Louis Katz
Mechanically tight jokes about absolute smut.
4 specials · 2011–2023
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Louis Katz delivers his material like a guy who has been waiting in a slow-moving line. He stands at the microphone and unpacks a premise at a deliberate, unhurried pace. There is no wasted movement. A bit about a vibrator or a bad date doesn’t just get one punchline; Katz turns the premise over in his hands, finding a second and third angle, waiting for the room to catch up to the exact phrasing he chose.
Specials
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The Best Comedian You've Never Heard Of
YouTube · 52 min
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All Things Comedy · Album · 50 min
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A tightly constructed half-hour of highbrow wordplay and lowbrow filth.
Comedy Central
On stage
He is a pure club comic, and a clear example of a comic’s comic. When Katz is on stage, the back of the room is often full of other standups watching how he builds a joke. He has spent over two decades working in the rooms where standup is actually forged, earning praise from industry heavyweights rather than chasing theater tours. He operates in the respected middle tier of comedy, writing hour after hour of sturdy club material.
The tension in his act comes from the gap between how sharp the writing is and how sleazy the subjects are. He applies a straight face and basic logic to topics most people avoid in polite company. Where another comic might lean on a dirty premise just for a cheap reaction, Katz treats it like an equation to be solved. He builds dense, layered bits about pornography, bad relationships, and his own lack of ambition. He does not riff on stage. Every word is bolted into place, pulling smart, patient laughs out of the absolute gutter.
Turning points
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Breakthrough YouTube Release of Present/Tense
After self-financing the project, Katz released Present/Tense independently on YouTube in late 2023, drawing over one million views in less than three months.
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Childhood Joke Submissions to Johnny Carson
At age nine, Katz submitted jokes for a school assignment, resulting in two of them being read on air by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.
At a glance
Fans also like
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Dave Attell
Both comics excel at dense, uncompromisingly dirty, punchline-heavy joke writing underpinned by sharp structural craft.
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Doug StanhopeBoth share a raw, cynical, and intellectually biting comedic edge that embraces transgressive subject matter.
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Matt Fulchiron
A longtime creative partner who co-hosted the Road Heads podcast and performed as a duo guest on Kill Tony.
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Sam Morril
Both are prominent NYC club scene mainstays known for high joke density and polished, economy-of-words punchlines.
Podcasts
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Louis Katz Podcast · host
An interview series featuring conversations with fellow comedians, childhood friends, and family members.
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Road Heads · co-host
A travel-themed podcast exploring the realities of life on the road as touring standup comedians.
Also on screen
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- Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell
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- Elevator To: Space
A clip to start with
Kids & Single Life - Louis Katz