AP: Late-night TV vet Bill Maher forges ahead with hit formula

[Omaha Steve]

FILE - In this Sept. 2, 2012 file photo, Bill Maher performs at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casinos' Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. His first 10 years as a standup comic were so brutal, Maher says, “so now that it's fun and great and easy, now's the time to enjoy it. Because I did pay my dues.” (Photo by Jeff Daly/Invision/AP, File)

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/be7111756db0494f8cd238b5aa4dd8ff/late-night-tv-vet-bill-maher-forges-ahead-hit-formula

By SANDY COHEN May. 27, 2015 1:42 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bill Maher strides into the weekly writers meeting for his HBO show and puts his feet up on the table. His team of scribes, many of whom he's worked with for 22 years, pepper him with ideas and information: the new Republican presidential candidates, the latest outlandish political moves, background on upcoming guests.

Every Tuesday, they brainstorm. And every Friday, Maher brings his pioneering brand of political humor to late night TV on "Real Time with Bill Maher," saying he's "not one bit less engaged" than when he launched "Politically Incorrect" in 1993.

As Jon Stewart takes leave of "The Daily Show" and David Letterman departs the late-night landscape, Maher becomes its resident elder, fearlessly voicing his personal views on TV and on stage, and for the first time, taking his act overseas.

"I'm still standing," Maher said. "I'm like the heterosexual, nonmusical Elton John."

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