Jason Davis (born 15 September 1973 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), known professionally as Jabba, is an Australian actor, media personality, video jockey, television and radio host, who first made a name for himself as part of the launch of subscription television in Australia in 1995. He was a host for music television station "Red" on the now-defunct Galaxy subscription television network, before the channel changed its name to Channel V. Jason the jabba was part of a famous Incubus live performance at a secret gig in Bondi 2002.[1]
Jabba | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jason Davis 15 September 1973 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Television presenter VJ radio host actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | Channel [V], Housos |
Early life
editBorn Jason Davis, Jabba attended Hunters Hill Primary School, where he gained his name, and James Ruse Agricultural High School.[2] He also played with the All Saints Hunters Hill soccer team, and Parramatta Waterpolo Club.
Career
editJabba began presenting for Foxtel’s [V] in 1994. He hosted a variety of shows including The Joint and Jabba's Morning Glory, which featured performances and interviews with prominent musicians including Pink and Beastie Boys. During his time with [V], he played the role of Davo 'Dazza' Dinkum in the SBS television comedy show Pizza and Swift and Shift Couriers.
In 2004, Jabba participated in the Band in a Bubble project with Australian alternative rock band Regurgitator, which involved him being locked in a Big Brother-style environment with the group and their engineers while they produced an album under 24-hour surveillance. During this time, it was revealed that he had separated from his long-term partner and mother of his children. Following the project's conclusion, Jacquie Riddell of XYZnetworks, announced that Jabba would be taking an extended break, stating that "(the bubble) was a pretty big deal".[3] In 2005, he left [V] and began presenting for Nova FM in Brisbane.
Jabba later moved back home to Sydney, working at Nova 96.9 hosting The All New Nova Top 10 with Jabba and Mel, while still also hosting the Motorola ARIA Charts show on Sunday afternoons, Nova's only national show. In November 2008, Jabba and Mel left The All New Nova Top 10 with Jabba and Mel and were replaced by James Kerley and Maz Compton.
Jabba was also the host of Great BBQ Challenge, a competition series on Foxtel's LifeStyle Food channel. It was a reality-style contest to find Australia's best BBQer, who would win $25,000 and go on to host their own show on Lifestyle Food. He has been named by some (one actually) as a 'social recalcitrant'. "It sort of slid when he left the international passport to smoking pleasure behind".
In March 2010, Jabba became host of a new breakfast radio program with Mike Goldman called Macarthur Breakfast on the Win TV Network’s C91.3 FM in Campbelltown, NSW. Jabba and Mike left the station in December 2010, after refusing to move to Campbelltown, because it was deemed important for the station to be as local as possible.
In 2011, he appeared on two SBS sitcoms: Swift and Shift Couriers and Housos. In 2014 he was featured in the motion picture Fat Pizza vs. Housos.[4]
Jabba also writes a column for the Australian edition of Rolling Stone.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Somewhere in the Darkness | ||
| 2002 | Garage Days | Feature film | |
| 2002 | Incubus – Bondi RSL | ||
| 2003 | Fat Pizza | Davo Dinkum | Feature film |
| 2012 | Housos vs. Authority | Darren 'Dazza' Smith | Feature film |
| 2014 | Fat Pizza vs. Housos | Darren 'Dazza' Smith | Feature film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Joint | Host | |
| 2000–07 | Pizza | Middle Class Homeboy & Davo Dinkum | TV series |
| 2002 | Jabba's Morning Glory | Host | TV series |
| 2004 | Pizza Live | Davo Dinkum | TV series |
| 2006 | World Record Pizza | Davo Dinkum | TV series |
| 2006 | Pull Up Selecta | Host | TV series |
| 2006–07 | Great BBQ Challenge | Host | TV series |
| 2007–10 | 20 to 1 | Host | TV series |
| 2008 | 2008 National Musicoz Awards | Host | TV special |
| 2008; 2011 | Swift and Shift Couriers | Various characters | TV series |
| 2009 | Dirtgirlworld | Hayman (voice) | Animated TV series |
| 2011 | Jabba's Curious World | Presenter | TV series |
| 2011 | The Essential 20 | Presenter | TV series |
| 2011 | Housos | Dazza | TV series |
Awards
editJabba was nominated for and won the Best Music Personality at the 2007 Australian Commercial Radio Awards held at Crown Casino.[5]
References
edit- ^ Molitorisz, Sacha (22 October 1995). "Red in your face". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. p. 6. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ^ Chenoweth, Ben (19 October 2012). "Houses hit the big screen". Hills News. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- ^ "Bubble bursts and Jabba goes into recovery". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 November 2004.
- ^ "Fat Pizza Vs Housos". Hoyts. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- ^ "Winners For 2007 ACRAs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.