Allan Katz
Encyclopedia
Allan Katz, born in Chicago, is a writer, producer, actor, and director.
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
.
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
Screaming Yellow Zonkers
Screaming Yellow Zonkers was a snack food, first produced by Lincoln Snacks in the USA in the 1960s. Screaming Yellow Zonkers are popcorn with a yellow sugary glaze, in a black box....
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
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. While working on Laugh-In, he also wrote episodes of Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
, All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
.
He went on to both write and produce other series including M*A*S*H (TV series), The Cher Show, Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
, and Roseanne
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
.
In 1989 Katz wrote and starred in the film Big Man on Campus (Originally titled, The Hunchback of UCLA , released in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as The Hunchback Hairball of L.A.).
Katz wrote the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for the musical Zapata (music by Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
) the multiple award winning Off-Broadway musical, Song of Singapore, and the comedy, Partners starring Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg is an American actor of both stage and screen. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union.-Early life:...
.
Katz is also an essayist who has been published in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and has taught writing at UCLA Extension Writers' Program
UCLA Extension Writers' Program
UCLA Extension Writers' Program is a unit within UCLA Extension [1], the not-for-profit and self-supporting community outreach arm of the University of California, Los Angeles. Located in the Westwood Village area of the city, the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program offers more than 475 annual...
.