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Marc Maron

Marc Maron Quotes

Comedian

Marc Maron, born on September 27, 1963, is an American comedian, writer, and podcast host. He is renowned for his podcast 'WTF with Marc Maron', which features in-depth interviews that are praised for their authenticity and self-deprecating humor. Maron's comedy career began in the 1980s, and he has performed in numerous comedy clubs and television shows. His work is known for its profound personal reflections and critical examination of social issues.

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Famous Marc Maron Quotes

“For most people, empathy has to be honed. It has to be engaged. It has to be worked on, especially in a world where we’re self-consumed, self-absorbed, self-centered, and entertaining ourselves endlessly with algorithms that have been chosen for ourselves and our desire system. Where is there room for empathy? Where is there room for considering the struggles of others when you’re completely engaged in your own emotional spectrum being triggered by garbage that you let into your face?”

Empathy Selfishness Algorithms Phone Addiction

Author:Marc Maron

“I am beginning to see how grief has transformed me, humbled me, opened me up, cut through the bullshit of my being. It’s not growth anyone wants to do. It’s growth that has been thrust upon us, ripped from us, has come from being punched in the soul and kicked in the heart. You have no choice.”

Growth Grief Mourning Grief And Loss

Author:Marc Maron

“I was an abusive, selfish, needy, angry asshole. Now I'm just kind of selfish, a little less angry, occasionally needy, with flights of asshole. I've grown.”

Humor Growth Identity Self Acceptance

Book:Attempting Normal

Source: Attempting Normal

“When I was a kid watching comedians on TV and listening to their records they were the only ones that could make it all seem okay. They seemed to cut through the bullshit and disarm fears and horror by being clever and funny. I don't think I could have survived my childhood without watching stand-up comics. When I started doing comedy I didn't understand show business. I just wanted to be a comedian. Now, after twenty-five years of doing stand-up and the last two years of having long conversations with over two hundred comics I can honestly say they are some of the most thoughtful, philosophical, open-minded, sensitive, insightful, talented, self-centred, neurotic, compulsive, angry, fucked-up, sweet, creative people in the world.”

Author:Marc Maron

“I didn't really want to kill myself, it just made me feel better to know I could if I wanted to.”

Ifs Knows Want Feels Made Wanted Feel Better

Author:Marc Maron

“Most of my comedy writing happens through improvisation on stage; doing it in the moment.”

Writing Moments Happens Comedy Stage Improvisation Comedy Writing

Author:Marc Maron

“You hope to see an arc of growth in your ability to become a character on television.”

Character Growth Ability Television Arcs

Author:Marc Maron

“I've become less angry and a little more humble by age and by experience and by going through the ups and downs of life.”

Littles Age Angry Humble Ups & Downs

Author:Marc Maron

“I know that the podcast is typically something I can do forever, because it's mine; it's just me and my producer and business partner, so it's our business.”

Knows I Can Can Do Forever Mines Partners Producers Business Partners

Author:Marc Maron

“There's something about cats' self-sufficiency and their seemingly individualistic ways that I find compelling.”

Way Self Cat Compelling Self Sufficiency Sufficiency Individualistic

Author:Marc Maron

“My cats, the ones that I have, were feral when I found them so the relationship that I have with them 10 years in is very mutual, earned, and evolved over time. It was never an easy thing. I like that they have a certain distance and have their own sense of selves.”

Years Self Certain Found Easy Cat Distance Mutual Sense Of Self Easy Things

Author:Marc Maron

“Dogs are too much to handle. I don't need anything in my house that's needier than me.”

Needs House Too Much Dog Handle

Author:Marc Maron

“Once I learned how to talk, personally, by myself to any number of people, which means do radio without talking to anyone in particular on the air - I just found that my brain became very free to engage in a sort of stream-of-consciousness style of doing what I do.”

People Mean Found Numbers Brain Consciousness Talking Air Style Particular Radio Streams Stream Of Consciousness

Author:Marc Maron

“There was a period when I was getting a lot of banana bread, because I mentioned someone cooked me banana bread, and then everyone cooked me baked stuff, and I would take it to the hotel, and it was making me fat.”

Stuff Periods Bread Fats Hotel Bananas

Author:Marc Maron

“I seem to offend everybody. I just never got into the universe. I don't seem to have a tremendous amount of discipline or patience with having to follow a story that is really multi-leveled and science-fiction.”

Stories Seems Universe Fiction Amount Discipline Science Fiction

Author:Marc Maron

“I'm not a moron, but science fiction to me requires a suspension of disbelief and honest curiosity or fascination in that kind of bullshit. I've just never been able to make that jump, really. I like things to be more organic.”

Kind Able Fiction Honest Science Fiction Curiosity Bullshit Fascination Disbelief Moron Suspension Suspension Of Disbelief

Author:Marc Maron

“I have a very primitive sense that if I just turn on a radio or the television, that somebody's playing that stuff for me.”

Ifs Turns Stuff Television Radio Primitive Turn-on

Author:Marc Maron

“I think sharing experience makes everything better. When people get talking about how they've overcome something or how they haven't, it's nourishing.”

People Thinking Talking Havens Overcoming

Author:Marc Maron

“We live in a culture where people are self-centered and careerist and everybody seems to think they have too much on their plate or they just don't have time for other people's pain.”

People Thinking Self Seems Pain Culture Too Much Plates Self Centered

Author:Marc Maron

“We live in an age where people are like, "I'd love to catch up. Maybe text me later? But don't call because I don't really listen to my messages. But if you text me..." We've displaced interaction into sound bites and untethered phrases and sentences that come up on the phone as Twitter feed.”

People Ifs Age Sound Messages Phones Come Up Sentences Phrases Bites Interaction Sound Bites Text Me

Author:Marc Maron

“I sort of get tired of myself sometimes. When you're busy, your life becomes relatively small. But I don't really get tired of talking to other people.”

People Sometimes Talking Tired Busy

Author:Marc Maron

“I once talked about wanting to kill myself, but I don't think I was ever really planning on doing it. It was just comforting to know that I could.”

Thinking Knows Planning Comforting

Author:Marc Maron

“When you commit your life to something and it doesn't work out, it is a tough place to be. Suicide can be the spiritual reprieve of a faithless person. I knew I could always just end it, and there was solace in that.”

Persons Ends Spiritual Tough Suicide Work Out Commit Solace Faithless Reprieve

Author:Marc Maron

“I think most other comics are like, 'I'm going to do my fkin' act and that'll be that.' With me, it's like, 'What if I forget my jokes? What if I can't pull it together? This is going to be a fking disaster!'”

Ifs Thinking I Can Together Forget Jokes Disaster What If

Author:Marc Maron

“Your insecurity and neediness is what makes you a big neurotic ball of comedy genius.”

Bigs Comedy Genius Balls Insecurity Neurotic Neediness

Author:Marc Maron

“I found a great deal of relief and excitement watching comics when I was very young. My grandmother was very into them and so was my grandfather. They had a profound effect on me, so I just found myself watching comedians on the after-school shows: Merv Griffin and that kind of stuff.”

Kind Shows School Young Found Stuff Deals Effects Profound Comedian Excitement Relief Grandmother Grandfather Show Me My Grandmother My Grandfather After School

Author:Marc Maron

“Comics seemed to have a handle on things. They could sort of disarm and get control over reality. I found it very comforting to laugh.”

Reality Found Laughing Handle Comforting

Author:Marc Maron

“I remember seeing Richard Pryor's first movie; it was a midnight movie when I was in high school. I must have been about fifteen. It was one of the most cathartic experiences of my life. I'd never laughed that much.”

Firsts Has Beens School Remember Seeing High School Laughed Fifteen Midnight Cathartic

Author:Marc Maron

“I think things evolve into jokes. I don't generally write them down as jokes. I talk them out.”

Thinking Writing Jokes Evolve

Author:Marc Maron

“Jokes do finish themselves. I really do see them as ongoing conversations about personal themes that I ruminate on.”

Conversation Jokes Theme Ongoing

Author:Marc Maron

“Whether people know the evolution of the conversation or not, I don't know, but thematically, as a comedian, I stay in the same ballpark - around my issues and my philosophy of life.”

People Knows Philosophy Issues Life Philosophy Evolution Conversation Comedian Ballparks

Author:Marc Maron

“I knew most of my radio listeners were lefty political people, and I decided definitively not to be that guy - not to address politics.”

People Political Guy Decided Radio Addresses Listeners That Guy Lefties

Author:Marc Maron

“I've always been someone who likes to talk to people. When I was a little kid, I sought out freaks and weirdos that wandered the streets by where I worked in high school. I would just bring them in and talk to them.”

People Littles Kids School Streets High School Likes Freak Little Kid Weirdo

Author:Marc Maron

“In a lot of ways, I'm seeking some sort of peace of mind for myself. I'm a fairly emotionally petty, resentful guy who has an inflated sense of himself, and I needed to take that down a notch.”

Way Mind Guy Needed Seeking Peace Of Mind Petty Resentful Notches

Author:Marc Maron

“There's nothing more horrifying than the possibility or the idea that you will just fade away into obscurity.”

Ideas Possibility Fades Obscurity Fade Away

Author:Marc Maron

“I'm not a narcissist, but I definitely have gotten enough explosive narcissistic shrapnel from my father. I'm sort of wired that way, but I don't feel that I'm pathological, so all I can pull from is my own existence and my knowledge.”

Way Feels I Can Enough Father My Own Existence Narcissistic Narcissist Explosives

Author:Marc Maron

“What comics sacrifice and what lives they live - I know that most of their lives, their adult lives, they're sitting around or walking around with notebooks, writing things down. Usually they're fairly sensitive. Usually they're very bright. And that makes them poets.”

Knows Writing Sacrifice Poet Walking Sitting Adults Sensitive Notebook Sitting Around Writing Things Down

Author:Marc Maron

“The worst thing about living in this world, in general, is that things get overwhelming, and things cause a tremendous amount of despair and anxiety.”

World Causes Worst This World Amount Despair Anxiety Overwhelming Worst Things

Author:Marc Maron

“I'm not against people just being funny or telling stories. I don't need to delve into the soft, dark core all the time. If it happens, it happens.”

People Ifs Needs Stories Happens Dark Core Just Being Telling Stories Being Funny

Author:Marc Maron

“Any comic can get on the radio show and be funny. You can get that on any morning radio show or afternoon radio show. There are plenty of people who do that. It's not a difficult format, to sit around with two or three comics and be funny.”

People Two Shows Three Difficult Morning Radio Plenty Comic Afternoon Format

Author:Marc Maron

“What appealed to me was the intimacy of the medium, the fact that I was doing it from my home, and the fact that I wanted to talk. I was not there to plug things. I don't do a hell of a lot of research. I go on a sort of kindred-spirit bonding that preexists the interview, and just see what unfolds.”

Facts Home Wanted Spirit Hell Goes On Research Mediums Intimacy Interviews Bonding Plugs Kindred Kindred Spirit

Author:Marc Maron

“I'm just looking for authentic engagement of some kind, and usually, after an hour or more, you get that. Some people talk at you. Some people just want to answer questions, but a lot of times, all of a sudden you drift away, and you don't remember you're on the mic, and you're in something real.”

People Want Kind Real Remember Hours Answers Engagement Remember You Remembers You Mics Something Real

Author:Marc Maron

“The medium of podcasting and the personal nature of it, the relationship you build with your listeners and the relationship they have with you - they could be just sitting there, chuckling and listening... there's nothing like that.”

Listening Sitting Mediums Listeners Podcasting

Author:Marc Maron

“I always thought I was funny, but I was very sensitive, and very provocative just to get a rise out of people.”

People Sensitive Provocative

Author:Marc Maron

“It's great to have people come out. I do worry, though. They know me very intimately, in a way, if they listen to my show; they know a lot about me.”

People Ifs Knows Way Shows Worry Know Me

Author:Marc Maron

“When you're a kid, you always feel you have this weird kindred-spirit thing with other Jews, until you get older and you realize it's just middle-class bourgeois Jews that sort of fit a template that your family fits into one way or another.”

Way Feels Kids Spirit Realizing Class Middle Fit Jew One Way Our Family Middle Class Bourgeois Kindred Kindred Spirit

Author:Marc Maron

“Most of the comics that I talk to I've never talked to for more than ten minutes ever. So 95 percent of the time you're really hearing the first conversation between me and that guy on the podcast.”

Firsts Guy Minutes Ten Conversation Percent Hearing That Guy

Author:Marc Maron

“Because we're comics and we pass each other on campus, we know of each other, and a lot of the time there's a mutual respect there.”

Knows Mutual Campus Mutual Respect

Author:Marc Maron

“It always astounds me that over the course of my career, and having lived in four comedy cities - New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles - there's very few people I haven't run into.”

People Running Courses Cities Careers Comedy Four Havens New York Los Angeles Boston San Francisco

Author:Marc Maron

“I'm weird; I have a very strange emotional memory. I really somehow hold on to even passing moments with people.”

People Moments Memories Emotional Strange Passing Passings Passing Moments

Author:Marc Maron

About the Author

Born: September 27, 1963
Known for: Comedian
Quotes: 150

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Books & Sources

Attempting NormalRelated source material

Attempting Normal (Enhanced Edition)Related source material

The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant MessiahRelated source material

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