Episode 1603 - WTF Origins: A Full Maron Special Presentation

Kevin Nealon is trying a new approach to life in order to be less of a people pleaser and to allow himself some anger from time to time. But Kevin is able to keep that anger at bay while he tells Marc about heading to LA during the '70s comedy boom, working as a bartender at the Improv, getting onto The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and unexpectedly landing on SNL. Kevin also talks about the importance of his friendship with the late Garry Shandling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Mar 20171h 28min

Fred Melamed is instantly familiar, not only because of his scene-stealing performances in the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man and Maria Bamford's Lady Dynamite, but because he is an indelible New York character. But that familiarity came with a price, as 20 years of successful work actually led to a complete bottoming out in Fred's life. He tells Marc how he pulled out of it. Plus, Andy Kindler stops by to talk about the big change in his life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Mar 20171h 41min

Eugene Levy brings more than five decades of comedy history from north of the border into the garage. He tells Marc about his early days as a college student in Canada hanging out with Martin Short, Ivan Reitman, and Catherine O'Hara, performing in a fabled production of Godspell in Toronto with an all-star lineup of comedy stars, and joining the Second City theater, which paved the way for SCTV. Eugene also explains what goes into co-writing Christopher Guest's largely improvised films. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Mar 20171h 24min

Whether you see her in Christopher Guest's movies or on 2 Broke Girls or as Stifler's mom, Jennifer Coolidge is always a unique comic presence. She tells Marc how she put her wild New York City cocaine days behind her to come to LA and join the Groundlings, where she established her comedic chops. Jennifer also talks about her blown chance to get on Saturday Night Live and what she learned from that missed opportunity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Mar 20171h 25min

Filmmaker Raoul Peck spent more than a decade putting together the documentary I Am Not Your Negro, a powerful film illuminating the words and life of writer and social critic James Baldwin. But as Marc learns in this conversation, Raoul’s own backstory of living under dictatorships, studying across four continents, and learning how to engage activism through art is just as important in understanding how to respond to the world today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Feb 20171h 27min

Singer-songwriter Norah Jones can float between multiple genres of music with ease, whether it’s jazz or standards or country or acoustic pop. That's not surprising when you consider how she was influenced by her Texas roots, her early piano playing, performing arts school and her estranged father, who she only got to know later in life. Plus, Pete Holmes stops by to test how prickly Marc will get as they talk about Pete's new HBO series, 'Crashing.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Feb 20171h 31min

Comedian Trae Crowder does not shy away from his Southern upbringing, in which he saw economic devastation and drug abuse lay waste to several generations around him. But in defiance of the stereotypes some might assign to him, Trae finds himself being called the Liberal Redneck Comic. He and Marc talk about what those labels mean in today's social climate. Plus, Lena Dunham returns to the garage as the final episodes of Girls draw near. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Feb 20171h 29min

Unfolding world events are messing with Will Arnett and Marc as they sit in the garage, but they won't let the existential terror stop them from tracking Will's path and finding out how growing up in Toronto, getting kicked out of school, becoming a voiceover actor, hanging out at UCB, doing off-Broadway plays, and working on failed pilots all led to Arrested Development. They also discuss how the lines between fiction and reality got blurred while Will was making his new show, Flaked. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Feb 20171h 31min