For kids who grew up in the 2000’s, he’s mostly known as the voice of Swiper and Map from the Nick Jr. program Dora the Explorer. Today he still does his standup show worldwide, he’s the founder and developer of The Empathy Labyrinth Center, and he’s currently working on putting new Weinerville videos on YouTube alongside his son Max.
Kevin and I had the chance to interview Marc, so I hope you
enjoy it.
Marc- Little Rascals,
Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Red Skelton Show, and Laugh-in.
Patricia- Who are your comedic influences?
Marc- Red Skelton,
Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Jerry Lewis, Jonathan Winters, Lucille Ball, Robin
Williams, Ray Abruzzo and Marvin Silbermintz.
Kevin- What was it like doing your puppet show on The
Bizarre Show?
Marc- AMAZING! The
producer of that show, Bob Einstein was and still is one of the funniest and
nicest person I have ever met in show business. As well as John Byner, the
host. Both John and Bob were very supportive of my work and gave me room to be
funny. I will always be grateful to them.
Patricia- What funny stories can you tell us about your
experiences being on Saturday Night Live?
Marc- It was after my first appearance on SNL that Joe Piscopo took me into the producer's office and made
them hiring me for the following week. My head writer and dear friend Ray
Abruzzo, wrote a rap song for my Afro-American puppet Weindulah to perform. We
played it for Eddie Murphy and he said, "You white boys don't know how to
write rap music" and re-wrote the song on the spot. It went over very
well.
You can see these SNL
shows on Netflix (Feb 1980)
Patricia-What made you decide to create half-human half-puppets?
Marc- I worked with a street puppeteer in Boston and then
when I came to NYC, I joined the Bond Street Theater group. They asked me to
make puppets for them and I just did it. I developed the Weinerville style puppet for my nightclub act because I wanted to
be able to do many different puppets on stage without having to make the
audience wait as I took off one and put on another. So I lined a series of puppets
up each behind little closed door on my puppet set and I would put my head on
one and open the door, do my routine close the door and move to the next one.
It was quick and funny.
Kevin- How did you come up with the idea of Weinerville?
Marc- I was coming up with all these head puppet ideas and
getting them on many different TV shows and a producer suggested that I could
actually have my own show, I'll called it Weinerville.
Patricia- What were your inspirations to become a puppeteer?
Marc- When I first came to NY, I watch a street mime use his
fingers to do a tight rope walking routine. I didn't just see his fingers but I
saw a little man. So I sewed a little puppet outfit for my hand and asked a
mask maker to help me make my first mask to fit around my wrist. That's how I made my first hand Weinerette
style puppet (Rocko and Socko).
Patricia- How did you come up with the ideas of your puppets
such as Dottie, Boney, Socko, and Cocktail Frank?
Marc- Dottie, well, I think I put on a wig and just went
with it and out she came. The idea for Boney came from a very funny man named
Marvin Silbermintz, who was one of my writers on Weinerville. Marvin told me his idea, I came up with the voice, and
puppet master David Jordon made the puppet. Socko is a younger version of my
puppet Rocko from SNL. Cocktail Frank
is living my dream of being a rock n roll star.
Patricia- What would be the process of getting an episode of
Weinerville done?
Marc- Someone would pitch the premise for the episode, then
I would ask them to add twice as much shtick and gags to it and then we would
shoot it.
Kevin- If you could've had any guest on Weinerville, who would it be and why?
Marc- I never thought I could have guests on my show. The
only reason a few guests appeared on the show was because they happened to be
visiting Nickelodeon at Universal Studios in Florida. A PA would come running
in and say so-and-so is on the Nick Tour, do you want me to ask them if they
would appear on the show? Yes!!!!! Grab them and quickly get the writers.
Patricia- When Weinerville
first came out, it had gotten many praises from viewers because there was
nothing like it on TV. Even still to this day, there's no other show like Weinerville. What, in your opinion,
makes Weinerville still a very unique
show that still holds up today? Why do you think no one tried to replicate it?
Marc- I think Weinerville
was kind of in the genre of The Soupy
Sales Show and Pee-wee’s Playhouse:
silly funny shtick for kids and adults.
Patricia- What was the audition process for voicing Swiper
and Map on Dora the Explorer?
Marc- I knew the producers from working down in Florida and
they just hired me.
Patricia- On January 2011, you made an announcement that you
and your son Max were going to release new episodes of Weinerville on YouTube. How's the process coming along? When can we
expect to see new episodes?
Marc- Max is very busy with his musical career and we hope to
release a few short Boney shorts each year. We really appreciate all our
YouTube fans.
Kevin- What was the nicest feedback you had ever received
from a fan?
Marc- I think it was when a fan wrote to us saying that they
had been watching Weinerville on TV
in their family play room instead of playing in the front room of his house.
All of a sudden, a car crashed into that front room of his house. If he hadn't
been watching Weinerville, he would
have been in that front room and would have been killed. Now that's great fan
mail!
Patricia- Whenever you're out and about, do people stop and
say "Oh my god, you're Marc Weiner. I was a huge fan of Weinerville when I was a kid. You're
awesome!"
Marc- Back in the day.
Now it's just when I look in the mirror.
Patricia- What are your upcoming projects?
Marc- Finishing up
our 8th season of Dora, teaching
children and adults how communicate more compassionately with each other via my
Empathy Labyrinth, touring with my stand up show, and trying to be the most
empathic and loving father I can be to my children.
Patricia- That’s all the questions. Marc, thank you so much
for taking the time to interview us. It has been an honor.
Marc- Thank you very much for this interview. Happy
holidays.
To learn more about Empathy Labyrinth, you can check out the
website at www.el4peace.com. For more
information about Weinerville, check
it out at weinerville.com. Also follow him on Facebook and Twitter at
facebook.com/Weinerville and @WeinervilleTV.
That’s all for now. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.
-Patricia and Kevin
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