Jasper Carrott is one of our most beloved stand up comedians. As well as being a veteran comic, he is also an established musician, actor and TV presenter. Jasper - real name Robert Davis - was born in Birmingham in 1945, and educated at Acocks Green Infants/Junior School and Moseley Grammar School. In 1969 he started his own folk club, "The Boggery", in Solihull with his friend Les Ward, where he performed folk songs as well as MC. However, he soon got a reputation for being able to deliver excellent banter with the crowd and so moved more and more into performing straight comedy. In 1975 ...
Dave M. Benett
October 14, 2009
July 31, 2009
Full Biography
Jasper Carrott is one of our most beloved stand up comedians. As well as being a veteran comic, he is also an established musician, actor and TV presenter.
Jasper - real name Robert Davis - was born in Birmingham in 1945, and educated at Acocks Green Infants/Junior School and Moseley Grammar School.
In 1969 he started his own folk club, "The Boggery", in Solihull with his friend Les Ward, where he performed folk songs as well as MC.
However, he soon got a reputation for being able to deliver excellent banter with the crowd and so moved more and more into performing straight comedy.
In 1975 Jasper released his first single Funky Moped / Magic Roundabout, which proved to be a huge chart success, selling almost a million copies and just missing out on a Gold Disc.
In 1978 he landed his first television series - An Audience with Jasper Carrott for LWT and the following year he was named as ITV Personality Of The Year.
This was the springboard for huge success throughout the 80s and 90s, with national and international tours selling out practically everywhere he went.
In 1992 he teamed up with "Jesus Christ" - actor Robert Powell - to make The Detectives a comedy series based on the ridiculous antics of two bungling detectives. This lasted for four series plus a 1997 Christmas Special.
During this twenty year run Jasper was rarely off our screens, be it fronting Carrott's Commercial Breakdown, Canned Carrott or as a television special such as One Jasper Carrott or 24 Carrott Gold.
However, all the above success probably pale into insignifance when, in 1995 Jasper was presented with the "Midlander Of The Year" award, which he now shares with such luminaries as Betty Boothroyd and Ozzy Osbourne!
In 2002, Jasper starred in All About Me , a sitcom for the BBC and the following year he was awarded an OBE in Her Majesty's New Years Honours List in recognition of his outstanding work for charity.
Today, most younger viewers will only know him as the presenter of the baffling Golden Balls.
Pitched as 'a game of big money and big bluff', we have no idea what's going on, but fortunately we have plenty of examples of his great brand of stand up comedy on Comedy Central so we don't have to watch it...