Bill Maher doesn’t like skiing. It’s dangerous. And the HBO talk-show host says he doesn’t want to die running into a tree.
But that wasn’t how Bob Odenkirk nearly killed Maher when they were in Colorado many years ago for the long-running Aspen Comedy Festival.
Instead, Maher says he almost died laughing — from Odenkirk’s impression of Robert Evans.
No, really.
Maher recalled the scary moment in an interview with the “Better Call Saul” star on the latest “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday night.
“Do you remember the time you almost killed me?” Maher asked, drawing a laugh from Odenkirk. “No, I’m serious. You almost killed me in Aspen. It was the — there was an Aspen Comedy Festival for many years. I remember we had to go every year. I f—ing hated it. Aspen in February — skiing, I don’t ski. I don’t want to ski. It’s cold. I don’t want to die on a tree. The air is thin. I never slept. It was a nightmare. You couldn’t breathe.
“And you did this bit,” Maher added.
“That part was fun — all the different shows,” Odenkirk said.
“Right,” Maher replied, saying he forgot the exact circumstances but that he recalled the content of Odenkirk’s material.
Odenkirk hadn’t forgotten, either.
“Roberrrt Evannnss as God,” Odenkirk replied, doing his best voice of the legendary Hollywood studio exec, producer and actor.
“You’re going to do it again,” Maher said, bracing.
“Roberrrt Evannnss as God,” Odekirk repeated, eliciting Maher’s recollection of his near-death experience.
“I remember watching, standing in this tent,” Maher said. “And I was laughing so hard. And then the air — and I thought, ‘Oh f—, I’m going to die at a comedy festival from comedy from another comedian.’”
But Odenkirk continued his impression of Evans to a now belly-laughing Maher.
“Jesus, my son, you never let me down,” Odenkirk bellowed.
“But people have to know who Bob Evans is,” Maher replied.
“Do they?” Odenkirk asked. “I think the cadence and the voice is so funny, with the sunglasses and the hair. And just that God has such a huge ego.
“Did I do a good job with the world?” Odenkirk said to more Maher hysterics. “Yeah, I tried.
“It’s a great way of thinking about God,” Odenkirk added. “He’s just grinning, happy, and he acknowledges all the problems in the world.”
Watch the “Real Time with Bill Maher” segment with Odenkirk here or at the top of this story. The old-times-in-Aspen discussion begins at 6:30.
