Allan Katz
He began his writing career as an advertising copywriter. In 1970 he created the original award-winning campaign for the popcorn snack Screaming Yellow Zonkers which was the first major product to be packaged in a predominantly black box. Every panel of the box was covered by absurd copy and illustrations. Katz wrote the copy on the first several boxes, and wrote and produced the TV and radio campaign.
Katz was hired to be one of the youngest writers on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and moved to Los Angeles. While working on Laugh-In, he also wrote episodes of Sanford and Son, All in the Family, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
He went on to both write and produce other series including M*A*S*H (TV series), The Cher Show, Rhoda, and Roseanne.
In 1989 Katz wrote and starred in the film Big Man on Campus (Originally titled, The Hunchback of UCLA, released in the UK as The Hunchback Hairball of L.A.).
Katz wrote the libretto for the musical Zapata (music by Harry Nilsson) the multiple award-winning Off-Broadway musical, Song of Singapore, and the comedy, Partners starring Alan Rosenberg.
Katz is also an essayist who has been published in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times and has taught writing at UCLA Extension Writers' Program and at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, where recently, in conjunction with their film studies program, he completed directing his feature "Bucky and the Squirrels" which had a limited theatrical release in February 2018.
Married November 30, 1985 (Ancestry.com) to Catherine B Bergstrom (actress) who played Peg Hunnicutt in M*A*S*H (TV series)
Biography from the Wikipedia article Allan Katz. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Part of Crew
Recently Updated Shows
The Legend of Vox Machina
The Legend of Vox Machina is an animated fantasy-adventure series for adults that follows Vox Machina, a band of misfits with a fondness for boozing and brawling. In a desperate attempt to pay off their mounting bar tab, these unlikely heroes end up on a quest to save the realm of Exandria from dark magical forces. From a sinister necromancer to a powerful curse, the group confronts a variety of obstacles that not only test their skills, but also the strength of their bond.
Beyond the Gates
Beyond the Gates is set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington D.C., and in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States. Here you'll find a posh gated community with winding tree-lined streets and luxurious mansions to call home. At the center of this community are the Duprees, a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty. But behind these pristine walls and lush, manicured gardens are juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered. And those that live outside these gates are watching closely. These are the places where our characters live, love, work and play. Those who have "made it" and those who haven't are all trying to navigate life … and some with more grace than others.
Gold Rush: White Water
Gold miners Dakota Fred and his son Dustin are back - returning to McKinley Creek Alaska, determined to make a fortune no matter the risk. But to find the big gold payout, they'll put their lives on the line by diving deep beneath the raging waters of one of Alaska's wildest creeks.
Gold Rush: Mine Rescue with Freddy & Juan
Freddy Dodge is no stranger when it comes to gold mining. With nearly 40 years of mining under his belt, he's known around the world as the "Gold Guru" and the person struggling mine owners call when they're striking out. Now he's going on the road to help struggling mine owners to hit the motherlode in Gold Rush: Mine Rescue with Freddy & Juan. To help him turnaround the operations, Freddy has teamed up with expert mechanic and fellow Gold Rush miner Juan Ibarra. At each location, the mining duo will use their knowledge of geology, prospecting, drilling and testing to get back on the paydirt. But it isn't just running their dirt faster. It's about making the operations better, and more importantly, running cheaper.
Revival
Revival is set on one miraculous day in rural Wisconsin when the recently deceased suddenly rise from their graves. But this is no zombie story as the "revived" appear and act just like they once were. When local Officer and single mother Dana Cypress is unexpectedly thrown into the center of a brutal murder mystery of her own, she's left to make sense of the chaos amidst a town gripped by fear and confusion where everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.