Real Timer of the Week: Meet Scott Wyhs

by Miles Leicher

When he's not looking for vowels to put in his last name, Scott Wyhs is hard at work ensuring all the bits and pieces come together each and every week at Real Time.  Whether it's editing the "2 Minutes Maher" podcast, mocking up photos in the art department or flirting shamelessly with nearby soap opera stars, Scott keeps it real.  And that's why he's this week's "Real Timer of the Week."

Miles: Scott, you look familiar – and not just because I see you every day.  Which celebrity do people say you resemble?
Scott: I've gotten Ed Burns and Sean Penn on a few occasions.

Miles: Bulls**t.  You're a dead ringer for Morrissey.  How long have you worked at Real Time?
Scott: Since late 2008.

Miles: What's the best part of your job?
Scott: Besides seeing what hair product you're using?  Fighting over parking with Dancing With the Stars and American Idol.

Miles: I don't have time to primp at home because I need to get here while there's still parking.  So lay off.  What's your favorite TV show?  Don't be a kiss-ass and say Real Time.
Scott: I still watch re-runs of Married with Children, Supermarket Sweep and The Jenny Jones Show.

Miles: Yeah you do.  What's your favorite behind-the-scenes memory from Real Time?
Scott: Watching Chris "Kid" Reid (Yes, from Kid n' Play) do the "Kid n' Play Kick Step."

Miles: Gotta love a backstage House Party.  Speaking of backstage, what do people eat the least of in the Green Room?
Scott: Probably the madeleines with sour cream and roe.

Miles: Oh yeah, those freak me out. Pass.  By the way, you're really good at talking to girls.  Or rather, hollering at them from across the parking lot.  What's your secret?
Scott: I don't like to reveal this, but what the heck... I borrow my co-worker's BMW, cruise the lot, creep up on one very lucky girl, honk and yell at her.  When she shouts obscenities back at me, I quickly jump out and hand her my (doctored) bank statement.  Works every time.

Miles: I bet. Who's the funniest person you know?
Scott: Rod and Todd Flanders.

Miles: Aren't they cartoon characters on The Simpsons?
Scott: Yep.

Miles: Who's your favorite Real Time guest of all time?
Scott: I would say Jeremy Scahill.  He keeps it real.

Miles: You're super into music.  What are three bands I should be listening to likerightnow?
Scott: The Smiths, of course, the careless whispers of Wham and the sweet cries of PM Dawn.

Meet a(nother) Real Timer!

by Miles Leicher

Jay Jaroch is a writer on Real Time with Bill Maher. He also played "Little Darth Vader" in that Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial.*

Jay Jaroch, has anyone ever pronounced your name correctly on the first try?
Never in America. But when I'm trolling the docks in Gdansk looking for a good time, they nail it.

And you're from Boston, right?
Yes. How could you tell? Is it my hair-trigger temper, or my thinly-veiled racism?

Actually, the way you suspect that everyone is on the take.
Everyone is on the take.

How long have you worked at Real Time?
Since it started in 2003.

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World, Meet Vanessa Gedney.

by Miles Leicher

On Saturday night I found myself at the Producers Guild Awards alongside Real Time's head writer, Billy Martin.  Billy and our other executive producers, Sheila Griffiths, Scott Carter, Dean Johnsen and, of course, Bill Maher, were all nominated for the award (and we couldn't be prouder).

Never mind who won in our category ('The Colbert Report'), I had a great time learning about what it is, exactly, that producers do: they try to explain to other people what producers do.  Really, though, they do much more than that.  You'll see.

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