After years of giving people vision problems as the SquigglevisionTM-ed star of the award-winning “Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist,” Jonathan Katz is back on the standup scene, working the room and celebrating the release of his debut CD, “Caffeinated” (Stand Up Records).
I had the opportunity to check in with Katz at his home in the ‘burbs of Boston and this is what he had to say…
What are you up to these days
Well, Bill Braudis just got a job writing a cartoon sitcom in LA. I sent him an email that said I am desperate- though that’s too strong a word. I asked if I could be involved with production.
I make an episode every day for my radio show and I have about 50 in the bank.
I did one with Bob Dylan!
I told my wife I did it and she said “You know you don’t really have a radio show.”
I also have the “Dr Katz” box sets with all the bonus tacks. And that is all fun, but I’d like to get back into production/
I am also in a new movie called “Are We Done Yet?” It is a more contemporary version of “The Money Pit” which is a more contemporary version of “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” which had Cary Grant.
The reason why I flew to Vancouver to do this is because director Steve Carr built a scooter with sidecar for my fictitious wife who is played by a Canadian actress named Linda Cash.
Ice Cube is in the movie. (Here I go dropping names again!) I gave ice Cube a copy of the first season [of “Dr. Katz” on DVD] and I wrote a note on it saying “I hope my best work is ahead of me, but if not, this is it.”
I have also been performing live again!
How has it been going back to the standup circuit?
I love to tell jokes. I love to make people laugh. I also love to make small children cry- because I’m so MEAN!
You recently released your first CD. What took you so long?
I dunno- It really just seemed like the right time. I don’t travel as much as I used to. When I started doing “Dr Katz,” it was such an efficient way to entertain people. So making a recording of my act is more efficient than going to visit everyone in America.
It used to be easier to go to a new town than to write new jokes. I used to adhere to my act so closely- I never strayed from my 22 minutes of comedy, even though I called it a half hour. Now I can’t stay focused long enough- I can’t shut up! I could be there forever!
I have given myself permission to go off script.
Standup comedy, when you think about it is the simplest form of entertainment - an audience, a microphone, and a comedian. So for the last few years, I have been trying to make it more complicated.
Are you seriously the caffeine fiend?
Yes! I am like Steven Wright who said on “Dr Katz,” “I have six cups of coffee before I have my first cup.”
What is it like being known as the doppelganger of an agitated cartoon?
It is kinda’ cool!
I like it when people are talking to me and then they
s l o w l y start to recognize my voice. It happens less freq but there was a time when my voice was very familiar to America.
How has being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) affected your career and your sense of comedy?
I travel less, partly because the MS and partly because I am waiting for the right price.
We are planning to do “Dr Katz” Live in LA. We are doing it as a bonus tack for the box set o the DVD which will be released for the holidays next year.
It was tough pretending to be healthier than I am. But I am not debilitated- I function on a pretty high level.
I have been writing more too. I am writing a book with Bill called 501 Things You Don’t Want to Say Out Loud. For example, at your daughter’s piano recital, you don’t want to say, “Next time, use your fingers!” Or you would not want to say to a state trooper, “Driving puts me in an almost hypnotic state.”
I hope that will be out in the fall. Bill and I are always trying to write. We did To Do Lists for the Dead a few years ago. We were trying to write a book on MS but we couldn’t even come up with a title! I don’t want to write about it. I like talking abut it and telling jokes about it, but I don’t want to write about it because I get depressed. I make so many jokes about it, Bill once called me after looking over my ideas for the book and said, “Jonathan, there has got to be SOMETHING bad about the disease.”
I am not in denial. I am in a comfortable spot. I do miss tennis, but most things I do I can still do very well. I like to ask for help, offer help and resist help, and I still do those things very well.
You have collaborated with the likes of Mamet, Danson, and Steenburgen. Who are you still hoping to work with and what are your dream projects at this stage in your career?
I’m writing a movie and book and I can’t really tell you what it’s about. It’s a romantic comedy.
I’d love to have a radio show- almost more than a TV show because I can make it at home I have a studio in my house and I love to manipulate audio. I did a show on NPR for a while called “The Next Big Thing.” It was a call-in show but we would prepare the questions. I had all the best comedians calling in. But journalists do not take things out of context and when you do comedy you are almost obliged to do that,. It was fun for about a year, but then it got a little stale.
Any final words?
Geez- it sounds so medical!
I was going to say that comedy can heal all the world’s problems, but that’s not true. It can heal some of them, but not all of them
I used to think that the way to bring peace to the Middle East was to have Larry David go over there and put out a big spread- because they all have similar tastes in lunch. I think they’d all find him either annoying or funny- I’ll go with funny.
