Meet John Matta: Creator of Matta Napkin

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Matta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, what makes you happy? Why?
Making my wife laugh. The only reason I drew on a napkin was to cheer my gorgeous wife Rose (Abdoo) who was going through chemo. You spend a lot of time waiting for medications and appointments. Anyway, I was eating at a Subway and watching a mother demand that the poor young guy behind the counter give her free meat samples. She wanted to let her little boy taste them before ordering. If the child didn’t like the meat, he’d spit it out on the counter. If he liked the meat, he’d also spit it out on the counter, accompanied by an approving grunt. It was the most wonderful thing I’d ever witnessed. I felt I had to document the event, so I drew it on a napkin and then showed it to my wife… who laughed. When you’re going through the challenge of cancer any time, you can get some silliness… you grab it. So the next day I drew on another napkin and brought it down with her lunch, and she laughed again. I began exhausting her with all the cartoons on napkins. Finally she said, “You should really show these to other people besides me.” On Rose’s advice, I set up a website (mattanapkin.com) and began posting them. Almost ten years later, I’m still drawing and trying to make my wife laugh… for the selfish reason it makes me happy.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a TV writer best known for my work on The Martin Short Show, Steve Harvey’s Big Time, Kid President: Declaration of Awesome. The Epic Adventures of Captain Underpants and the creator of Matta Napkin. I started as a stand-up comic in Philadelphia however I always felt bad for the audience having to listen to me. Finally, I moved to Los Angeles and after a lot of work I got my first job as a writer on the MTV Movie Awards. Here’s my IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0559733/ I remember when I got out of college my father took me for a walk to try to suss out what was next for me and whether I was going to move back home! I explained I didn’t have a resume or any job prospects. He asked me, “So what do you want to do with your life.” I shot back, “I just want to laugh.” He started at me for about 3 minutes then put his arm around me and said, “All right, let’s see what we can figure out.” It wasn’t easy, but doing silly stuff like Matta Napkin is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do with my life. Also, what I’m most proud of with my napkin stuff is that it came out of a tough time… and instead of being knocked to the canvas my wife and I created something extra-silly and fun with Matta Napkin.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So my best friend is visiting… the only place I’d take ’em is our backyard… after we’ve received our shots… and quarantined… with double masks. However, my favorite spot in Glendale (where we live) is Fish King. https://www.fishkingseafood.com/ It’s ridiculously delicious…. plus the staff (who are now all pals) are always kind and friendly.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
David Galgano – He brought me to the Hamilton-Selway Gallery for my first show. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. David was both a great friend (along with his husband Greg) and my mentor. https://hamiltonselway.com/artists/david-galgano/

Website: mattanapkin@gmail.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mattanapkin/

Twitter: twitter.com/MattaNapkin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.matta.10/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Alhu1GkEEwZi4O8VQzg9w

Other: https://vimeo.com/user43334741 I always think the vimeo interface is cleaner.

Image Credits
Pool Photograph by Chris Haston Rose John & Monkey by Gene Reed