Mark Jonathan Davis is a multifaceted individual with a diverse range of skills and experiences. Born in New York, he was raised in Arizona and has spent over 30 years living and working in Southern California.
Davis's professional career began in the early 1980s in radio, where he worked as a morning show producer at prominent stations such as KZZP and Pirate Radio. In 1990, he relocated to Los Angeles to manage the Premiere Radio Comedy Networks, where he wrote and produced parody songs, including "The Star Wars Cantina," "Jeannie's Diner," and "Rice Rice Baby."
In 1992, Davis joined the KROQ-FM Kevin & Bean morning show in L.A. as creative director, producing jingles and comedy songs, conducting celebrity interviews, and creating memorable on-air characters such as Paul The 55-Year-Old Intern and Shakespeare Man.
In addition to his radio work, Davis has also had a successful career in television, voice acting, and music. He has performed voices for Warner Brothers' "Superman" and "Batman" Beyond cartoon movies and TV series, had a #1 song on The Dr. Demento Show, and worked as a network announcer, commercial producer, lyricist, and jingle singer for NBC, CBS, The Disney Channel, and Nick At Nite.
Davis has also worked as a stuntman in a Chris Isaak music video, developed theme park attractions and branding for Walt Disney Imagineering, written jokes for President Bill Clinton, appeared as himself on NBC's "NewsRadio," performed a Stupid Human Trick on the Late Show with David Letterman, and met President Barack Obama at a White House Holiday Party.
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 over 250,000 albums/CDs, and continues to play sellout shows all over the U.S. and Europe.
As Cheese, Davis has appeared in the films "Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar," "Army Of The Dead," "The LEGO Batman Movie," "Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice," "Dawn Of The Dead," HBO's "The Leftovers," and he has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Jonathan Ross Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, CNN with Anderson Cooper, and MTV's Say What Karaoke.
Through his independent record label Coverage Records, Davis has produced albums for various artists, including Johnny Aloha: Lavapalooza, Mozzapella, "Sulu's Greatest HITS," and two albums of parody songs, "The Parody Songs The Destroyed Earth" and "Parody Songs For A Better Tomorrow."
Davis is also an author, with his autobiography "Grateful: 21 Years Of Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine" set to be released in 2021. He has also published "Fonts In Paradise: Signs Of Mid-Century Hawaii," a book of photographs of vintage Honolulu architecture, and is developing books about politics, astronomy, and art history.
In his free time, Davis enjoys swimming, visiting museums, watching Turner Classic Movies, playing Scrabble, and eating pizza.
