Professor remembered for his dedication, contributions to Cinema Studies program

Penn professor John Katz died Friday, Nov. 26 of complications from renal failure. He was 72.

Katz had been working at Penn since his retirement from Toronto’s York University, according to Nicola Gentili, associate director of Penn’s Cinema Studies program. He taught 13 years at Penn. This semester, Katz was teaching a course called “Presenting the Arts,” which is cross-listed in both Theater Arts and Management.

Born in Cincinnati, Katz earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a doctorate in English from Harvard University.

In addition to his teaching duties in Toronto, Katz worked as a movie critic for the Canadian radio show Arts National and as a programmer for the Toronto Film Festival.

Katz had been experiencing kidney problems for years when he found that his wife, Joan Saltzman, was a donor match. In 1999, she successfully donated her left kidney to her husband, a process documented in her 2006 memoir, Mr. Right and My Left Kidney.

Cary Mazer, professor of Theater Arts and English, co-taught with Katz and said he had known of Katz’s deteriorating health for some time. Around two years ago, he said, “his body started rejecting the kidney.” But Katz was confident that he still wanted to be teaching, Mazer said. “Right to the end, he was very much himself — a warm, funny, imaginative character and a dedicated teacher.”

Peter Decherney, director of the Cinema Studies program, highlighted Katz’s dedication to and love of teaching. “He officially retired from Penn three years ago, [but] he loved Penn so much he continued to teach,” Decherney said.

When Katz first came to Penn, he was affiliated with the English Department because there was no film studies major yet, Mazer said.

“Professor Katz was instrumental in building the film program at Penn,” Decherney said. “That will definitely be one of his greatest legacies.”

His legacy can also be seen in the lives of his students. His funeral was held on Sunday and two former students delivered eulogies. Both are now documentary filmmakers and credited Katz with being influential in their career decisions, according to Mazer.

“No teacher could expect a better tribute than to be eulogized by one’s own students,” he said.

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