Funnyman: Writer/Director/Producer Allan Katz Offers Humorous Look at Life in Hollywood

Allan Katz, advertising copywriter-turned-award-winning television, stage and film writer/producer/director, shares a humorous look at his life in Hollywood and career opportunities in the entertainment business Thursday, April 19 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence University’s Warch Campus Center.

The presentation, hosted by artist-in-residence and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Catherine Tatge, is free and open to the public.

Allan Katz

A former copywriter who created the ad campaign for the popcorn snack Screaming Yellow Zonkers, Katz has worked on many of television’s most popular and successful sitcoms.

He was a writer for hit shows ranging from “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” and “All in the Family” to “Sanford and Son” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” He later added producer duties to his writer title for the sitcoms “Rhoda,” “M*A*S*H.” “Roseanne” and “Blossom,” earning three Emmy Award nominations, a Peabody Award and a Nancy Susan Reynolds Award for writing, producing and directing along the way.

Beyond television Katz also has written for the stage, including the comedy Partners,” which earned the American Theatre Critics Association’s Steinberg New Play Award and the off-Broadway musical “Song of Singapore.”

His talents extend to the feature film arena as well. He wrote and starred in the big-screen cult classic “Big Man on Campus” (aka “The Hunchback of UCLA”) and has been commissioned to write more than a half dozen other screenplays, among them “King Jomo” for Warner Bros. and “The Prince of Almira” for Cinepartners.

Katz’ current writing projects include the Shakespearean-based comedy screenplay “Really Strange Bedfellows” and the romantic comedy “Chippewa Falls.”

About Lawrence University
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