Mickey Katz
| Mickey Katz | |
|---|---|
Katz, circa 1950.
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| Born |
Meyer Myron Katz June 15, 1909 Cleveland, Ohio United States |
| Died | April 30, 1985 (aged 75) Los Angeles, California United States |
| Cause of death | Renal failure |
| Occupation | Comedian, musician |
| Spouse(s) | Grace Epstein (m. 1930) |
| Children |
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Mickey Katz (June 15, 1909 – April 30, 1985) was an American comedian and musician who specialized in Jewish humor. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey.
Katz was born Meyer Myron Katz on Sawtell Court in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Johanna (née Herzberg) and Menachem Katz. Originally one of five children, Mickey lost an older sister to diphtheria when he was about four years old. Menachem supported the family as a tailor, but money was always tight in the Katz family. As children Mickey and his siblings contributed to the family finances by entering amateur musical contests in the neighborhood theaters and bringing the prize money home to their parents. Even after graduating from high school, Mickey continued to support his family with the money he earned from his music.
Out of high school, Katz was hired by Phil Spitalny to go on a road tour. While waiting at the train station to leave, Katz met Grace Epstein, his future wife. He was seventeen and she was fourteen. He married her three years later, in 1930. They had two sons, Joel Grey and Ronald. Each of Katz's sons had two children. Joel fathered Jennifer Grey and Jim Grey, and Ronald fathered Randy Katz and Todd Katz. In 1977 Katz told the story of his life in a biography called Papa, Play for Me.
One evening when Katz was eleven, his father took him to a concert at the Talmud Torah. A clarinet solo was on the program. On the way home, Katz told him he wanted to play the clarinet. But for his father to pay for an instrument and lessons was out of the question. The next day Katz asked the bandmaster of the local high school for a school clarinet, and within a few days he received an old and dusty clarinet. The next step was to find a way to pay for clarinet lessons. Katz went to his Uncle Sam and offered to clean his tailor shop if he would pay for the lessons. His uncle agreed, and soon Katz was studying under Joseph Narovec. He made excellent progress on the instrument, and quickly learned saxophone as well, which is played basically the same way as a clarinet.
Fresh out of high school, Katz landed a gig playing clarinet and sax for Spitalny and went on a road tour with his band. After the tour Katz played in Doc Whipple's big band at the Golden Pheasant Chinese Restaurant for about a year, at which point he left and joined Angelo Vitale's band at the Park Theater. Deciding to try his luck in New York City, Katz left Cleveland in 1929. He had a hard time finding work at first, and bopped around from one small, unsuccessful job to the next. He finally ran into Ed Fishman, whom he knew from Cleveland and who helped him find a job playing in Howard Phillips' orchestra at the Manger Hotel. But the job ended in 1930 after his marriage, and the couple had no choice but to go to live in Grace's uncle's home.
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