Remarkable Ram: Mark Katz
By Rachel Sobel, News and Opinion Co-Editor and Sports Staff
Image courtesy of The Moth
Mindful Mondays, Tunes Tuesdays, Friday night football games, junior ball, prom, senior breakfasts, pep rallies, and volleyball tournaments. Where do we go from here? Life is pretty exciting here at Clarkstown High School North, but what happens when we leave this bubble? Let’s look at some people who made it big in the real world…
Mark Katz: Class of 1982
Mark Katz was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Rockland County. During his time at Clarkstown High School North, he wrote for the Ram’s Horn newspaper and participated in Cue & Curtain’s theatrical productions. After leaving North, Katz moved on to receive his B.A in Government at Cornell University. Upon graduating in 1986, he became involved in politics. Katz worked as a special assistant to New York Senator Daniel Moynihan, and later assisted Michael Dukakis’ presidential campaign in 1988. However, Katz became well known for his humorous speeches, written personally for the former President of the United States, Bill Clinton. Working closely with the President and his communications team, Katz helped write Clinton’s yearly humorous speeches that were given at the Gridiron Club, Alfalfa Club, and the White House Correspondents Association. Katz also helped Vice President Al Gore with his comical speeches. Soon enough, Katz received attention for his natural born comical talent, as his speeches were published in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Washington Monthly, and Time Magazine. He later wrote a book titled, Clinton and Me: A Real-Life Political Comedy, and in 1993, founded The Soundbite Institute, a creative consultancy for speech writing and other content. Through his career in communications, comedy, and speechwriting, Katz proved himself one of the most successful and famous North alumni to date!
INTERVIEW WITH MARK KATZ:
Do you have one memory from your time at Clarkstown North that sticks out to you the most?
“The time I hosted the senior class luncheon, my friend and I were the co-Mc's and presented all the senior class superlatives. Dr. Binotto, the principal, told my friend that he had to approve all of the jokes beforehand, and that everything had to be clean. I told a bunch of jokes that were not approved and that raised the eyebrows of Dr. Binotto. He called me into his office on Monday morning to suspend me because I violated his direct order to not to put any jokes he did not approve of. I said to Dr. Binotto, ‘I know kids telling jokes is a big problem in this school, but may I point out to you that there are guys smoking joints right outside your window.’ At that, he said something I’ll never forget.
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‘Let me tell you something. There are all kinds of kids out there carrying weapons and contraband. They don’t scare me. There's a prison cell out there waiting for every one of them. But you and your pals, you scare me, because you got a brain. I got news for you Katz, in my book you are the most dangerous student in this school.’As flattered as I was, there was still the matter of not getting suspended. I said to him, ‘I understand why you have to suspend me if I directly disobeyed you, but I wasn’t in the meeting when you gave the order. I only heard it secondhand from my friend. I didn’t hear it from you, so I didn’t directly disobey you.’ He said, ‘Okay Katz, as of now your suspension is pending. I’ll come to find you at the end of the day.’ He never came looking for me, and I didn’t look too hard for him, so technically, my suspension is still pending.”
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2. If you could give advice to students at North, specifically about writing, politics, comedy, or in general, what would it be?
“High School is a universe in and of itself and you should take up full residence there, whether that means being a part of the newspaper, which I was, or other activities. The newspaper involves you in the voice of the school and helps you find your voice. The Ram’s Horn was a huge part of my Clarkstown North experience, and instrumental in my development as a writer. I also did Cue & Curtain my junior and senior years… I had zero talent and was only in the chorus. Even then I stood out from being a bad chorus member. But, I had more pure fun doing those plays than I did anything else in high school.”
3. What was it like to write for the President of the United States?
“It was like writing for the principal of Clarkstown North, only a gazillion times cooler. It was a fantasy come true. It was something my high school guidance counselor could never have predicted for me, and yet somehow seemed to fulfill a destiny that I had been in the process of pursuing all my life. It seemed both impossible and somehow inevitable at the same time.”
Image courtesy of The Moth