Jon Davison was born on July 21, 1949 in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Davison studied at New York University's Film Institute, where one of his instructors was director Martin Scorsese. While attending NYU Jon staged film retrospectives at the Fillmore East in the East Village. Davison began his career running the St. Marks Cinematheque movie theater in New York. Fellow NYU classmate and future film director Jonathan Kaplan suggested to Jon that he move to Los Angeles, California. In 1972 Davison hooked up with Roger Corman's prolific B-flick outfit New World Pictures, where he initially was the director of advertising and publicity. Davison made his debut as associate producer of "Big Bad Mama." He went on to produce the hilarious exploitation feature parody "Hollywood Boulevard," Ron Howard's delightful directorial debut "Grand Theft Auto," and Joe Dante's terrific tongue-in-cheek killer animal treat "Piranha" for New World Pictures. Jon left New World Pictures in 1980. He produced the uproarious comedies "Airplane!" and "Top Secret!" for Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers. Davison subsequently produced the excellent and exciting science fiction cult favorites "RoboCop" and "Starship Troopers" for director Paul Verhoeven. He went on to produce sequels for those two films. In addition, Jon handled second unit director chores on both "Rock'n'Roll High School" and "The Howling." Moreover, Jon Davison has popped up in small parts in a few movies; he's especially memorable as the tinny metallic voice of the murderous malfunctioning robot ED-209 in "RoboCop."
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- January 21, 1941 (85)
- Producer and actor
- 14 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
What are Jon Davison's films like?
Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 3 · Wry 2 · Earnest 7
A split, not a type: Light 7 · Serious 4 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 5
A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 2 · Intense 9
Steady 4 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 5
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 4
A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 7
Casual 7 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 8 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 2
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jon Davison's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Jon Davison's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
21 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
By Kevin Thomas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Searchers 2.0 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
The 6th Day(2000)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Starship Troopers(1997)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Trapped in Paradise(1994)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
RoboCop 2(1990)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Face Like a Frog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
RoboCop(1987)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Top Secret!(1984)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Twilight Zone: The Movie(1983)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
White Dog(1982)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Airplane!(1980)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Piranha(1978)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Thunder and Lightning (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Grand Theft Auto(1977)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Hollywood Boulevard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Tidal Wave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Big Bad Mama(1974)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
The Movie Orgy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Career shape
A full career of 19 titles from 1968 to 2024.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Jon Davison's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 48th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 51st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 14 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the acting 58/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles; fans 69, detractors 34. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jon Davison's work okay for kids?
Across up to 13 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Jon Davison work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jon Davison's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Joe Dante shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Joe DanteShared titles: That Guy Dick Miller (2014), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Piranha (1978), Grand Theft Auto (1977)See all 4 shared titles with Joe Dante
- Paul VerhoevenShared titles: Starship Troopers (1997), RoboCop (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Verhoeven
- David ZuckerShared titles: Top Secret! (1984), Airplane! (1980)See all 2 shared titles with David Zucker
- Jerry ZuckerShared titles: Top Secret! (1984), Airplane! (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Jerry Zucker
Writers
- Edward NeumeierShared titles: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004), Starship Troopers (1997), RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop (1987)See all 4 shared titles with Edward Neumeier
- Michael MinerShared titles: RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Miner
Actors
- Dick MillerShared titles: That Guy Dick Miller (2014), Piranha (1978), Big Bad Mama (1974)See all 3 shared titles with Dick Miller
- Belinda BalaskiShared titles: That Guy Dick Miller (2014), Piranha (1978)See all 2 shared titles with Belinda Balaski
- Dan O'HerlihyShared titles: RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Dan O'Herlihy
- Felton PerryShared titles: RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Felton Perry
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Basil PoledourisShared titles: Starship Troopers (1997), RoboCop (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Basil Poledouris
- Jost VacanoShared titles: Starship Troopers (1997), RoboCop (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Jost Vacano
- Mark GoldblattShared titles: Starship Troopers (1997), Piranha (1978)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Goldblatt
- Bernard GribbleShared titles: Top Secret! (1984), White Dog (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Bernard Gribble
Producers
- Roger CormanShared titles: That Guy Dick Miller (2014), Piranha (1978), Grand Theft Auto (1977), Big Bad Mama (1974)See all 4 shared titles with Roger Corman
- Phil TippettShared titles: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004), RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop (1987)See all 3 shared titles with Phil Tippett
- David CoatsworthShared titles: The 6th Day (2000), Trapped in Paradise (1994)See all 2 shared titles with David Coatsworth
- Hunt LowryShared titles: Top Secret! (1984), Airplane! (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Hunt Lowry
Mixed roles
- Allan ArkushShared titles: That Guy Dick Miller (2014), Grand Theft Auto (1977)See all 2 shared titles with Allan Arkush
