A familiar face on the standup scene since the early 1980s, Jonathan Katz is most recognized in his animated form, as Dr. Katz in the Comedy Central Squiggle Vision show of the same name. Katz is taking his show on the road and to your house, virtually, with Dr. Katz LIVE through Rushtix, Sunday, November 15th. He will be joined by a cavalcade of comics including Jon Hamm, Bob Saget, Andy Kindler, and Laura Silverman. I got the chance to chat with Katz about the shows origins, how they plan to do it live, and how life in pandemic is treating him.

A quirky, slightly irreverent show that highlighted and animated some of the funniest comics of the 90s, what came first; did Jonathan Katz pitch a television series, or was he approached to do one? "It really began with my friendship with the co-creator of the show, Tom Snyder, who was in the education software business and he got very excited about his ability to make a certain kind of animation which became known as Squiggle Vision," Katz explained. "He was really drawn to the kind of comedy I do. So we met. We did a couple of projects together and then finally arrived at Dr. Katz which is the one that stuck."

Hoping that Squiggle Vision has seen leaps and bounds in the last 25 years, I wondered if they were going to be incorporating the iconic animation with the live stream. "It's just a Zoom call with me and Jon Hamm, Andy Kindler, Bob Saget. I mean they'll all appear separately. Laura Silverman, my receptionist, will introduce them. Occasionally there will be a split screen with me and Laura, but otherwise it will just be folks on their own screen like a regular Zoom call."

As for how the pandemic has treated the Katz family, and never one to not take advantage of a joke, Katz replied, "I've been home with my wife since March, and it's gotten to the point where I'm starting to really be annoyed with her. It's a long time to spend with one person. We're married for 38 years. We have two beautiful kids. Couple kids not so attractive..."

Gotta love that dry wit.

Catch Dr. Katz LIVE through Rushtix this Sunday, November 15th at 8:00pm, and check out my complete interview with Jonathan Katz below.

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