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Jonathan Katz

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Jonathan Katz
Katz in 2006
Born
Jonathan Paul Katz

(1946-12-01) December 1, 1946 (age 78)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Websitewww.jonathankatz.com

Jonathan Paul Katz (born December 1, 1946)[1] is an American actor and comedian best known for his starring role in the animated sitcom Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist as Dr. Katz.[2] He also is known for voicing Erik Robbins in the UPN/Adult Swim series Home Movies. He produces a podcast titled Hey, We're Back[3] and can be heard on Explosion Bus.[4]

Life

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Katz was born to a Jewish family,[5] although he has said that he is not devout. His father, Sidney Roosevelt Katz, was a secretary-treasurer for the AFL-CIO, and his mother, Julia, died at a relatively young age. Katz has said that his father was not a particularly comedic man, but did tell a couple of jokes on occasion, which Katz has adapted into his comedy routine.[6] As a young man, Katz dated Valerie Velardi, who later became the first wife of Robin Williams.[7] Katz went on to marry his current wife, Susan (born 1955), with whom he has two daughters: Julia (born 1983) and Miranda (born 1992).[6] His paternal grandfather, Bernath Katz, immigrated from Budapest, Hungary.[8]

He is a close friend of playwright David Mamet,[9] with whom he attended Goddard College.[10] Katz co-wrote House of Games with Mamet and had small roles in the Mamet-directed films Things Change, Homicide, The Spanish Prisoner and State and Main.[10]

Originally a musician and songwriter, Katz fronted a rhythm and blues group called "Katz and Jammers"[11] before serving as the musical director for Robin Williams' 1979 standup tour.[12] In 1998, he released Brandon Project, a blues album.[13]

Multiple sclerosis

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In 1996, Katz was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.[14] The initial symptoms began in 1996: "I was working on a TV show called Ink with Ted Danson, and after every episode we would take a curtain call and I noticed that I needed a head-start."[15]

Hiding his condition became too much of a burden for Katz and he eventually disclosed it. Now he speaks publicly as part of a tour sponsored by a manufacturer of medications used to treat MS.[16]

"People have been pretty supportive; nobody ever had me in mind for an action film because of the kind of work I do -- mostly in the world of animation, which is not a big issue because as a person, I can't run that fast; as a cartoon character, I can fly -- literally."[15]

Katz, who now gets around with the help of a motorized scooter and performs onstage with the aid of a cane, says he doesn't regret his decision: "One of the reasons I disclosed my condition is because it is much easier to live with MS than to pretend you don't have it. If I could convince everyone of that, my job here is done."[15]

Career

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Dr. Katz originally aired on Comedy Central from 1995 to 2002, and starred Katz as a professional therapist whose patients were chiefly other comedians and actors. He received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the show in 1995 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.[17] He has also created the show Raising Dad in 2001. His voice can also be heard in the animated series Home Movies,[11] a show with many ties to Dr. Katz, as well as on the Adult Swim animated comedy series Squidbillies where he performed uncredited voice-overs as "The Rapist" in Season 2 and as the Holodeck Therapist in Season 5.[18] During that time, in 1999, he then signed an overall development deal with Paramount Network Television.[19]

In 2007, Katz joked to Blast Magazine entertainment editor Bessie King about the success of his Comedy Central show and the recent release of the full series on DVD. "I’m so proud of that work and I’m a compulsive name dropper, [but] when I did a movie with Ice Cube over the summer I said...I hope my best work is not behind me but if it is, I’m glad it's Dr. Katz," he said.[20] In 2007, he released a stand-up album titled Caffeinated.[21] In 2009, he can be seen (or heard) as Freezy, the Burl Ives-inspired animated snowman star of Turbocharge: The Unauthorized Story of the Cars, a comedy biopic about The Cars, which Katz narrates throughout.[11]

In 2011, he starred as Jon Gold on the web series Explosion Bus created by Tom Snyder and co-developed with Katz, Snyder and Tom Leopold.[4] In the spring of 2012, Katz taught a theater class at Brandeis University in Short Form Comedy.[22] On September 3, 2014, Katz appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Official Website of Jonathan Katz". www.jonathankatz.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. ^ Brozan, Nadine (12 June 1997). "CHRONICLE". New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Hey We're Back! Podcast | Jonathan Katz's Podkatz". jonathankatz.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Explosion Bus - About". www.explosionbus.com. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  5. ^ Epstein, Lawrence J. The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America ISBN 978-0786724925 - Publisher: PublicAffairs - Date: Aug 2008
  6. ^ a b "The Fatherly Questionnaire: Jonathan Katz". Fatherly Magazine. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Getting Personal with Jonathan Katz". Vulture Magazine. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  8. ^ "The Park Avenue Synagogue Bulletin, Bound Volume, September, 1973 - June, 1974". Internet Archive. 1 June 1974. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  9. ^ "The World According to David Mamet". ABC News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Dr. Katz Receives His Degree". National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  11. ^ a b c "Official Website of Jonathan Katz - Bio". jonathankatz.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Jonathan Katz - President Street Productions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Brandon Project by Jonathan Katz". MTV Artists. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Comedian Jonathan Katz on His Life with MS". EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  15. ^ a b c "CNN.com - Comedian turns multiple sclerosis into a laughing matter - Oct. 10, 2003". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Anne Carlini - Exclusive Magazine". www.annecarlini.com. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Dr. Katz Professional Therapist". Television Academy. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  18. ^ List of Squidbillies episodes#Season 2: 2006
  19. ^ Adalian, Josef (3 December 1999). "Par bags Katz for TV series deal". Variety. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  20. ^ Interviewing Dr. Katz - Blast, the Online Magazine, blastmagazine.com, December 2007.
  21. ^ "Official Website of Jonathan Katz - Yard Sale". www.jonathankatz.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  22. ^ Profile, brandeis.edu; accessed September 27, 2015.
  23. ^ "TV Guidance Counselor with Ken Reid | Women in Comedy Festival". www.womenincomedyfestival.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
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