Marc Maron

Marc Maron
Maron performing in Minneapolis in July 2010
Born	(1963-09-27) September 27, 1963 Jersey City, New Jersey
Medium	Stand-up, radio, television, webcast
Nationality	United States
Years active	1980s–present
Genres	Alternative comedy, cringe humor, black comedy, satire, Observational comedy
Spouse	Kimberly Reiss (?-?; divorced) Mishna Wolff (?-2007; divorced)
Notable works and roles	Morning Sedition WTF with Marc Maron The Marc Maron Show Maron
Website	MarcMaron.com wtfpod.com

Marc Maron (pron.: /ˈmærən/ MAR-ən; born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian and radio and podcast host.

He has been host of The Marc Maron Show, and co-host of both Morning Sedition, and Breakroom Live, all politically oriented shows, produced by Air America Media. He hosted Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater for a year, replacing Jon Stewart. Maron has been a frequent guest on the Late Show with David Letterman and made more than 40 appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, more than any other stand-up performer. He was also a regular guest on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and hosted the short-lived American version of the British game show Never Mind the Buzzcocks on VH1.

In September 2009, Maron began hosting a twice-weekly podcast titled WTF with Marc Maron, in which he interviews comedians and celebrities.

Early life

Maron was born to a Jewish family, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He lived in Wayne, New Jersey and Pompton Lakes, New Jersey until he was six. Maron's father then joined the US Air Force for two years, and Maron and his family lived in Alaska. When his father left the Air Force, he moved his family to Albuquerque, New Mexico and started a medical practice.

Maron attended Boston University to study English, graduating in the mid-1980s.

Career

Maron started his comedy career at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles and became an associate of Sam Kinison. He later moved to New York City and became part of the New York alternative comedy scene. During the summer of 1994, he appeared a few times in New York City at the Monday night open mike night of the now closed Greenwich Village location of the Boston Comedy Club. He auditioned for the 1995 Saturday Night Live cast overhaul, but attributes being passed over to an awkward personal meeting with show creator and producer Lorne Michaels.

Maron continued to be a stand-up performer, and also began to appear on television; his voice was used in episodes of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, and he hosted Short Attention Span Theater for a time. He also recorded half-hour specials for HBO and Comedy Central Presents, as well as comedy showcases like the Cam Neely Foundation fundraiser, which also featured performers like Jon Stewart, Denis Leary and Steven Wright. He frequently appeared in the live alternative stand up series he'd organized with Janeane Garofalo called "Eating It," which used the rock bar Luna Lounge in New York's Lower East Side as its venue from the 1990s until the building was razed in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

His only major film credit to date is a small part – credited as "angry promoter" – in the 2000 Cameron Crowe film, Almost Famous, first seen fighting with Noah Taylor's character, then yelling at and chasing after the main characters as they drive away on a bus.

He was also featured in the 1997 mockumentary, "Who's the Caboose?"

His first one-man show, Jerusalem Syndrome, had an extended off-Broadway run in 2000 and was released in book form in 2001. In 2009, he began work shopping another one-man show, Scorching The Earth. According to Maron (in Scorching The Earth) these two shows "bookend" his relationship with his second wife, comic Mishna Wolff, which ended in a bitter divorce. Moment Magazine produced a piece on Maron, where he was interviewed about his experience with Jerusalem Syndrome. When asked if he really came down with it, Maron responded, "The premise of my book is that not only did it happen during a short trip I took to Israel, but it’s been happening to me all my life."^{[citation needed]}

In May 2008, he toured with Eugene Mirman and Andy Kindler in Stand Uppity: Comedy That Makes You Feel Better About Yourself and Superior to Others. In January 2009, a collaboration with Sam Seder which had begun in September 2007 as a weekly hour-long video webcast became Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder, produced by Air America. Until its cancellation in July 2009 the show was webcast live, weekdays at 3 pm Eastern, with episodes archived for later viewing as well. In its final incarnation, the show was quite informal, taking place in the (actual) break room of Air America Media, with the cafeteria vending machines just off-camera. This meant occasional distractions when Air America staff and management alike would occasionally come in for food and drink. Maron and Seder held court in an online "post-show chat" with viewers, in an even less formal continuation of each webcast, after the credits had rolled.

Maron's stand up comedy act is marked by his commitment to self-revelation and cultural analysis. He is particularly known for relentless on-stage exploration of his own relationships, with family, girlfriends, and other stand-up comedians that he has known and befriended over his many years in the business.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, he provided the voice of Magnus Hammersmith in three episodes of Metalocalypse. On August 16, 2012, he guest starred as himself on an episode of Louis C.K.'s show, Louie.

Maron, a television series created by and starring Maron for a 10-episode first season, premiered on IFC on May 3, 2013. The show is autobiographical, revolving around Maron's life as a twice-divorced sober comedian running a comedy podcast out of his garage.

Jon Stewart Feud

Maron admitted on The Howard Stern Show in 2013 to having a falling out with one-time friend Jon Stewart and stated that Stewart's success was a jumping off point for his years of rage and jealousy fueled rants. As Maron says, he and Stewart came up in the same comedy scene back in the late 80s/early 90s but while Maron struggled for success he saw Stewart and other comics begin to get great chances at an early age. One specific moment Maron cites was when Stewart was recruited by MTV and then helped create the show Short Attention Span Theater. Despite always having a hostile attitude towards Stewart, Maron stated that the comedian always "treated me right", and helped him earn a hosting gig on Short Attention Span theater. But repeated incidents of what Maron calls "stupid, misplaced rebellion", Stewart eventually severed ties with Maron and to this day refuses to come on the WTF Podcast or even speak to Maron. Stewart bluntly told Maron in a phone conversation that he "didn't need to do" the WTF Podcast and would possibly have coffee with Maron to hear him out, but remains cognizant of Maron's treatment of him in the early 90s.

Radio

From almost the first day of the liberal talk radio network Air America's broadcasts in 2004, Maron co-hosted Morning Sedition, a three-hour early-morning radio show with Mark Riley, which aired weekdays from 6am-9am Eastern time. The show was unique in the Air America lineup, in its heavy reliance on both live and pre-produced sketch comedy, utilizing the talents of staff writers, as well as the on-air hosts. The format was a left-leaning near-satire of typical morning "Buddy" radio programs, including recurring characters, interviews and listener call-in segments, and it attracted a loyal fan base.^{[citation needed]}

As 2005 waned, it became known that Maron's contract would not be renewed on its December 1, 2005 end date due to problems with then Air America executive Danny Goldberg. Goldberg reportedly did not "get" the comedy or agree with the satiric and often angry tone set by Maron and other writers (Jim Earl and Kent Jones) for a morning-drive time show. On November 28, 2005 it was officially announced that Maron's contract had not been renewed. His last Morning Sedition broadcast was on December 16, 2005, and the show was discontinued shortly thereafter.^{[citation needed]}

On February 28, 2006, Maron began hosting a nighttime radio program with Jim Earl as sidekick for KTLK Progressive Talk 1150AM in Los Angeles called The Marc Maron Show from 10:00 pm PST until midnight PST. The program was frequently delayed (sometimes for over an hour) due to KTLK's contractual agreement to broadcast local sports events–which would often go into overtime. The Marc Maron Show was never nationally syndicated by Air America despite reported contractual clauses promising so. The show was streamed online live, but the show was not publicized, and the existence of the stream was not well promoted.^{[citation needed]}

On July 5, it was announced that Maron's final episode would be July 14. A few days before that date, Maron bluntly discussed his long struggle with Air America Radio's executives on-air. In 2008, Marc and Sam Seder expanded their prior collaboration on a weekly hour-long video webcast (streamed at The Sam Seder Show website) into a daily show (and "post-show chat") produced by Air America Media called Maron v. Seder. The show became Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder starting in 2009, and could be viewed on Air America Media's website. On July 15, 2009, after less than one year, Air America Media canceled Breakroom Live. According to the show's hosts, the cancellation was for financial reasons. Ironically, the day before the cancellation, the show got some of the first real publicity it had received when MaximumFun.org posted its podcast of an interview with Maron on The Sound of Young America.^{[citation needed]}

On the final Breakroom Live webcast, Maron said that this marked the third time since 2005 he'd been told by an executive at the network that his services would not be required in the immediate future. Co-host Sam Seder pointed out that this would be the end of his fourth show at Air America since the troubled network's inception.^{[citation needed]}

WTF with Marc Maron podcast

Main article: WTF with Marc Maron

On September 1, 2009 Maron began a twice-a-week podcast called WTF with Marc Maron. Released Mondays and Thursdays, the show features interviews with fellow comedians, both old friends and acquaintances. In a free-form discussion, Maron and his guests touch on topics like the arc of the interviewees' careers, shared past experiences, and stories from the road. The show was originally produced after hours in the Air America offices, to which Maron and his producer still had keys. Around the 20th episode Maron temporarily moved to Los Angeles, before announcing the move would be permanent in the 22nd. WTF is currently recorded in his garage, with the bulk of the guests meeting him there, though he does have a mobile set up to take to guests. WTF has reached No. 1 on iTunes comedy section numerous times. Though it is a free podcast, it has a number of rotating sponsors and accepts donations.

On May 17, 2011, it was announced that a version of WTF with Marc Maron is now available for non-commercial broadcast via Public Radio Exchange. The initial offering is ten episodes edited from previous podcasts, designed, according to co-producer of the broadcast package Jesse Thorn, "to capture what makes WTF special and communicate it to folks who aren't comedy nerds–or even necessarily comedy fans." Initial station pickups include WBEZ Chicago and the Public Radio Remix service on SiriusXM. On May 6, 2012, 'WTF with Marc Maron' won the award for "Best Comedy Podcast" at the 2012 Comedy Central Comedy awards.

Personal life

Maron lived in Astoria, Queens through the 1990s and most of the 2000s, but moved back to Los Angeles in the fall of 2009. He has been married twice, to Kimberly Reiss and Mishna Wolff (a former stand-up comedian). Both relationships have been a large part of his act at various times. During numerous appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2007, Maron riffed on his then-recent separation and divorce from his second wife, Mishna Wolff.

Maron has also spoken openly, both in his act and on his podcast, about his alcohol and drug use during the 1990s. He also speaks openly of his caring for numerous stray cats, which he takes into his home. This has led to him to refer to his home, on the WTF Podcast, as the "Cat Ranch." Marc has at least one sibling, a brother, who has 3 adopted children.^{[citation needed]}

Maron lives in Highland Park, Los Angeles with his three cats Monkey, Boomer, and LaFonda and his girlfriend Jessica.

Published works

Books

• The Jerusalem Syndrome (2001) ISBN 978-0-7679-0810-8
• Attempting Normal (2013) ISBN 978-0-8129-9287-8

CDs

• Not Sold Out (2002)
• Tickets Still Available (2006)
• Final Engagement (2009)
• This Has to Be Funny (2011)

Podcast

• WTF with Marc Maron

TV Show

• Maron (2013) IFC

See also

• The Marc Maron Show
• Morning Sedition

External links

• Marc Maron at the Internet Movie Database
• WTF with Marc Maron – Podcast
• Sam Seder and Marc Maron video webcast
• Break Room Live website – Archived Episodes
• November 2004 interview with Marc Maron
• Review of Marc's 2000 one-man-show, "Jerusalem Syndrome"
• Youtube:Marc Maron in Cameron Crowe's [Almost Famous]-(5 min 48 sec)
• Review of Marc's 2009 one-man-show, "Scorching The Earth"
• Review and Interview from 2009 Montreal "Just For Laughs" Festival run of "Scorching The Earth"
• Interview with Maron on The Sound of Young America from maximumfun.org
• Interview with Marc Maron on Music Life Radio
• Sedition Radio, a SHOUTcast stream of comedy and interviews from fan-archived episodes of Morning Sedition and The Marc Maron Show.
• Interview with Marc Maron by Justin Hamilton on the Can You Take This Photo Please? podcast