JASPER CARROTT

'Jasper Carrott' OBE (born 'Robert Davis', March 14 1945) is an English comedian (declaring himself "world famous in Birmingham").

Contents

Early life

Rise to fame

Stage and TV career

Business interests

Personal interests

External links

Early life

Born in Acocks Green, Birmingham, he was educated at Moseley Grammar School and later attended Aston University in the heart of Birmingham.

Rise to fame

At 16, he started his own folk club, "The Boggery", in Solihull. There, he would perform folk songs as well as MC. Before long, his banter with the audience overtook the actual songs: he became known more as a comedian than a singer. He also worked as a musical agent (in partnership with John Starkey, who later on became his manager), as Fingimigig, managing (among other acts) Harvey Andrews.
He had a surprise UK top-5 chart hit in 1975 - the novelty record "Funky Moped", written by Chris Rohmann. The B-side of this single was a risqué monologue parodying the animated children's TV series ''The Magic Roundabout''. This was banned by the BBC, which is widely believed to have aided its commercial success.
By the end of the 1970s, Jasper had developed a number of anecdotal sketches which he still performs in similar form some thirty years on, often these purported to be to be auto-biographical. Many of these sketches celebrate Birmingham accent and culture, including his support of his beloved Birmingham City. His sketches were captured on records such as ''Jasper Carrott Rabbitts on and on and on...'' and ''Carrott in Notts'' which were recordings of live performances. Notable hits were ''Bastity Chelt'' a complete song in Spoonerism, ''The Football Match'' describing a visit to Old Trafford, ''The Nutter on the Bus'' including the well known cry of ''"Has anybody seen my camel?"''), ''The Mole'' (''"There's only one way to kill a mole - blow it's bloody head off!"'') and ''Zits'' - an explanation of an American slang word for spots which brought the word into use in England.
In 1979 he published ''A Little Zit on the Side'' which purported to be a humorous auto-biography. The follow-up, ''Sweet And Sour Labrador'', mixed sections of his stand-up routines with similar autobiographical material, much of it related to his world travels.

Stage and TV career

His break into television was with the LWT series ''An Audience with Jasper Carrott'' in 1978. This was followed by ''Carrott's Lib'' - a Saturday night comedy show broadcast live on the BBC - and then by a string of different shows. The most notable of these were ''Carrott's Commercial Breakdown'', which broadcast weird and wonderful adverts from around the world, and the sketch and stand-up shows ''Carrott Confidential'', ''24 Carrott Gold'', ''The Jasper Carrott Trial'' and ''Canned Carrott'', some of which also gave TV exposure to the comedy partnership of Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis.
''Canned Carrott'' also featured a regular police drama spoof called ''The Detectives'', co-starring Robert Powell, which was spun off into its own series. In 2002 and 2003, he starred in the sitcom ''All About Me''.
He performed in several of the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' charity concerts for Amnesty International, and returned to the stage in 2004 for several sell out shows at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham featuring classic routines from his career. He returned to a singing role for the musical "Go Play Up Your Own End" (written by Malcolm Stent, songs by Harvey Andrews) in 2005.
In 2005, he appeared in and put on "Jasper Carrott's Rock With Laughter". He appeared alongside performers such as Bill Bailey, Bonnie Tyler, Lenny Henry, Bobby Davro, the Lord of the Dance troupe and Bev Bevan.
Jasper has just finished filming a new game show for ITV1, the Endemol-produced Golden Balls, which began on June 18th.
He was 20th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians show.

Business interests

He turned his hand to business as part owner of the production company Celador, makers of the internationally successful ''Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?''. In 2006, he and wife Hazel sold their shares in the company for over £10m as part of a management buyout deal.

Personal interests

His daughter, Lucy Davis, is an actress best known for playing Dawn in ''The Office''.
He is a proud supporter and director of the football club Birmingham City. He was made an OBE in 2003. The University of Birmingham awarded him a honorary doctorate in 2004.
As an April fool story in 2006, ''The Independent'' newspaper reported that the University of Birmingham's twinned status with its Alabama namesake led to a liaison between Carrott and Condoleezza Rice, whom he described as "a ferocious kisser". The story was subsequently featured as a University Challenge bonus round question on spoof news items.
Jasper Carrott still lives near Birmingham, in Darley Green close to Knowle and Dorridge. Jasper was a keen runner and supported his local Knowle Fun Run through sponsorship and publicity, including 2001 where he paid out several thousand pounds based on the £10 per person who beat him to the finish line.
He also sneaked into local football club Birmingham City's team photo.

External links

★ Jasper Carrott Official Website

★ BBC Comedy Guide lists his work.

★ 24 Carrott Infomation Bio and sound files.

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