> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://lifeonwords.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Alan Katz: Forty Years of Getting Paid to Be Funny - URL: https://lifeonwords.com/alan-katz-forty-years-of-getting-paid-to-be-funny/ - Published: 2026-08-19T09:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-05T06:16:43.000Z - Description: Alan Katz has written more than 50 books and spent five years writing for The Rosie O'Donnell Show. He grew up in a family of shoe-store owners and teachers and announced early that he'd be a writer — his father's response was that as a writer, you are your own merchandise. We talk about… - Author: Terry Heath - Tags: Podcast, #rs-946a492e-4db7-48fd-a37b-d9a5a1f5d41d, Alan Katz [▶ Listen to this episode](https://lifeonwords.com/alan-katz-forty-years-of-getting-paid-to-be-funny/) · 50 min Alan Katz has written more than 50 books and spent five years writing for *The Rosie O'Donnell Show*. He grew up in a family of shoe-store owners and teachers and announced early that he'd be a writer — his father's response was that as a writer, you are your own merchandise. We talk about what that life has cost, the bullies who taught him to write on deadline, and why he tells kids a joke at someone else's expense is never worth it. **Key topics** - "You are your own merchandise": the cost of a career where next year is never guaranteed - Comedy writing in advertising — Pepsi, McDonald's, and a musical about Sperry computers starring Kirk Douglas - Writing song parodies on the 5am train for a show that aired at 10 - How his daughter's dinner-table question became *Take Me Out of the Bathtub* - Writing jokes for Henny Youngman at $7 apiece, in high school - The agent who said write only for television, and why he refused - What happened to the sitcom - Kids who say they don't read for pleasure **Timestamps** 01:25 A family of retail and teachers, and a kid who wanted to write 02:12 The costs: a best seller one year, no idea the next 03:17 How the *Rosie O'Donnell Show* job happened 04:19 Broadway, comedy, sitcoms — why their sensibilities lined up 05:15 Comedy writing in advertising, and a musical about computers 06:22 The Scholastic joke books 07:01 Writing parodies on the 5:30am train 08:03 Simone's question at dinner 08:26 Simon & Schuster was across the street 09:28 What he'd be doing if none of it had worked 10:40 *Got Your Nose*, and the packages kids send him 11:30 *Two Sides to Everything*, with his wife Rose 13:12 A typical Tuesday, and Jerry the ventriloquist dummy 13:50 "Turn the Tub Around," and what his kids are proudest of 14:52 What people get wrong about a comedy writer's life 16:00 The text chain with Dan Gutman and Peter Lerangis 16:51 Whether his kids thought he was funny 18:02 Keeping a notebook — writers observe 19:15 *Awesome Achievers*, and never joking at anyone's expense 20:56 A funny kid, and the bullies who demanded jokes 22:04 Writing for Henny Youngman at $7 a joke 22:38 How live TV taught him to write under pressure 24:24 What he wouldn't tell his younger self 25:26 Mildred Feinsilver, and three years chasing a sitcom in LA 26:56 Is he a good boss to himself? 27:53 Soupy Sales, and why jealousy isn't the word 28:48 The part luck played, and the advice he gives his son 30:00 The most unglamorous thing he did this week 31:29 Advice for someone starting out — and stay away from AI 33:31 What happened to the sitcom 35:15 Lie-ographies: laughing your way into the facts 38:17 Two stories about his name 41:56 What's next, and 27 ways to tell a Barbie story 45:07 Has it been worth it? 46:29 Kids who don't read for pleasure 49:14 Keep reading, keep writing, keep being kind ### Books mentioned [![Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs](https://lifeonwords.com/content/images/2026/08/cover-9780689829031-5.jpg)](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780689829031?ref=lifeonwords.com)[Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780689829031?ref=lifeonwords.com)Alan Katz [![Got Your Nose!](https://lifeonwords.com/content/images/2026/08/cover-9780063025042-5.jpg)](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780063025042?ref=lifeonwords.com)[Got Your Nose!](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780063025042?ref=lifeonwords.com)Alan Katz [![Awesome Achievers in Science Super and Strange Facts about 12 Almost Famous History Makers](https://lifeonwords.com/content/images/2026/08/cover-9780762463381-3.jpg)](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780762463381?ref=lifeonwords.com)[Awesome Achievers in Science Super and Strange Facts about 12 Almost Famous History Makers](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780762463381?ref=lifeonwords.com)Alan Katz [![Awesome Achievers in Technology Super and Strange Facts about 12 Almost Famous History Makers](https://lifeonwords.com/content/images/2026/08/cover-9780762463367-3.jpg)](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780762463367?ref=lifeonwords.com)[Awesome Achievers in Technology Super and Strange Facts about 12 Almost Famous History Makers](https://bookshop.org/a/94291/9780762463367?ref=lifeonwords.com)Alan Katz