Marc Maron (b. 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer and actor.
In 2009, Maron began hosting the twice-weekly podcast ‘WTF with Marc Maron’ where he interviews comedians, authors, musicians, and celebrities in his garage in Highland Park, Los Angeles. From 2013 to 2016, he starred and executive produced in his own IFC television comedy series, ‘Maron,’ a loosely autobiographical show, revolving around his life as a twice-divorced, sober comedian running a comedy podcast out of his garage. Since 2017, he has co-starred in the Netflix comedy series ‘GLOW.’
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ and appeared more than forty times on ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien,’ more than any other stand-up comedian. He hosted Comedy Central’s ‘Short Attention Span Theater’ from 1993 to 1994, replacing Jon Stewart. He was also a regular guest on ‘Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn’ and hosted the short-lived 2002 American version of the British game show ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ on VH1. He was a regular on the left-wing radio network ‘Air America’ from 2004 to 2009, hosting ‘The Marc Maron Show’ and co-hosting ‘Morning Sedition’ and ‘Breakroom Live.’
Maron was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, to a Jewish family. His father was an orthopedic surgeon father and his mother was a real estate broker. He lived in New Jersey until he was six when his father joined the U.S. Air Force for two years for his medical residency in Alaska. When his father left the Air Force, he moved his family from Alaska to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and started a medical practice. Maron lived in Albuquerque from third grade through high school. In 1986, he graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in English literature.
He started his comedy career at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles and became an associate of Sam Kinison. Maron 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 on Monday open-mic night, coordinated by Tracey Metzger, at the now-closed Greenwich Village location of the Boston Comedy Club. He auditioned unsuccessfully for the 1995 Saturday Night Live cast overhaul and attributes being passed over to being high during a meeting with show creator and producer Lorne Michaels.
Maron continued to be a standup 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 such as Jon Stewart, Denis Leary, and Steven Wright. He frequently appeared in the live alternative standup series he had 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.
His only major film credit for years was a small part credited as ‘angry promoter’ in the 2000 Cameron Crowe film ‘Almost Famous,’ in which he is seen chasing after the main characters as they drive away on a bus, at which point he yells, ‘Lock the gates!’ That sound bite is now used in the intro to his podcasts. He was also featured at the Luna Lounge in the 1997 mockumentary ‘Who’s the Caboose?’ starring Sarah Silverman and Sam Seder.
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 these two shows ‘bookend’ his relationship with his second wife, comic Mishna Wolff, which ended in a bitter divorce. In 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 2009, he collaborated with Sam Seder on a weekly, hour-long video webcast for Air America. 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 staff 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 standup 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 fellow standup comedians. In 2013, Maron released his first hour long special for Netflix titled, ‘Marc Maron: Thinky Pain,’ which was followed by ‘More Later’ in 2015 for Epix. In 2012, he provided the voice of Magnus Hammersmith in three episodes of ‘Metalocalypse.’ Maron has made two guest appearances as himself on Louis C.K.’s show ‘Louie.’
When Maron started working at Air America as the co-host of ‘Morning Sedition,’ he was unique at that station for running a show with a heavy reliance on both live and pre-taped sketch comedy. 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. However, in late 2005 the show was abruptly canceled. Air America executive Danny 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.
In 2009, Maron began a twice-weekly 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. ‘WTF’ is currently recorded in his garage, with the bulk of the guests meeting him there, though he does have a mobile setup for remote tapings.
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 also speaks openly of his caring for numerous stray cats that he takes into his home. This has led to him to refer to his home, on the ‘WTF’ podcast, as the ‘Cat Ranch.’ Maron lives in Highland Park, Los Angeles, with his three cats, Monkey, LaFonda, and Buster Kitten. After his cat Boomer went missing, Maron began incorporating the catchphrase ‘Boomer lives!’ into various portions of the podcast.
Maron has spoken openly, both in his act and on his podcast, about his alcohol and drug abuse during the 1990s. Maron has been sober since 1999. He has been married twice, once to Kimberly Reiss and once to Mishna Wolff, a former standup comedian. Both relationships have figured prominently in 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 Wolff.
On a 2013, episode of his podcast, Maron announced that he had broken up with his former fiancee, Jessica Sanchez. On a 2014, episode of his podcast, Maron confirmed he was dating Moon Zappa not long after she had been a guest on the show. They broke up several months later. On a 2015, episode of his podcast, Maron announced he was dating artist Sarah Cain.
The Daily Omnivore 
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