MARKJONATHANDAVIS.com
|
|
|
ABOUT
Mark Jonathan Davis is a writer, comedian, singer, director, and producer. He was born in New York, raised in Arizona, and has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 1990. He has over 40 years of experience working as an actor, vocalist, comedy writer, producer, and director in film, television, music, advertising/marketing, and politics.
Davis began his professional career in radio in the 1980's, working as morning show producer and air personality at legendary stations like KZZP-FM in Phoenix and Pirate Radio in Los Angeles.
In 1990, he moved to L.A. to manage the Premiere Radio Comedy Networks, where he wrote and produced hit parody songs including The Star Wars Cantina, Jeannie's Diner, and Rice Rice Baby. Davis recently released two compilation albums of his parodies, The Parody Songs That Destroyed Earth and Parody Songs For A Better Tomorrow.
In 1992, Davis joined the KROQ-FM Kevin & Bean morning show in L.A. as producer, creative director, and on-air sidekick. He performed comedy songs, conducted celebrity interviews, managed live broadcasts, and created memorable on-air characters such as Paul The 55-Year-Old Intern, Shakespeare Man, Lt. Sulu, and Bob Hope. An album of his funniest Bob Hope call-in bits, This Is Bob, was released in 2006. He also produced the station's annual Christmas cassettes, recording tracks with Johnny Cash, Phil Collins, Barry White, Ed McMahon, Cindy Crawford, Squeeze, Crowded House, Chris Isaak, and Tony Bennett.
In the early 1990s, Davis segued into television and worked as a network announcer, jingle singer, lyricist, and commercial producer. He wrote, sang, and produced numerous award-winning TV promos for NBC, CBS, MTV, TVLand, and Nick At Nite. He also created parody songs for the Disney Channel's House Of Mouse animated series, and performed as a voice actor in Warner Brothers Animation's Superman and Batman Beyond cartoons and movies.
In 1997, Davis was hired as a freelance copywriter and concept designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. For Disneyland's California Adventure theme park, he created names, slogans, sign copy, and branding for numerous rides, restaurants, and retail stores, as well as advertising campaigns. He also provided voices for several attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Davis has also worked as a jokewriter for President Bill Clinton, appeared as a stuntman in a Chris Isaak music video, had several #1 hit songs on The Dr. Demento Show, portrayed himself on NBC's NewsRadio, performed a Stupid Human Trick on The Late Show with David Letterman, and met President Barack Obama at a 2009 holiday party at the White House.
In the early 1990s, Davis segued into television and worked as a network announcer, jingle singer, lyricist, and commercial producer. He wrote, sang, and produced numerous award-winning TV promos for NBC, CBS, MTV, TVLand, and Nick At Nite. He also created parody songs for the Disney Channel's House Of Mouse animated series, and performed as a voice actor in Warner Brothers Animation's Superman and Batman Beyond cartoons and movies.
In 1997, Davis was hired as a freelance copywriter and concept designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. For Disneyland's California Adventure theme park, he created names, slogans, sign copy, and branding for numerous rides, restaurants, and retail stores, as well as advertising campaigns. He also provided voices for several attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Davis has also worked as a jokewriter for President Bill Clinton, appeared as a stuntman in a Chris Isaak music video, had several #1 hit songs on The Dr. Demento Show, portrayed himself on NBC's NewsRadio, performed a Stupid Human Trick on The Late Show with David Letterman, and met President Barack Obama at a 2009 holiday party at the White House.
Since 2000, Davis has been recording and touring as Las Vegas lounge singer character Richard Cheese, who croons jazz/big-band versions of popular rock and rap songs. His Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine live swing band has sold millions of CDs, LPs, and album downloads, and performed hundreds of concerts around the U.S. and Europe.
As Cheese, Davis has performed in the films Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar, The LEGO Batman Movie, Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Army Of The Dead, and Dawn Of The Dead, and he's appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, HBO's The Leftovers, The Jonathan Ross Show, Last Call With Carson Daly, Hangin' With Dr. Z, CNN with Anderson Cooper, and MTV's Say What Karaoke. His albums and live concerts have received critical praise from Variety, Entertainment Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Esquire, The New Yorker, The Las Vegas Mercury, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. The Richard Cheese catalog features more than 30 albums, including the most recent releases Blue No Matter Who (2024) and Microphone Colossus: The Best Of Richard Cheese, Volume 3 (2025).
Davis also produced Johnny Aloha: Lavapalooza, an album of Hawaiian-style tiki music versions of rock and rap hits; Mozzapella, an a cappella cover act; and Sulu's Greatest HITS, a Star Trek comedy album based on his Lt. Sulu KROQ character.
In 2019, Davis self-published Fonts In Paradise: Signs Of Mid-Century Hawaii, a hardcover book of photographs celebrating vintage Honolulu architecture. A new expanded edition eBook was released in December 2024. He is currently developing several new books and multimedia projects, about politics, astronomy, and art history, which will be released by his new media production venture, World Art Supply.
Davis's next venture is an autobiography about his showbiz career, GRATEFUL: 25 YEARS OF MUSIC, MOVIES, AND MEDICAL EMERGENCIES WITH RICHARD CHEESE & LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. A hardcover book and eBook will be published in fall 2026.
In his spare time, Davis enjoys swimming, visiting museums, watching Turner Classic Movies, playing Scrabble, and eating pizza.
As Cheese, Davis has performed in the films Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar, The LEGO Batman Movie, Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Army Of The Dead, and Dawn Of The Dead, and he's appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, HBO's The Leftovers, The Jonathan Ross Show, Last Call With Carson Daly, Hangin' With Dr. Z, CNN with Anderson Cooper, and MTV's Say What Karaoke. His albums and live concerts have received critical praise from Variety, Entertainment Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Esquire, The New Yorker, The Las Vegas Mercury, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. The Richard Cheese catalog features more than 30 albums, including the most recent releases Blue No Matter Who (2024) and Microphone Colossus: The Best Of Richard Cheese, Volume 3 (2025).
Davis also produced Johnny Aloha: Lavapalooza, an album of Hawaiian-style tiki music versions of rock and rap hits; Mozzapella, an a cappella cover act; and Sulu's Greatest HITS, a Star Trek comedy album based on his Lt. Sulu KROQ character.
In 2019, Davis self-published Fonts In Paradise: Signs Of Mid-Century Hawaii, a hardcover book of photographs celebrating vintage Honolulu architecture. A new expanded edition eBook was released in December 2024. He is currently developing several new books and multimedia projects, about politics, astronomy, and art history, which will be released by his new media production venture, World Art Supply.
Davis's next venture is an autobiography about his showbiz career, GRATEFUL: 25 YEARS OF MUSIC, MOVIES, AND MEDICAL EMERGENCIES WITH RICHARD CHEESE & LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. A hardcover book and eBook will be published in fall 2026.
In his spare time, Davis enjoys swimming, visiting museums, watching Turner Classic Movies, playing Scrabble, and eating pizza.
Click the links to read more about Mark Jonathan Davis and his work in Music, Radio, Television, Movies, Books, and Commercials/Branding.
You can watch music videos on the official Mark Jonathan Davis YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/markjonathandavis
https://www.youtube.com/markjonathandavis
You can hear Mark Jonathan Davis's albums at:
markjonathandavis.bandcamp.com
and at:
music.richardcheese.com
and on all streaming platforms.
|
|
|
|
|
FOLLOW MARK JONATHAN DAVIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
@RichardCheese
@JohnnyAloha
@FontsInParadise
