When and where did you first perform standup comedy?

It was at the Jewish Home for the Aged in Brooklyn. A woman in the first row thought I was her son and then she threw up on my shoes.

Do you remember how you felt the first time you were on stage?

I felt naked... in a good way. Scared, vulnerable, excited.

How long had you been doing standup before you could actually think of yourself as a standup comic?

I started doing standup in 1981 when there were not so many jokes. The first time I felt like a standup comic was at The Improv in NYC when I went on stage without my guitar for the first time.

During the 1980's, Boston was one of the best comedy markets in the country. Why do you think it had that reputation?

I think because, just like San Francisco, you could actually get paid in your home town and develop a reputation locally.

What clubs outside of Boston booked you early on?

Banana's in Poughkeepsie, clubs in Montreal and Toronto, The Bahia Resort in San Diego and The Coco Cabana in NYC. Catch, The Improv, The Comedy Cellar, many bars in N.J., Delaware, Maryland, a club I booked in New Haven, another in Danbury.

Dom Irrera once described me as "The best car comic working." I was funny until we got to the club. Then I became totally preoccupied with doing a half-hour because I only had twenty minutes. I would lie to people and tell them I was on stage for a half-hour. The only reason I worked was because I owned a car.

What type of comic were you offstage?

Married.

One of the funniest things we ever saw on a comedy club stage was when we caught you perform "The Pussycat Parade" at the Comedy Connection at Duck Soup in Boston. After the show we told you it was one of the funniest things we had ever seen, to which you responded that Connection owner Paul Barclay told you "to never do that song on his stage again." Have you ever done it again? How can a comedy producer be so far off? Does the subjective nature of comedy ever frustrate you?

I think Paul Barclay, a talented businessman, once offered me 500 dollars never to sing "The Pussycat Parade" in his club again. But, either way, I often realized that I was not what the audience had in mind.

How do you think you were perceived by the rest of the comedy community?

Lucky.

How do you think you are now perceived by the rest of the comedy community?

Missing In Action.

Do you still do standup?

Sometimes. I miss it but I also miss playing punch ball with my friends after school.

How did Jonathan Katz Standup Comic become Dr. Katz Professional Therapist?

That's a long complicated story and one that involves my continuing friendship and collaboration with Tom Snyder (Not with the eyebrows). He is a really clever guy who can turn a royal flush into a pair of aces.

What do you make of all these websites seemingly obsessed with Dr. Katz?

I try and visit them as often as I can.

Do you think your years as an animated psychologist helped you with self-analysis? If so, what did you learn about yourself?

Honestly, it turned me into a better listener. Just the other day I heard omething.

Non-standup comics seem to get a perverse thrill from labeling standup comics as psychos or misfits. How would you-- or Dr. Katz--rate us as a group?

I think we are a needy bunch.

You created and produced a show for Bob Saget and Andy Kindler that was, regrettably, cancelled. Care to relate (in your most polite Hollywood-ese) how that show went from concept to reality to being cancelled?

No. But I will tell you my favorite part of the experience. It was calling the front desk at the Bellage in L.A. where I was living and saying to the operator, "Please hold all my calls unless it's my wife or Bob Saget."

Do you like working with other standup comics?

Yes.

Why didn't you star in the series yourself? Would you prefer to spend the rest of your career behind the scenes?

I did star in the series. I played the off screen voice of the Principal, Mr. Kernis.

What did you learn from standup that you were able to apply to the television sitcom world?

Open with a joke and close strong.

Career-wise what has been the biggest thrill for you so far?

Having Garry Shandling tell me about a call he got from Albert Brooks quoting me on The Letterman Show.

Ultimately, what is more important to you, creative control or bags of cash?

I don't think the control part is that important. It's creative fun vs. cash and you can keep the cash.