Ray William Johnson

"Your Favorite Martian" redirects here. Not to be confused with My Favorite Martian.
"Equals Three" redirects here. For the emoticon =3 used for smiling faces or cat faces, see List of emoticons § Western.

Ray William Johnson
Johnson in 2012
Born1981 or 1982 (age 42–43)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Alma materColumbia University School of General Studies
Occupations
  • Internet personality
  • actor
  • comedian
  • filmmaker
  • rapper
  • singer
  • musician
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2008–present
Subscribers
  • 17.8 million (Ray William Johnson)
  • 3.81 million (Your Favorite Martian)
Total views
  • 13.8 billion (Ray William Johnson)
  • 1.04 billion (Your Favorite Martian)
100,000 subscribers2009
1,000,000 subscribers2010
10,000,000 subscribers2013
Last updated: October 20, 2024

Raymond "Ray" William Johnson (born 1981 or 1982)[1] is an American internet celebrity best known for his eponymous YouTube channel and his web series on that channel, Equals Three. In 2013, the channel surpassed 10 million subscribers and had over 2 billion views, making it one of the most watched and subscribed to channels at the time. For a 564 day period from June 2011 to January 2013 the channel was the most-subscribed YouTube channel, during which it also became the first channel to reach 5 million subscribers.[2][3][4] Johnson left the series in March 2014 but continued to produce it and other web series like Booze Lightyear, Comedians On, and Top 6, the first two of which were later cancelled.[5][6][7]

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.[8] He created a television concept that was purchased by FX the same year.[9] He made his live-action acting debut in the indie road film Who's Driving Doug alongside former Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte, who portrayed Walter White Jr.[10] In 2015 his production company, Mom & Pop Empire, was reported to be co-producing a documentary with Supergravity Pictures about monopolies in the cable television industry.[11]

  1. ^ Glazer, Emily (February 2, 2012). "Who is RayWJ? YouTube's Top Star". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  2. ^ Glazer, Emily (September 18, 2015). "The 15 most popular YouTubers in the world". The Record. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  3. ^ Humphrey, Michael (June 28, 2011). "Ray William Johnson: =3 Adds Up To Most-Subscribed On YouTube". Forbes. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  4. ^ Karnik, Kiran (September 4, 2012). "Given the double-edged sword social media has become, self-regulation by platforms is the best option". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  5. ^ Brouwer, Bree (February 12, 2015). "Ray William Johnson Returns To YouTube With 'How To Get A Date'". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  6. ^ Gutelle, Sam (February 13, 2015). "Ray William Johnson Produces List Show 'Top 6′ On His YouTube Channel". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  7. ^ Gutelle, Sam (July 6, 2015). "New Web Series From Ray William Johnson Offers Comedians' Takes On Snapchat". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  8. ^ Gutelle, Sam (December 12, 2013). "Ray William Johnson's 'Riley Rewind' Arrives On Facebook First". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  9. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (May 17, 2013). "YouTube Star Ray William Johnson Lands TV Deal". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  10. ^ Spangler, Todd (May 15, 2014). "YouTube Star Ray William Johnson Lands Role in Indie Film 'Who's Driving Doug'". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  11. ^ Spangler, Todd (April 14, 2015). "Supergravity, Ray William Johnson Team on Documentary Blasting Cable 'Monopolies'". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2015.