For Ken Marino, ‘Party Down’ Was A Huge Step Up From Emptying Port-a-Potties
Party Down’s Ken Marino is a success story for the literal shit-shovelers of the world.
The Party Down crew is making preparations for Friday’s premiere of the show’s long-awaited and improbable third season. In advance of the anxiously anticipated return of the cult classic, key cast , along with the series’ showrunner John Enbom, told the Los Angeles Times about the pre-fame gigs and nine-to-fives that inspired their work on the series about a struggling group of L.A. caterers who all aspire to be more than the smiling stand for an appetizer platter.
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Marino, co-founder of the legendary comedy group Wet Hot American Summer, he emptied out port-a-potties with his dad.
“I worked with my father in a port-a-potty company,” Marino told the paper about his pre-fame pay-the-rent gig. “I would deliver port-a-potties to outdoor events. And at the end, I would have to clean out the port-a-potty and bring it home.” Despite the disgusting description, Marino’s memories of his decidedly dirty day job are surprisingly sweet. “The smell from that, that a lot of people are grossed out by, is nostalgic for me. I got to hang out with my dad. That was the good thing about that,” he explained.
While other cast complained about early service gigs or data-entry drudgery — Enbom described one of his early desk jobs as “like Severance with only Adam Scott” — Marino’s story of stool removal stands out for its touching tenderness. Most kids who come from a sewage lineage probably aren’t eager to the family business, but Marino enjoyed his bonding time with his father and had a positive port-a-potty experience worth ing fondly.
It’s nice to know that not every port-a-potty professional is down in the dumps.
