Jonathan Katz

Jonathan Katz: Profile

Author, producer, actor, comedian and musician, Jonathan Katz is one of the entertainment industry's most original and versatile creative personalities.

He co-created and starred in the hit pop culture animated series "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist," which aired on Comedy Central for six seasons, a show that has been credited with branding that network as the home for sophisticated, smartly stupid humor. For his work on the series Katz received Comedy Central's first-ever Emmy Award (for Outstanding Primetime Voiceover Performance), the prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting, and two Cable Ace Awards.

As an actor, Jonathan has been praised for his roles in such recent movies as "Daddy Day Care" with Eddie Murphy ("excruciatingly funny") as well as in the David Mamet films "State and Main," "Things Change" and "The Spanish Prisoner," and opposite Janeane Garofalo in the 2002 release "The Independent." He also co-wrote the story for Mamet's critically acclaimed "House of Games."

For the past several years, he has focused on creating innovative programming across different media platforms. He created and produced "Raising Dad" for the WB, and more recently a television pilot, "Say Uncle" starring Lisa Kudrow and Katz, for Disney and Fox. Jonathan is a regular contributor to public radio's "The Next Big Thing" and can be heard on the web at transom.org.

His additional television credits include his own HBO special, a recurring role on CBS' "Ink," and an appearance as himself in the last season of HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show." Katz has made numerous guest appearances on "The Late Show with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher," for which he also served as creative consultant.

Jonathan's first book To Do Lists of the Dead was published in 2000 by Andrews McMeel, and he is currently working on his new book, tentatively titled Humility: What Is It and Where Can I Get Some ?

Originally a musician and songwriter, Katz fronted a rhythm and blues group called "Katz and Jammers" before serving as the musical director for Robin Williams' 1979 stand-up tour. In 1981 he started working solo, doing a cabaret act that was mostly musical, and in between songs he began to lay the groundwork for this stand-up act.

A native New Yorker, Jonathan moved to Boston twenty years ago and currently resides in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.

In 1997 Jonathan was diagnosed with MS. Weeks later he found out what those two letters represent (multiple sclerosis.) For the last few years he has talked publicly about how this illness has impacted his life, and finds sharing his situation with others very enriching. "Life goes on with the disease. I use comedy to cope. In fact I teach a course called 'Coping with Comedians who use Comedy to Cope.'"