Meyer Myron "Mickey" Katz (June 15, 1909 – April 30, 1985) was an American musician and comedian. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and paternal grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey.
Early life[edit]
Meyer Myron Katz was born on Sawtell Court in Cleveland, Ohio, to a Jewish family. He was one of five children born to Johanna (née Herzberg) and Menachem Katz. Mickey lost an older sister to diphtheria when he was about four years old.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] He married her three years later, in 1930. They had two sons, Joel Grey and Ronald.[2][3] 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.[1]
Hitting his stride[edit]
In 1946, the national jukebox convention was to be held in Cleveland, and Katz was asked to conduct for it. While there he met Spike Jones, and a week later Jones asked Katz to join him in Hollywood. Katz played with Jones for more than a year, but never felt he was paid enough, so he left Jones in 1947.
Katz soon decided to make an English-Yiddish comedy record. Having written the lyrics to "Haim afen Range" (based on "Home on the Range") some years previously, he had it approved by RCA. He quickly wrote another song for the flip side, "Yiddish Square Dance", and had his friend Al Sack sketch out the melody for it and set "Haim afen Range" to music as well. The original run of 10,000 copies released in New York City sold out in three days, and RCA received orders for 25,000 more. Katz then went on to parody "Tico, Tico" as "Tickle, Tickle" and backed this new record with "Chloya", a parody of "Chloe". He then hired a manager in Los Angeles, and in 1947 performed in Boyle Heights, a largely Jewish and Mexican-American neighborhood. In Katz's words, he was a "double-ethnic smash."[1]
Receiving some opposition[edit]
Despite Katz's appeal with particular groups, there were many who did not like his music. Most of these people were affronted by the way he emphasized Jewish differences, convinced that his antics would help perpetuate Jewish stereotypes. In "The Yiddish are coming", writer Josh Kun sums up the atmosphere of the time with the following: "As historian Howard Sachar has noted, the prevailing attitude after World War II was a fear that anything that promoted a 'separate identity as Jews ... would somehow lend credence to Hitler's racial theories.'"[4]
Although Katz had his fans, not everybody loved him. There were many radio stations that refused to play his records, and several venues feared hiring him. In his biography, Katz recalls asking a radio station manager why he wouldn't play any of Katz's records:
I asked him why he wouldn't play my records. He said, "Because some of our listeners are offended."
I asked, "Who, besides you?"
He said, "I don't think that's any of your business."
I answered, "I think it is my business because this is how I make a living. You play Italian records, you play Polish records--"
He cut me off. "I will not play any record with Yiddish in it. Yiddish is the language of the ghetto."
"My friend," I said, "Yiddish is the language of our forefathers."
"I do not care to hear it."
"Then why don't you play some of my instrumental records? They're some of the greatest music in the world, played by some of the greatest musicians in the world—Ziggy Elman, Mannie Klein, Nat Farber--"
Again he cut me off mid-sentence. "There will be no Yiddish spoken, or Jewish music played, on this station."[1]
Katz was largely a jazz musician. All of his parodies have a distinct klezmer flavor, either throughout the entire piece or as a brief "break" in the middle of the song.[1] His songs often lampooned both Jewish and American culture.[5]
Music[edit]
In addition to his parodies, Katz created more traditional klezmer music. His songs have been compiled onto CDs, including Mish Mosh, The Most Mishige, Mickey Katz Greatest Shticks, and Simcha Time: Music for Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and Brisses. Katz played with many musicians throughout the years, but he initially performed his parodies with Mannie Klein on trumpet, Sammy Weiss on drums, Benny Gill on violin, Si Zentner on trombone, and Wally Wechsler on piano.
Death[edit]
Katz died of kidney failure in Los Angeles, California in 1985, at the age of 75.[7]
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