audience for their unique comedy pairing and have since toured their show all over the United States.

Kelly was born in Harlem in 1967, made his television debut back in 1978, and has been a stand-up since the early 1990s. When trying to get his comedy break, worked as a security guard, writing jokes in his spare time. He has appeared on Showtime at the Apollo, BET Comic View, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. His stand-up work has taken him across America and even as far afield as Japan and Puerto Rico. A video of his routine at Def Comedy Jam has been watched on YouTube 460,000 times. His other videos have also been viewed tens of thousands of times. He is popular on Instagram too, with close to 15,000 followers.

By contrast, his son Hunter is eight years old—too young for his own social media and sets in unforgiving stand-up clubs. He certainly couldn’t work as a security guard! Together, however, they have built a large following that is helping both of their stand-up careers to develop.