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 members, 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.

Marino, co-founder of the legendary comedy group The State, revealed that he once held down one of the crappiest day jobs on the planet — before he starred in such projects as Childrens Hospital and 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 members 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 join the family business, but Marino enjoyed his bonding time with his father and had a positive port-a-potty experience worth remembering fondly.

It’s nice to know that not every port-a-potty professional is down in the dumps.