Bill Maher’s television roots go way back—and not just in the late-night world.
The Real Time host—who also led Politically Incorrect from 1993 to 2002—began his career as a standup comic in his native New York City, where he landed a regular gig at Catch a Rising Star in the late 1970s. He then garnered wider attention when he began making appearances on Late Night With David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the early 1980s.
However, Maher didn’t just jump straight from guesting on Letterman and Carson’s shows to manning his own late-night programs. Before he was an acerbic talk show host, he dabbled in sitcoms.
Maher made a number of television appearances from the mid-’80s to the early ‘90s. In 1985, he guested on the CBS sitcom Alice as Officer Gary Conray in the episode “Vera’s Anniversary Blues.” That same year, he had a recurring role on NBC’s short-lived series Sara, starring Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard.
In 1988, Maher appeared in an episode of CBS’ Newhart playing Norm, a persistent guest who wants a date with Stephanie (Julia Duffy) and won’t take no for an answer. Maher continued his sitcom streak in 1991 with guest spots in prominent shows like Married… with Children and The Jackie Thomas Show.
One of the comedian’s most memorable cameos was his brief stint in ABC’s Roseanne. He appeared in the 1993 episode “It Was Twenty Years Ago Today” as a photographer whom Roseanne enlists to help her pose for a “sexy photograph” for her and Dan’s (John Goodman) anniversary.
Beyond sitcoms, Maher also guested on various shows like Rags to Riches, Hard Knocks, Max Headroom, and Murder, She Wrote. He dipped his toes into the film world as well, most notably playing Baba in the 1983 comedy D.C. Cab, where his co-stars included Mr. T and Gary Busey.
On a recent episode of his Club Random podcast, Maher looked back on his early Hollywood days and admitted to his guest, Malcolm McDowell, that his skills as an actor were pretty limited. “I was just a guy who knew how to get a laugh as a comic does,” he told the A Clockwork Orange star. “I could do sitcoms and light comedy.”
Of course, just because Maher’s sitcom career didn’t exactly take off doesn’t mean he quit acting entirely. Since those early days, the comedian has made many notable cameos across TV shows and movies as the character he knows best: himself. He can be spotted in films like The Campaign, Ted 2, and Delivery Man, as well as shows like True Blood, The Good Wife, House of Cards, and black·ish.
The one comedian who’s an “even worse” actor than Maher? According to the Real Time host, that honor goes to Jerry Seinfeld—yes, the same Jerry Seinfeld who earned five Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy nominations for his starring role on Seinfeld.
“I mean, [Seinfeld] would f**king crack up in his own scenes and you could see it on his face,” Maher said on Club Random. “Part of the charm of it was this guy is like, ‘I’m not even going to pretend to try to be an actor.’”
