Melissa Miller
Though he’s received a well-deserved boost in recognition in recent years, largely thanks to his popular WTF podcast, Marc Maron has always been what you might call a comedian’s comedian. Referring to anyone as a something’s-something has certain connotations of course, but Maron fits the bill pretty well: He’s immensely talented, knows stand-up inside and out, and has the kind of resume, working his way up from doorman to performer at LA’s notorious Comedy Store before becoming a staple of New York’s fertile 1990s alt-comedy scene, that confers instant credibility, yet he’s always been a little too smart or too cynical (and, yes, maybe a bit too prone to substance abuse) to be a household name, no matter how many times he appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.