Whether it's the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and
Pentagon, the war in Iraq or gay marriage, comedian and television
talk-show host Bill Maher has never been one to shy away from
controversial subject matter. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
Maher,
who just wrapped up an off-calendar season of his popular HBO political
talk show, "Real Time With Bill Maher," is taking his other love,
stand-up comedy, on the road this summer. He returns to his former
home, the Garden State, with a show Friday at the State Theatre in New
Brunswick.
While there's plenty of news for him to be outraged
about these days, Maher says he is particularly fired up about the
latest battle in the United States, and we're not talking about the one
between the Jedi and the Sith.
"Now, a lot of what's going on is
this battle in America between the secular and the religious," he
explains. "I know a lot of people want to shy away from it, but it's
never been my style, and I don't want to shy away from it. I think we
have to really get out there on the front lines and fight it."
The
political humorist believes he is especially well-suited for this
"battle" because of his "antipathy to religion," which can be traced
back to his upbringing: he was raised in a strict Catholic household in
Bergen County, despite the fact that his mother was Jewish.
"My
mother ... did not go to church with us, or catechism," Maher says.
"But it didn't dawn on me — I was so scared by the whole situation —
until I was 11 or 12. I finally said, "Why doesn't Mommy go to church?
Oh, she's Jewish ... What???' "
Maher says his youth was further complicated by his discomfort with being a child.
"Some
people are just not meant to be children, and I think I'm in that
category," he muses. "I was never that keen on being in a situation
where I didn't have control, and everyone was bigger and could boss you
around. I was very shy; I didn't make friends easily."
Still,
Maher says none of that was the fault of New Jersey or his parents, who
were "wonderful." He was still very young — only 10 — when he knew he
wanted to be a comedian.
He says he gradually became more gregarious while a student at Cornell University, in Ithica, N.Y., where he received a bachelor's degree in English. After that, he decided it was time to
pursue his dream. He started playing New York City clubs, and gradually
worked himself up to paid gigs. His career as a "little comedy tadpole"
was born with his very first gig at The Jade Fountain, a Chinese
restaurant on Route 17.
"I was working with a comic who was only
17 — his name was Eddie Murphy," he recounts. "And his big bit was an
impression of 'Baretta.' The same 'Baretta' who was just cleared of
murder charges.
"Everything comes around," he says with a laugh.
In
the early '90s he created "Politically Incorrect," which aired on
Comedy Central before moving over to ABC a few years later. The
half-hour show featured a discussion of current events with four guests
comprising politicians, journalists and entertainers. ABC wound up
firing Maher and cancelling "Politically Incorrect" after controversy
erupted over a statement he made about the 9/11 terrorists.
Still, Maher is reflective about that point in his career, and defends the network — if not its final decision.
"I
enjoyed my time on ABC," he says. "There's this misconception that
somehow I was shackled in a cage and muzzled on ABC, and the whole
experience there was awful. It's so not true ... I said whatever I
wanted back then, too — I just got fired for it. I mean, that is a
pretty big difference."
Maher says the stress of doing a daily
half-hour program with four guests makes his current arrangement on
"Real Time" — which is an hour long, features three panelists and two
guest segments, typically via satellite — all the more sweet.
"It's
not a screaming match," he explains. "The other show just very often
became something that we see a lot in TV now, and they can have it. A
lot of cross talking, and a lot of predictably ideologically different
points of view. This, to me, is much more unpredictable, and much more
adult."
And, particularly when certain guests are on, one never
knows what will happen. One of Maher's frequent visitors, conservative
lawyer, author and Fox News favorite Ann Coulter, always seems to cause
a stir. While Coulter's face has been scarce of late, Maher promises
she'll be back.
"We haven't had a falling out or anything," he
explains. "I think she's just busy writing ... and quite honestly,
there are some people who just won't be on a panel with her."
Maher
says he is friendly with Coulter, though he's resolved not to talk
politics with her. "It amazes me (that) whoever I'm with always tells
me the next time I see them, 'Boy, that Ann Coulter is so nice. She was
so much fun.' "
Maher was effusive in his praise of Fox News
personality Bill O'Reilly, who made a recent appearance, albeit via
satellite, on "Real Time."
"You know, people want me to hate
him, but I can't," he says. While acknowledging he doesn't watch "The
O'Reilly Factor" very often, he believes O'Reilly is fairly moderate.
"He's always been very courteous to me, and I know that Fox News was
very against him doing my show. They don't like me over there; they
think I make fun of them.
"It's ridiculous. They're so thin-skinned," he laughs.
Any
topic is fair game on "Real Time" — for example, take the April 1
episode, which focused on the Terri Schiavo case — and guests are
encouraged to speak freely. And whether watching Maher on TV or
speaking to him over the phone, one thing becomes very obvious:
comedian or no, this guy knows his current events.
During a
discussion about former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey's coming out
as a "gay American" on national television, Maher points out that two
other politicians have recently followed suit. First, he says, there
was Jim West, the "very anti-gay" mayor of Spokane, Wash., who "has
been soliciting young men on the Internet." Then, he quickly adds, it
was revealed political activist Arthur Finkelstein had married his
longtime boyfriend.
"Who knew (McGreevey) was the first of a
trend — most of whom are Republicans?" Maher quips. "At least McGreevey
wasn't a hypocrite. He never came out against gay people."
Fans
appreciate Maher's honesty, even when it comes to his use of pot. On a
recent "Real Time" episode, he said, "I'm for legalizing marijuana, and
so I smoke a ton of it."
Maher credits his father, who worked in radio, for his love of both humor and news.
"I
think a lot of it had to do with my father, (who) was a garrulous,
funny guy around the house — especially if there was company over — and
I think it's natural for any little boy to look up to his father and
what he does."
Maher is quick to point to Johnny Carson as one of his earliest comedic influences.
"I didn't miss one 'Tonight Show' from the time I was 12, probably, until I was out of college," he says.
When he got older, though, Maher gravitated toward the edgier humor of George Carlin and Robert Klein.
"Those
two guys — they owned the entire hip side of comedy," he says. "They
were political and they were radical and they were anti-establishment."
Although talent is a huge part of being a good comedian, Maher says developing a rapport with an audience is the key to success.
"Your
audience is — at best — something that has to be won over," he
explains. "(To) a lot of people in the audience, you're just not the
type of comedy they really wanted to see.
"They really wanted to
see Gallagher," he adds with a laugh. "But it's nice to go to theaters
and have 2- or 3,000 people — all of whom know what you're going to do,
and want you to do it."
In addition to performing stand-up
across the country, Maher has a new comedy special, "Bill Maher: I'm
Swiss," coming to HBO at 10 p.m. July 30, and a new book, "New Rules:
Polite Musings of a Timid Observer," slated for release in September.
The book's main title is taken from one of the most popular segments of
"Real Time," which features the comedian's take on recent news stories,
such as this recent item:
"New Rule: The next reality
show must be called 'America's Stupidest State.' We'll start at 50, and
each week, if your state does something really stupid with, say,
evolution or images of the Virgin Mary, you'll move on to the next
round. Now, of course, the final five will always end up being Alabama,
Utah, Kansas, Texas and Florida. Sorry, Tennessee."
Of late,
Maher has made a concerted effort to recruit conservatives to the live
tapings of "Real Time," which originally airs 11 p.m. Fridays from
California. Yet while there's little doubt the majority of "Real Time"
audience members are fans, Maher says even they are occasionally taken
aback by his straight talk once the tape stops rolling.
"Sometimes people say to me after the show, 'Bill, I didn't think you could be any worse than you are on HBO, but you are.' "
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