Swift-witted comedian and political commenter Bill Maher has his finger on the pulse of any political shenanigans, left or right. When a politician sticks his foot in his mouth, Maher is there to shove it in further. The man behind Politically Incorrect and, now, Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO returns to Pearl at Palms, Sept. 6-7. Maher recently spoke with Susan Stapleton about comedians he used to see in Vegas, never running out of material and handling hecklers.
Q: Do you have any nostalgia for the old Vegas comics? If so, which ones?
A: Oh sure, I remember when I was first there as an opening act in the early ’80s for Diana Ross. I had been on The Tonight Show, but I was as green as they come. It was not an easy gig. When I was finished with my opening session, I would go across the street, jump in a cab and see whoever playing on the Strip—Shecky Greene, Pat Cooper, all those guys. Henny Youngman. This was the dead-ball era before Vegas reinvented itself. It was more like old-time Miami Beach. It was not a fun place then.
Q: If you were a Rat Packer, which one would you be?
A: Of course, Frank Sinatra. There’s no point of being anyone else. It was a thankless job to be any (of the) other members.
Q: Are the tourist audiences as politically informed or interested as in other cities?
A: Like in any other city, if you took a random sampling of the population, no. But the people who come are. I was in Huntsville, Ala.—I go to the reddest of the red states and 3,000 very smart came see the show. In a place like Las Vegas, we have not had any problem filling those seats. I’m a comedian. I make people laugh for an hour and half.
Q: Have you thought of running for office?
A: No, that’s ridiculous. All they have to do to defeat me is show any (of my) show(s) over the last dozen years and they could disqualify me. An atheist wouldn’t win—nor would I ever want to. I’m all about being honest and politics is all about bullshit.
Q: Among the topics you cover—religion, politics, bureaucracies, political correctness—which is the easiest target for comedy?
A: Republicans. It’s true. I mean it’s just true they are just more ridiculous. I’m not a registered Democrat, I just side with them. They don’t say things like if you get raped, God shuts down your vagina. You don’t have to worry about global warming because of Noah. Republicans used to be a right wing party and it took a left into the loony bin.
Q: What has been your favorite fiasco to poke fun at?
A: There’s always something every week. That’s why I never have a problem every week. The Benghazi scandal or the people vying for the next spot on the ticket. The Tea Party is always doing something insane. Guns, which are not funny. I can make anything funny. Before that it was the medical geniuses about the vagina. They never stop. They can’t stop themselves.
Q: How do you handle the heckler?
A: You get good at what you do and they don’t come. Hecklers are usually a response to a comedian bombing. Sometimes you get people who are drunk who are so supportive of you they don’t realize it’s a monologue. You gently tell them, “Lady, I know we’re on the same page.”
