The Maher, The Merrier

It's politics as unusual for Bill Maher, host of ABC-TV's late-night "Politically Incorrect."

MICHAEL ELKIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

THE DETR OI T J EWIS H NE WS

Bill Maher: "We like it for people
to overstep the bounds."

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ust after midnight, mischievous Bill
Maher turns into a Jewish leprechaun,
the result of growing up under a four-
leaf kreplach.
Born to an Irish father and a Jew-
ish mother — "I do a whole routine
about my childhood; both sides had
great senses of humor" — comedian Bill
Maher knows borscht about the blarney that
passes for kissing up in the industry.
Which makes the irreverent come-
dian a perfect host for "Politically In-
correct," the merry late-night
madness on ABC-TV, in which an
eclectic panel, spanning the polit-
ical spectrum, dives headfirst into
the day's headlines.
With mordant Mr. Maher at
the center, geographically speak-
ing, the guests — with such
strange bedfellows as Harvey
Fierstein and G. Gordon Liddy
among the quartets of quipsters
—joust and joke with and at each
other, beginning at 1:05 a.m. De-
troit time.
It's as if Maher holds the fire-
cracker and dares his friends to
light the match.
There is no match for his acerbic
and sardonic asides. But then Maher
has had practice. He created the show
more than four years ago on Comedy
Central, taking it to ABC earlier this year.
"I would lie if I said that I didn't have
any qualms about" the switch, he says of
fears that a major network such as ABC would
ask him to tone down the TNT.
But Bill Maher is more than satisfied at his new
home, where, every night after "Nightline" across
most of the country — but delayed an hour to ac-
commodate "Inside Edition" and "American Jour-
nal" in Detroit — he lines up the laughs without fear
of restraint.
Sometimes constraints seem in order — notably
when "Politically Incorrect" guests try to correct each
other's opinions.
"It happened [recently] with Alfre Woodard and
James Carville," Maher recalls of the caustic cat fight
between actress and politico.
"I had to take a break, and they just wouldn't
stop."
Not that the show tries to put a stop sign up at
any topic.

Michael Elkin is entertainment editor of the Jewish
Exponent in Philadelphia.

"We like it for people to overstep the bounds," Ma-
her muses.
But there are times when they go through the yel-
low light.
"It's very hard to make people, when they're all
riled up, put it on pause for three minutes [during
breaks] until we come back on the air and have it
happen for everyone."
It's been happening for Bill Maher for a while. The
New York native, raised in River Vale, N.J., may be
relatively new to the ABC audience, but he's won
three Cab1eACE Awards and has starred in a num-
ber of HBO specials.
Not that he's only wired for cable. A graduate of
Cornell University with a degree in English, Bill Ma-
her speaks the language of broadcast TV, too. He
has been a frequent guest on the Letterman and
Leno talk fests and has stood out as a stand-up corn-
ic in club tours across the country.
Then there's his book, Does Anybody Have a Prob-
lem With That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits.
If there's any problem he does have, it's this: "I
know I don't want to work this much. I mean I'm not
Jay Leno. I'm not amused by this. Every day. Five
days a week. It's just ... it's cruel.
"I mean [Leno's] got a chip in his head. He's an an-
droid."
No chip on Bill. Maher's shoulder; Leno is his good
friend.
"Politically Incorrect" is smart-ass — and smart-
guy — friendly.
"Do I want Mel Gibson" as a guest? "Yes," says
Maher. "Is it just because he's Mel Gibson? Well, I
mean, Mel Gibson would be a great guest. But I think
he would also be a great talker.
"I think he's probably a really smart, intelligent,
intense and, by the way, politically incorrect kind of
guy."
It takes more than a brave heart to serve on Ma-
her's panel. It takes quick wit and ready repartee.
In the beginning, there was the need for conver-
sation.
"The genesis," says Maher of the show's roots, "was
to put the talk back in talk show."
With that, the "Politically Incorrect" host is hop-
ing to make his show the talk of the town.
With guests shooting off their mouths and verbal
missiles often exploding in laughter, there is one fear
that Bill Maher admits to: bombing.
"My one fear," says the smart wise-guy with a
wickedly sardonic smile, "is getting canceled."
You are incorrect, sir. The show is boasting good
ratings for ABC. 0