Bill Maher - Biography

Last Editor: robduffy7				Bill Maher Biography -   Name : Bill Maher Profession : Actor Birth Details : born January 20, 1956; last name pronounced /mɑɹ/ Birth name : William Maher Height : 5' 8" (1.73 m) Personal quotes : "The cable TV sex channels don't expand our horizons, don't make us better people, and don't come in clearly enough." (From 1998 "Mothe

Bill Maher Trivia -

Graduated from Pascack Hills High School (New Jersey) He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Cornell University in 1978 Is a vegetarian. Supported Ralph Nader during the 2000 presidential election Received a great deal of bad press for his comments after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center when he criticized the United States government. Subsequently, advertisers such as Sears and Federal Express pulled their ads and some television stations stop showing his program "Politically Incorrect" (1994). This eventually led to ABC cancelling the show the following year. Commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, Arianna Huffington and David Horowitz defended his right to free speech and said his program should not be cancelled. 22 June 2002 - Received the Los Angeles Press Club's highest honor, the President's Award, for "Championing free speech". The award was given 6 days after the final episode of "Politically Incorrect" (1994), Bill's social satire show from which he was dismissed for politically incorrect statements about the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Was a major supporter of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. Though he traditionally supports Democrats, in 2000 he threw his support behind Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. Very good friends with Ann Coulter, Arianna Huffington and Christopher Reid Bill played "Bob" on an episode of "Roseanne". Ten years prior to the start of that show, he played a character named "Bob" in the movie "D.C. Cab" when he was an up and coming comedian.

Bill Maher Detailed Biography -

William "Bill" Maher, Jr., (born January 20, 1956; last name pronounced /mɑɹ/) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He hosted the late-night television talk show Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and ABC, and is currently the host of the weekly Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. He is known for his political satire, most of which comes from a libertarian point-of-view. He skewers the right wing with particular ferocity, but also challenges the political correctness of the left. Maher was born in New York City and grew up in River Vale, New Jersey. He graduated from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey. Maher is the product of a "mixed" marriage (Jewish mother, Roman Catholic father), and in his early stand-up routine, he said that he would bring a lawyer to confession: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned... I think you know Mr. Cohen..." He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Cornell University in 1978. Maher has a substantial career as a stand-up comedian and still occasionally tours. 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 and David Letterman's shows in 1982. He has appeared in several films, usually in a comical role. His feature film debut was in D.C. Cab (1983), and he has also appeared in Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988) and Pizza Man (1991). He has also appeared in a number of guest roles on television shows, including Newhart, Murder, She Wrote, Roseanne (as a boudoir photographer), and Married... with Children. Talk show host Maher is most notable as the former host of Politically Incorrect, which aired on the Comedy Central television network and later ABC. Maher is also 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, in which he, along with guest political commentator Dinesh D'Souza, objected to president George W. Bush and others calling the September 11 terrorists cowardly: "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." — Bill Maher, Politically Incorrect (2001) During the era of the Vietnam War, the alleged cowardice of American "carpet bombing" from high above a target was a common theme among anti-war protestors. However, 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, 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. The show was subsequently cancelled on June 16, 2002. 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. Another controversial reaction to Maher's comment came from Ari Fleischer, who was the Press Secretary of the George W. Bush administration at the time. Fleischer responded to a reporter's question about Maher's comments by saying that people "need to watch what they say." Many people believed Fleischer was implying that freedom of speech might have to be limited in America in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. 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 mentally handicapped 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." — Bill Maher, Politically Incorrect (2001) ABC was likely still dealing with the fallout from this statement when it decided not to renew Maher's contract. 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's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. On January 13, 2006 Maher hosted Larry King Live on CNN. 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, knocking him out cold briefly. In November 2004 Maher was sued for 9 million dollars by his ex-girlfriend, Nancy Johnson a.k.a. Coco Johnsen, for palimony. Johnson claims that Maher did not fulfill promises made to her and that he physically and verbally abused her. Maher publicly refuted 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. In late May 2005, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus sent a letter to Time Warner's board of directors requesting Real Time be cancelled due to 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.