The university announced today that comedian and HBO host Bill Maher will headline Colonials Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 15 in the Charles E. Smith Center.
“Given his track record of addressing the hottest social and political issues, Bill Maher will fit right in with the engaged nature of our campus community,” said Robert Chernak, senior vice provost and senior vice president for student and academic support services.
Students, faculty and staff can use their GWorld cards to purchase tickets starting on Tuesday, July 5 at 10 a.m., by visiting the GWired website or calling the Smith Center box office at 202-994-6050.
Raised in River Vale, N.J., Mr. Maher, who lives in Los Angeles, has hosted Real Time with Bill Maher for the past eight years. Before launching the show, Mr. Maher hosted Comedy Central’s Politically Incorrect from 1993 to 2002.
Mr. Maher was ranked number 38 on Comedy Central’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, but having been nominated for 22 Emmy Awards and won none, he is said to have an “Emmy curse.”
He is also the author of four bestsellers: True Story, Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits, When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden and New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer.
Mr. Maher’s 2008 documentary Religulous – a word he made up as a conflation of “religious” and “ridiculous” – is the seventh-highest grossing documentary of all time, according to his website.
At least three GW professors have been interviewed by Mr. Maher on his various shows, including Paul Butler, associate dean for faculty development at the Law School (video clip); Lawrence Wilkerson, lecturer in honors; and Cheryl Jacobus, a faculty member at the Graduate School of Political Management.
“In the past, Bill Maher has been willing to take on nearly any issue and he does not seem to shy from tough rhetoric and sensitive political commentary, which makes him particularly prepared to perform in the hotbed of humor known as the nation’s capital,” Dr. Chernak added. “Washington, particularly as we head into an election year, will give him lots to talk about, and the news of just the past few weeks continue to give him topics to digest and consider as he develops his act.”
Colonials Weekend is an annual event that brings together GW students, faculty, staff, family and friends. Colonials Weekend is sponsored by the Office of Parent Services in the division of Student and Academic Support Services.