Mark Katz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mark Katz (born December 28, 1963) is an American humorist, speechwriter, author, and humor consultant to politicians, executives and media personalities.
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[edit] Background
Mark Katz was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Rockland County, New York. The second son of a suburban orthodontist, he received a B.A. in Government at Cornell University in 1986. From 1981-82, he served as president of the math honor society, Mu Alpha Theta, at Clarkstown High School North. He was also the Alfred E. Newman award winner for best comedy in a bunk or cabin setting.
[edit] Career
Mark Katz’s career began in journalism: a news clerk in the Washington bureau of the New York Times. From there, politics: a special assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then to the “rapid response team” of the Michael Dukakis presidential campaign of 1988. In the aftermath of that debacle, a brief career as an advertising copywriter at the Sawyer/Miller Group, Hal Riney & Partners/SF and McCann-Erickson/NY. From 1993-2000, he was a creative consultant to the Democratic National Committee who assisted then-President Bill Clinton with his annual series of humor speeches to the Washington Press Corps. Annual speeches included remarks at the White House Correspondents Association, the Gridiron Club, and the Alfalfa Club. Mark Katz as also written humorous speeches for, among others, then-Vice President Al Gore, James Wolfensohn of World Bank, Madeline Albright, Tom Freston, and Barbra Streisand.
Katz’s humor essays have been published in Time Magazine, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Washington Monthly, and he is an occasional op-ed contributor to The New York Times. He has also published two books (see below) including one on his experience as the in-house humorist of the Clinton White House from 1993 to 2000. During his book tour he appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air, and the stage of the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival. He is also a frequent storyteller at The Moth, a popular storyteller’s forum based in New York City.
On January 25, 1984, he appeared on the “Stupid Pet Tricks” segment of The Late Show with David Letterman, with Wally, his piano-playing toy poodle.
[edit] The Soundbite Institute
Drawing upon his unusual combination of skills in humor, speechwriting, corporate and strategic communications, Mark Katz started The Soundbite Institute in 1993. The Soundbite Institute is a unique creative consulting boutique that applies comic sensibilities to strategic communications for a roster of corporate and political leaders and other high-profile individuals.
[edit] Bibliography
"I AM NOT A CORPSE!" & Other Quotes Never Actually Said (Dell) 978-0440507123
2004 CLINTON & ME: A Real-Life Political Comedy (Miramax Books) 978-0786869497
