Best known for his sharp political satire and sociopolitical commentary, HBO late-night talk show host and comedian Bill Maher will return to The Orleans Showroom.
Maher began his stand-up career in 1979 and was host of the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star. In 1982, Maher began appearing on the Johnny Carson and Dave Letterman shows and made other limited television appearances, including a guest appearance on the popular drama Murder She Wrote. After his feature film debut in 1983’s D.C. Cab, Maher appeared in several films, including Rat Boy, Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death and Pizza Man.
For the last 15 years, Maher has set the boundaries of how far political humor and satire can go on American television. First on Politically Incorrect (which first aired on Comedy Central before moving to ABC), and for the last seven years on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and scathing humor have garnered him 21 Emmy nominations. In October 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s swipe at organized religion, “Religulous,” directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”). The film went on to become the seventh-highest grossing documentary ever.
In addition to his television program – which has featured such regular visitors as John Edwards, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Arianna Huffington, Alec Baldwin and Michael Moore – Maher has written four bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden” and most recently, “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer.”
Two of Maher’s eight stand-up specials for HBO – 2007’s “The Decider” and 2005’s “I’m Swiss” – have been nominated for Emmy awards.