Bill Maher

Bill Maher
Bill Maher, November 2007
Birth name	William Maher, Jr.
Born	(1956-01-20) January 20, 1956 New York City, New York, USA
Medium	Stand-Up, Television, Film, Books
Nationality	American
Years active	1979 – Present
Genres	Political satire, Observational comedy
Subject(s)	American politics, current events, American culture, pop culture, freedom of speech, environmentalism, religion, human sexuality, recreational drug use, libertarianism, American liberalism
Notable works and roles	Host of Politically Incorrect Host of Real Time with Bill Maher
Website	www.BillMaher.com

William "Bill" Maher, Jr., (Template:PronEng; born January 20 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, actor, non-observant Jew, and author. He hosted the late-night television talk show Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and ABC, and is currently the host of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. On June 1, 2006, he also began hosting an Internet-exclusive talk show on Amazon.com entitled Amazon Fishbowl.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary. His commentaries target a wide swath of topics, right wing politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, and persons in positions of high political and social power, among many others. He supports the legalization of cannabis and gay marriage and serves on the board of PETA. He is also an outspoken critic of organized religion and is an advisory board member of The Reason Project. Maher is number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.

Early life and career

Maher was born in New York City, the son of Julie (née Berman), a nurse, and William Maher, Sr., a network news editor and radio announcer. His father was a lapsed Irish Catholic, and Maher claims that he didn't know his mother was Jewish until his teenage years. He grew up in River Vale, New Jersey and graduated from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English and History from Cornell University in 1978.

Maher began his career as a stand-up comedian and actor, and he continues to act and tour occasionally. He was host of the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star in 1979. Thanks to Steve Allen, he began appearing on Johnny Carson's and David Letterman's shows in 1982. He made limited television appearances, including two separate appearances on Murder She Wrote -- notably, as Maher likes to point out, as two different characters. He has also appeared in several films, usually in a comic role. He was also a writer in the late 80's on the sitcom Roseanne. His feature film debut was in D.C. Cab (1983), and he has also appeared in Ratboy (1986), Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988), and Pizza Man (1991).

Worldview

Political views

Maher and Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA. Maher is on the board of directors of the animal rights group.

Maher describes himself as a libertarian and a liberal and believes that, "government is really there to do the things that people absolutely can't do for themselves"; however, some have questioned Maher's libertarianism, describing him as a center-left liberal.

Maher favors a partial privatization of social security, ending corporate welfare, and legalization of gambling, prostitution, and all drugs. (Maher is a member of NORML's Advisory Board, an organization which supports the decriminalization of marijuana.) Additionally, Maher describes himself as an environmentalist, and he frequently alludes to the topic of global warming on his show Real Time. Moreover, he is suspicious of Corporate America.

He supported Bob Dole in the 1996 U.S. presidential election on the basis that Dole was a war hero and the kind of "old-fashioned" Republican he appreciated. Although he told Libertarian Party candidate Harry Browne at the end of a Browne appearance on Politically Incorrect that Browne would have his vote, ultimately he said he instead voted for Ralph Nader in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

Maher is a board member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and has expressed his distaste for the pharmaceutical and health care industries in general, on the grounds that they make their money out of curing people who are made sick by consuming unhealthy food that society urges upon the public. He also maintains that mass consumption of high fructose corn syrup is a contributor to the American obesity epidemic. On the August 11, 2005, episode of Larry King Live, Maher said he was not a vegetarian, adding "...but I don't eat a lot of meat." Maher has stated that he has a "very eccentric diet."

Prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Maher became very forthright in his opposition to the re-election of George W. Bush, and in his support for John Kerry as the best candidate to defeat Bush, going so far as to publicly kneel on his show, with director Michael Moore, and beg Ralph Nader to drop out of the race. Maher often says that the word "liberal" has been unfairly demonized, and during the elections he criticized Kerry for being ashamed of the word. Bill Maher once called George W. Bush "the worst president ever" and accuses him of being both corrupt and incompetent. As Maher supports the death penalty, the legality of abortion and euthanasia, he often states his position humorously as "pro-death." Expanding on this statement, he revealed his belief that the size of the human population has led to damage to the earth's ecosystem, joking that he is generally in favor of anything that would reduce it. Since 9/11 he also has stated his endorsement of racial profiling at airports.

While discussing FEMA's failure regarding Hurricane Katrina, Maher suggested it was a failure of "federal responsibility," and faulted President Bush with negligence.

He was originally against the war in Iraq, but briefly offered less skeptical commentary in light of the Iraqi election of 2005. Maher now views the Iraq War as a failure and implied on the February 24, 2006 episode of Real Time that Iraq was better off under Saddam Hussein and that the U.S. cannot control the sectarian violence like Saddam did. He has said the invasion of Iraq has increased the threat of terrorism. He has also stated his concerns about the possibility of a future civil war in Iraq or about the possibility that Iraq is already involved in the early stages of a civil war.

Maher describes himself as a staunch supporter of Israel.

Regarding the 2008 US Presidential Election, Bill Maher has announced his support for Barack Obama.

Maher has been very critical of John McCain and Sarah Palin; He has called Palin (who he has been more critical of) an "extremist" and unsuitable for such a high position. Maher has also taken to being very critical of the situation involving the pregnancy of Palin's 17-year-old daughter, who Maher believes is being forced into a loveless marriage. Maher has also questioned whether or not Palin's Down syndrome infant is actually Bristol's first child. Maher, who believes the Republican Party is generally populated with liars and hypocrites, believes Palin is capable of such deception. He also called her a "Category 5 moron" who was not even qualified to be the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

On September 12, 2008, Maher continued his criticism of the Palins by launching a web site called freelevi.org. On the site, Maher declared that Levi Johnston, the father of Bristol Palin's unborn child, was "America's number one political prisoner" and offered to turn control of the site over to Levi should Johnston wish to use the site as a way of raising money to purchase his freedom. The site has been criticized by some-- most notably members of the stand-up community-- for its inexplicable resemblance in design and content to SavingBristol.com, a web site created by Doug Stanhope exactly one day prior to Maher's, where Stanhope has offered $50,000 to help Bristol Palin pay for an abortion and start a new life that would be free from her "tyrannical" family. The site also encourages visitors to donate to LilithFund.org, a Texas-based organization dedicated to helping women get abortions if they cannot afford them.

Criticism of 9/11 conspiracy theories

File:Maher1.jpg

Maher doing stand-up.

Maher has been a frequent critic of 9/11 conspiracy theories, stating for instance on the September 14, 2007 edition of Real Time, "Crazy people who still think the government brought down the Twin Towers in a controlled explosion have to stop pretending that I'm the one who's being naïve. How big a lunatic do you have to be to watch two giant airliners packed with jet fuel slam into buildings on live TV, igniting a massive inferno that burned for two hours, and then think, 'well, if you believe that was the cause...' "

On October 19, 2007 Maher had several conspiracy theorist hecklers ejected from his show audience when they interrupted the show numerous times by calling out from the audience. This drew significant media attention and even praise from Fox News talk show host and frequent critic John Gibson, who stated, "I bet next week I'll be angry or annoyed at something Maher says. But this week, it's hats off to Bill for a job well done."

Views on religion

See also: Religulous

Maher is highly critical of religion, which he once described as a neurological disorder that justifies crazies and stops people from thinking. In two separate appearances on Real Time, comedian George Carlin and Maher alleged that religion is a cause of many of society's problems and that the practices of religion are mired in hypocrisy. Maher credited Carlin's views as inspiration for him to speak out against religion.

Maher has said many times that religion works under the guise of morality but that its tenets generally have nothing to do with morality, that religious prohibitions are being confused with moral law. In Maher's view, just because a religion prohibits abortion or decries homosexuality, that does not mean that having an abortion or being homosexual are immoral acts. Instead, Maher argues that an immoral person is one who harms others through activities such as murder or rape.

Maher opposes religious monuments, such as The Ten Commandments, being placed in or near court houses, pointing out that this would violate the separation of church and state. He has countered the assertion of conservative Christians who claim that American law is based on the Ten Commandments by saying that of the ten, only two (the prohibitions on murder and theft) apply to American law. The other commandments, he argues, such as honoring no god before the Judeo-Christian God, keeping the Sabbath holy, or honoring thy mother and thy father, are not American laws at all. In answer to the suggestion that a divine moral authority is necessary, he suggests "Couldn't we just get together and agree on the few basic Commandments that are laws? Like 'I won't slaughter you, and don't take my shit.'". Maher has stated on both Politically Incorrect and Real Time, and in several appearances on Larry King Live, viewpoints that reference a kind of deism, although Maher has never declared himself a deist. He has stated that he does indeed believe in a god, but that religion is nothing more than tradition and superstition. In 2002 he told the Onion AV Club, "I'm not an atheist. There's a really big difference between an atheist and someone who just doesn't believe in religion. Religion to me is a bureaucracy between man and God that I don't need. But I'm not an atheist, no. I believe there's some force. If you want to call it God... I don't believe God is a single parent who writes books". He asserts that religion provides answers to questions that "cannot possibly be answered." Questions such as "Where do I go when I die?" or "Is there a heaven?", he says, are impossible to answer. By claiming to have the answers, Maher argues, religion is dishonest and it "stops people from thinking."

During Maher's appearance on Larry King Live on August 11, 2005, he said he was an agnostic who nevertheless is still quite open to the idea that God exists. The following exchange also occurred on that program:

CALLER: "Hi. Well, my question is, the Lord spoke to me approximately three years ago, and if the Lord spoke to you [Maher], I was wondering if you'd become a believer."

MAHER: "No, I'd check into Bellevue, which is what you should do..."

In September 2008, Maher again made a similar reference while on ABC's The View. Co-host Sherri Shepherd also asked Maher if he'd ever spoken to God. When Shepherd told Maher that she had talked to God, Maher suggested that "we need to call Bellevue". This was not the first time that Maher was involved in a mild controversy with Shepherd. During an interview with TV Guide, Maher was asked what his opinion of Shepherd was. He responded with, “the one who said the Earth isn’t round? First, we know it’s round because, like Sherri Shepherd, we can see it from space” and "Secondly, to me this is child abuse. If you [can’t] tell your children if the Earth is flat or not … this is why this country is in such trouble. We’re bringing up ignorant children because they have ignorant parents.” These comments were in reference to a segment on The View in which Whoopi Goldberg asked Shepherd if she believed that the Earth was flat, to which Shepherd responded, "I don't know".

Maher then explained that certainty in one's religious belief is absurd, using the example of Scientology: "You [a Scientologist], like all religious people, have a neurological disorder. And the only reason why people think it's sane is because so many other people believe the same thing. It's insanity by consensus."

On August 15, 2007, on Larry King Live, he stated that it was impossible to know what happens after death. He compared Christian promises of an afterlife with the promises made by politicians trying to get elected.

Bill Maher and director Larry Charles teamed up to make the feature film Religulous, described by trade publication Variety as a documentary "that spoofs religious extremism across the world," It was released on October 4, 2008.

Most recently, Maher has declared himself an apatheist instead of an agnostic on Scarborough Country on April 24 2007.

On a February 4th, 2008 episode of Larry King Live, Maher issued a comment calling all people of the Mormon faith "shape shifters".

Bill Maher is an advisory board member of author Sam Harris's The Reason Project.

Accusations of Anti-Catholicism

Although Maher admits his aversion to all forms of religion, he has been particularly criticized for his controversial comments about the Catholic Church. Early in his career, he joked about bringing a lawyer to confession. His remarks became more serious over time. The Catholic League's 2003 Report on Anti-Catholicism claimed that, following the 2002 clergy sex abuse scandal, "no one insulted Catholics more than Bill Maher". In May 2002, on Politically Incorrect, Maher himself stated "I have hated the Church way before anyone else." In his April 11, 2008 New Rules segment, Maher made a number of remarks that have been construed negatively by some Catholics, in particular, drawing comparison lines between cults and religions ("If you have a few hundred followers, and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader. If you have a billion, they call you Pope."), calling Catholic Church the "Bear Stearns of organized pedophilia", and calling Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi ("he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats!") alluding to his mandatory adolescent enrollment with Hitler Youth.

Maher's comments have drawn numerous criticisms and protests from a wide range of Catholicism-related groups and individuals, including demands for Maher's resignation and calls of a boycott of Real Time and Time Warner-HBO by the conservative organization American Life League. The president of the Catholic League, William A. Donohue, dismissed the comical nature of Maher's editorial and accused him in "making things up" . In the following show, Maher pointed out that the remarks in question were made in a comedic context and, while not explicitly apologizing, promised not to call Pope Benedict a Nazi again. He also expressed his regret that the controversy distracted people from his main point, the role of the Pope in the Church's sex abuse scandal, and commented that the Catholic League had nothing to rebut his remarks on that particular subject.

Views on Health Care

Bill Maher has expressed the view that illness is generally the result of poor diet and that medicine is often not the best way of addressing illness. In an episode of the show about the 2008 Presidential Candidates’ health plans, Maher states that poor nutrition is the primary cause of illness, he goes on to say that “the answer isn’t another pill.”

In an interview with Michael Moore about the film Sicko, Maher states “Basically people are sick in this country because they are poisoned, the environment is a poisoning factor, but also we’ve got to say they poison themselves – they eat shit, people eat shit.”

Talk show host

Maher gained fame as the host of Politically Incorrect, which aired on the Comedy Central television network and later ABC. He is currently the host of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO.

ABC decided not to renew Maher's contract for Politically Incorrect in 2002 after he made a controversial on-air remark on September 17, 2001, in which he agreed with guest conservative political commentator Dinesh D'Souza that the 9/11 terrorists were not cowards. He then went on to say, "We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly."

In the context of the sensitive aftermath of the attacks, such a remark was deemed too controversial for some financial supporters. Although some pundits, including conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, supported Maher in pointing out the distinction between physical and moral cowardice, companies including FedEx and Sears Roebuck pulled their advertisements from the show, costing the show more than it returned. Ari Fleischer, who was the White House Press Secretary at the time, responded to a reporter's question about Maher's comments by saying: "...they're reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do. This is not a time for remarks like that..."

The show was subsequently cancelled on June 16, 2002, although the Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG) had dropped the show from its ABC-affiliated stations months before that. On June 22, 2002, six days after the cancellation of Politically Incorrect, Maher received the President's Award (for "championing free speech") from the Los Angeles Press Club. Maher has also sat on the board of judges for the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.

Maher's comment about the cowardice of terrorists followed another controversial comment he made on Politically Incorrect earlier that year where he compared dogs to retarded children: "But I've often said that if I had — I have two dogs — if I had two retarded children, I'd be a hero. And yet the dogs, which are pretty much the same thing. What? They're sweet. They're loving. They're kind, but they don't mentally advance at all.... Dogs are like retarded children." When another guest told him that her nephew was retarded and that she didn't think of him as a dog, he responded with "Maybe you should." He later apologized, stating "I make no excuses. I was wrong and what I said was hurtful to people and I feel terrible about it."

In 2003, Maher became the host of Real Time with Bill Maher on the HBO cable television network, a debate show somewhat similar to Politically Incorrect, but with a narrower selection of guests. Maher told Terry Gross (on NPR's Fresh Air) in 2004 that he enjoys having more serious and well-informed guests on his current program, as opposed to the random celebrities that fleshed out his roundtable discussions on Politically Incorrect. Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

On January 13, 2006, Maher hosted Larry King Live on CNN, on which he is a frequent guest.

The show's first guests included Dean Koontz and The Dixie Chicks. The show ran a preview episode earlier in the year from the Sundance Film Festival featuring guests Stephen King and Rob Thomas. Maher also produced and wrote the show, which aired through August 17, eight days before the season premiere of Real Time.

In early 2006, Real Time was released as an audio CD. along with another CD entitled Bill Maher's New Rules which features clips, segments and teasers from Real Time. Starting with Episode 67 (2-23-06) Real Time became available in the USA on iTunes as a free weekly audio podcast.

Press coverage

In 1997, during filming of an episode of the game show Pictionary, Erik Estrada accidentally punched Maher in the face in a moment of exuberance, briefly knocking him out cold.

In November 2004 Maher was unsuccessfully sued for $9 million by his ex-girlfriend, Coco Johnsen, for breach of a non-marital relationship contract. Johnson claims that Maher did not fulfill promises made to her and that he physically and verbally abused her. Maher publicly disputed her allegations on Larry King Live on November 23, 2004. His lawyer responded to the lawsuit with a claim that Maher is a "confirmed bachelor" and never promised to marry or support Johnsen and that "California law doesn't allow for the palimony suit brought by Ms. Johnsen." On May 2, 2005, a superior court judge dismissed the lawsuit.

On May 3, 2005, while appearing as a guest on Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show (CBS), Maher made controversial remarks about Michael Jackson's alleged child molestation behavior. He spoke about the need for perspective when thinking about crimes and criminals. He implied that the alleged behavior wasn't as bad as it was widely deemed because it was only alleged that Michael Jackson "serviced" the children and not the other way around. After a response from Ferguson, Maher said "If I had a choice between being savagely beaten and being gently masturbated by a pop star. It’s just me." Immediately after Maher's statement, Ferguson ended the interview.

In late May 2005, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus sent a letter to Time Warner's board of directors requesting Real Time be cancelled after remarks Maher made about low military recruiting numbers on the May 13, 2005, episode which Bachus felt were demeaning to the military and in bad taste. Maher's comment was "More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club. We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies." Maher responded by reiterating his support for the troops and asking why the Congressman criticized him instead of actually doing something about the problem.

Credits

Bibliography

• Does Anybody Have a Problem With That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits, 1996 (ISBN 0-679-45627-9)
• Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? The Best of Politically Incorrect, 1997 (ISBN 0-345-41281-8)
• True Story : A Novel, 2002 (ISBN 0-7432-4251-3)
• When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism, 2003 (ISBN 1-893224-90-2)
• Keep the Statue of Liberty Closed: The New Rules, 2004 (ISBN 1-932407-47-2)
• New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer, 2005 (ISBN 1-59486-295-8)

Filmography

• Religulous (2008) .... Himself
• "Swing Vote" (2008) .... Himself
• The Aristocrats (2005) .... Himself
• Tomcats (2001) (uncredited) .... Carlos
• EDtv (1998) ... Himself
• Bimbo Movie Bash (1997)
• Don't Quit Your Day Job (1996) .... Comic's Table
• Say What? (1992) .... Host
• Pizza Man (1991) .... Elmo Bunn
• Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1989) ... (aka Jungle Heat or Piranha Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death) .... Jim
• Out of Time (1988) .... Maxwell Taylor
• House II: The Second Story (1987) .... John
• Ratboy (1986) .... Party Guest
• Club Med (1986) .... Rick
• Rags to Riches (1986) (aka Foley and the Girls From St. Mags) .... Freddie
• D.C. Cab (1983) (aka Street Fleet) .... Bob

Television

• Bill Maher: The Decider (2007) (HBO) ... Himself
• I'm Swiss (2005) (HBO) .... Himself
• Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home (2003) (HBO) .... Himself
• Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) (2003–Present) .... Host
• Just For Laughs (CBC, The Comedy Network) (2002) .... Himself
• Bill Maher: Be More Cynical (2000) (HBO) .... Himself
• Politically Incorrect (Comedy Central and ABC) (1994–2002) .... Host
• Bill Maher: The Golden Goose Special (1997) (HBO) .... Himself
• Married With Children (Fox) (1992-1993) .... season 7 episode "You can't miss" "Adam Gold" Host of You can't miss show
• Charlie Hoover (1991) .... Elliot
• The Midnight Hour (1990) .... Host
• Murder She Wrote (2 episodes, 1989-1990)
• Max Headroom (1987), season 2 episode 5 Whackets .... Haskel
• Hard Knocks (1987)
• Club Med (1986)
• Roseanne Dirty Picture Photographer
• Sara (1985) .... Marty Lang

Special appearances

• MADtv (2005) .... himself
• The Man Show .... himself (cameo in "Jimmy's New Wife" segment)

External links

• Bill Maher's official website
• HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" site
• Bill Maher on National Public Radio
• Bill Maher's blog on the Huffington Post
• Bill Maher at IMDb
• Interview with The Onion A.V. Club
• Larry King Live intereview on Bill Maher's new documentary Religulous