Why do people say starving like Marvin?

People say starving like Marvin because of a popular phrase from the 1970s and 1980s that came from a commercial and a character named Marvin who was always hungry. The phrase starving like Marvin originated from an American public service announcement and a comedy sketch about a thin, hungry man named Marvin who was always starving. However, the most widely cited origin is from the 1970s American TV show and from a line in the movie and from a British saying starving Marvin, referring to Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Marvin the Martian, but the most accepted origin in African American Vernacular English is from a 1970s soul song and from comedian Marvin Gaye references. Actually, the most documented origin is from the phrase hungry like Marvin, referring to Marvin from the TV show Starvin Marvin, a character from South Park introduced in 1997, who is an Ethiopian child who is starving, though the phrase predates that. Another explanation is rhyming slang, starving like Marvin is an example of rhyming and alliteration, Marvin rhymes with starvin, making it catchy. In some regions, Marvin was a generic name for a hungry person, similar to saying hungry as a bear. The phrase is now used humorously to mean very hungry, as in I'm starving like Marvin, I could eat a horse. It is similar to other humorous similes like hungry as a wolf or starving Marvin.

People say starving like Marvin from phrase hungry like Marvin or starving Marvin, which comes from South Park character Starvin Marvin, a starving Ethiopian child introduced in 1997, used humorously to describe extreme hunger, though origin is controversial and now considered insensitive by some, with older phrase starving like Marvin predating South Park from Marvin the Martian or other Marvin references. Most common origin is South Park episode Starvin Marvin from Season 1 Episode 8 aired November 19, 1997, where Starvin Marvin is Ethiopian child with distended belly from starvation, brought to South Park by Sally Struthers charity parody, saying phrase that became catchphrase for extreme hunger, with South Park's dark humor making starving like Marvin popular among 90s kids and millennials to say when very hungry. Another origin is phrase starving Marvin from 1970s and 1980s American slang where Marvin was generic name for skinny hungry person, similar to starving like a dog, with Marvin associated with thinness. Some link to Marvin the Martian Looney Tunes character who is thin, or to Marvin Gaye? Not likely. South Park's Starvin Marvin is most cited origin for modern usage, though using starvation humor about Ethiopia is now seen as insensitive due to real famine issues, with some schools discouraging phrase. So people say starving like Marvin from South Park character Starvin Marvin from 1997 episode, using dark humor to describe extreme hunger, with phrase meaning very hungry, like I am starving like Marvin, referencing skinny starving child character, though phrase is now considered potentially offensive due to making light of famine.