Arts Entert

Jonathan Katz:

PROFESSIONAL COMEDIAN

His cartoon's been canceled, so comic hits the road
again with his brand of selfdeprecating humor.

Jonathan Katz:
"It's amazing
how your whole
future ends up
in the hands
of some guy
named Ed."

BILL CARROLL

Special to the Jewish News

"My in-laws are Orthodox ... they have two satellite dishes."

(Bada-boom!)

7f anything happens to Dick Cheney, George W Bush becomes presi-
dent." (Bada7boom!)

C

omedian Jonathan Katz is just getting warmed up during
a phone interview from his old stomping grounds —
New York City. The 54-year-old "Jack of all show busi-
ness trades" has returned to his standup-comedy roots,
preparing for his appearance Sunday, May 20, at the Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield as
part of the Julius Chajes/Encore Concert Series, sponsored by the
JCC and Temple Israel.
Besides being a comic, Katz is an actor, singer, violinist, author
and, possibly most important of all for his career, a close friend

5/18
2001

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of Jewish writer David Mamet. But he probably is best known as
Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, after the former television show
of the same name that ran for six seasons on Comedy Central.
He co-created, wrote and starred in that hit animated series,
heralded as one of the top 10 shows on television. He received an
Emmy Award for Outstanding Primetime Voiceover Performance
— the first-ever Emmy for Comedy Central, plus the prestigious
Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting and two CableAce
Awards.
"The show ended for the same reason any TV program goes off
the air," Katz explained. "We were a victim of poor ratings ...
although we were a critical success. It's amazing how your whole
future ends up in the hands of some guy named Ed."
His first love always has been standup comedy, and he makes
about a dozen such appearances a year nationally to test new
material. In Handleman Hall Sunday night, he'll perform his reg-
ular standup act, play the guitar and show some clips of the Dr.
Katz: Professional Therapist show.
Katz, who was born in Brooklyn, took violin lessons as a
youngster, moving among the boroughs while his parents were
activists in the labor movement. His father later became the
administrator of the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan and
his mother was active in charities.
"When I was born, my parents thought of simply naming me
Doctor, so I could skip medical school and be a real Jewish
Doctor," he mused. "I was a child violin prodigy until I was 20,
then I couldn't get away with it anymore."
He met Mamet when they were students at Goddard College
in Vermont. They later co-wrote the movie House of Games and
Katz appeared in three Mamet films — as a bald lawyer in
Spanish Prisoner, a bald comedian in Things Change and a bald
producer in State and Main. In the upcoming film The
Independent, he plays a bald love interest. "I guess you get the
picture of me even over the phone," he quipped.
Meanwhile, Katz also worked the comedy circuit and got some
big breaks with appearances on The Tonight Show, first with
Johnny Carson and then with Jay Leno, and The Late Show With
David Letterman, followed recently by Politically Incorrect with
Bill Maher, for which he also was a creative consultant.
"The Carson and Letterman shows were really big for me," he
said. "It was fantastic visibility."
Katz also fronted a rhythm and blues group called Katz and
Jammers, playing the guitar and singing ("no one paid twice to
hear us"), and worked solo in a cabaret act in New York for a
while. "I've written about 40 songs — none of them really
good," he bemoaned.
"Sometimes I, get a royalty check for $11. One of my better
efforts was a song called 'This Heart Is Closed for Alterations'
that Robin Williams sang on the old Mork and Mindy TV show."
Katz now lives in Newton, Mass., with his wife and two
daughters. His first book has a title in keeping with his unusual
sense of humor, To Do Lists of the Dead (Andrews McMeel;
$7.95).
An example is what might have been Abraham Lincoln's "to
do" list: Free the slaves (checked off); find a fancy way to say "87
years ago" (checked off); beef up security at Ford's Theater (not
checked off).
Katz sums up his career so far, comparing the popularity of the
Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist show with himself. He said: "It's
obvious that Dr. Katz did a lot better than Jonathan Katz." D

Jonathan Katz performs 7 p.m. Sunday, May 20, in
Handleman Hall at the West Bloomfield JCC. $12 mem-
bers/$15 nonmembers/$18 at the door. Tickets will be sold
from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the JCC's Summer
Culture Shuk. (248) 661-7649.

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