American entertainer, host of the humorous TV shows “Politically Incorrect” (1997) and “Real Time with Bill Maher” (2003). He won a Cable Ace Award in January 1995 as best cable talk show host.
The son of Bill Maher Sr., an NBC news editor and wife Julie, a retired nurse, young Bill grew up in suburban River Vale, NJ. As a kid, Maher (pronounced Mar) was serious and intense. Describing himself as “snobby at five,” he told a “People” magazine interviewer that he never watched cartoons and was always making lists. At 11, he began watching the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, who became his boyhood idol. Even after emceeing his high school talent show in his senior year, Maher kept his ambition secret, to be a comedian.
After high school he attended Cornell University where he majored in English. Soon after graduating in 1978 he joined New York City’s comedy-club circuit where he befriended fellow up-and-comers Jerry Seinfeld and Paul Reiser. Four years later, he made the first of many appearances on the “Tonight Show.” 1992 was a mixed year for him: his father died of cancer and he headlined his own HBO comedy special. In 1993 “Politically Incorrect” was launched on the Comedy Central Network. The show eventually moved to ABC, where it joined the network’s late-night lineup with tremendous success. PI enjoyed increased ratings in 1998, as well as a change in program design that added sketches to the usual format of four guests sparring over the issues of the day.
Maher is known for not coddling anyone, even potential viewers or financial backers. Two of his biggest peeves are the sorry state of American education and the indifference of the United States to world affairs. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, when Maher’s controversial statements suggested that the word “cowardly” might more accurately describe the United States for firing missiles at distant targets than the 9/11 terrorists, big-name corporate advertisers pulled funds from the show. Maher’s sometimes controversial five-year run on ABC ended with a final original episode of “Incorrect” on June 28, 2002, taped the day before.
Several months later, in 2003, he reappeared as TV host, this time on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.” He tours periodically, bringing his brand of political commentary, satire, and humor around the county and received a Tony nomination for his three-week run of his one-man show on Broadway, “Victory Begins at Home” (2003). Adding to his body of work, Maher is the author of several books: a novel, “True Story” (1994); “Does Anyone Have a Problem with That?: Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits” (1996), and “When You Ride With bin Laden, You Ride Alone” (2002).
As for relationships, Maher remains unmarried. In 1993, his five-year romance ended with Stacie, an L.A. financial analyst. On November 10, 2004 in Los Angeles, another of Maher’s former girlfriends, Nancy Johnsen, sued him for $9 million in damages. Johnsen alleged that she ended their 17-month relationship in May 2004 after he became physically and verbally abusive. She also claimed that she gave up her job as a flight attendant when he promised to marry her and buy her a mansion in Beverly Hills. Calling the suit “completely frivolous,” his attorney described Maher as a “confirmed bachelor.” The suit was dismissed on May 2, 2005.
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