It began in 1960, when two bitterly opposed presidential hopefuls — Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy — stopped by to break bread and crack wise at each other's expense. Ever since, the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner has become a campaign tradition, a chance for candidates and voters to enjoy a brief reprieve from all the mudslinging for, well, even more mudslinging — only this time, it's meant to elicit laughs. But that was before Donald Trump came along. "The political playbook is thrown out the window," says Mark Katz, a veteran speechwriter who penned gags for
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- 10/20/2016
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Her rocky relationship with the press was infamous. But Mark Katz remembers a night with reporters when Geraldine Ferraro was undeniably winning-even while losing.
In the spring of 1998, when a young intern named Lewinsky was making headlines for her role in the White House, I received a call regarding another woman who had made history 14 years earlier in her bid to serve in the executive branch. Was I available to help Geraldine Ferraro prepare for a humor speech she was scheduled to deliver at Albany's answer to Washington's Gridiron Club? Having gotten my start writing humorous speeches on the 1988 presidential campaign of Mike Dukakis, I answered that I had never written for any national candidate who had received less than 111 Electoral votes but was willing to give it a try.
Related story on The Daily Beast: What Your Baby Remembers
Only weeks earlier, the former Queens congresswomen turned vice presidential...
In the spring of 1998, when a young intern named Lewinsky was making headlines for her role in the White House, I received a call regarding another woman who had made history 14 years earlier in her bid to serve in the executive branch. Was I available to help Geraldine Ferraro prepare for a humor speech she was scheduled to deliver at Albany's answer to Washington's Gridiron Club? Having gotten my start writing humorous speeches on the 1988 presidential campaign of Mike Dukakis, I answered that I had never written for any national candidate who had received less than 111 Electoral votes but was willing to give it a try.
Related story on The Daily Beast: What Your Baby Remembers
Only weeks earlier, the former Queens congresswomen turned vice presidential...
- 3/27/2011
- by Mark Katz
- The Daily Beast
America's first female VP candidate on a major party ticket died today at 75. Lynn Sherr, who traveled with Ferraro on her groundbreaking 1984 campaign, recalls the congresswoman's electrifying debut, the way she inspired women all over the country-and how she handled her loss with grace. Plus, Mark Katz remembers Geraldine Ferraro's great sense of humor.
Geraldine Ferraro opened the door to her Washington congressional office, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to the mirror above her fireplace. "C'mere," she said in her brisk Queens cadence. "C'mere. I have to see what everyone's talking about."
It was the summer of 1984, the first time I'd met her, and the two of us stood side by side gazing at each other's reflection. Everyone, it seems, was right. We did look alike, with our nearly identical short, thatched, and blond-streaked hair, our high cheekbones and strong chins. True, I was some four inches taller than the congresswoman,...
Geraldine Ferraro opened the door to her Washington congressional office, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to the mirror above her fireplace. "C'mere," she said in her brisk Queens cadence. "C'mere. I have to see what everyone's talking about."
It was the summer of 1984, the first time I'd met her, and the two of us stood side by side gazing at each other's reflection. Everyone, it seems, was right. We did look alike, with our nearly identical short, thatched, and blond-streaked hair, our high cheekbones and strong chins. True, I was some four inches taller than the congresswoman,...
- 3/26/2011
- by Lynn Sherr
- The Daily Beast
Giant distribution deal for Nat'l Geo
NEW YORK -- National Geographic said Tuesday that it is creating a distribution arm for giant-screen films, hiring Mark Katz as president and acquiring distribution rights to Destination Cinema's catalog and nWave Pictures' 3-D slate of films beginning Jan. 1. The new shingle, National Geographic Giant Screen Film, also will tackle global distribution for Bayley Silleck's new large-screen film Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France. Katz comes from nWave, where he was president of distribution since 1998 after a four-year stint as vp sales at Sony Pictures Classics. The exec will report to Lisa Truitt, president of the company's Giant Screen Films and Special Projects division. NWave's slate will now be distributed domestically by National Geographic on nWave's behalf.
- 11/30/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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