The world lost a comedic genius with the passing of Garry Shandling on March 24. “The Larry Sanders Show” was one of the early pillars of HBO’s original series strategy, garnering Emmy Awards and critical acclaim during its 1992-1998 run. The Associated Press reported that the transport “is seen as a step to showcase” nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
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“Goodbye Gary Shandling thank you for your kindness and your generosity and for making me laugh so damn much”, actress and comedian Amy Schumer tweeted. “It is a flawless, ridiculous Larry Sanders moment”, Apatow said.
Originally from Chicago, Shandling started out in advertising before moving to comedy writing and standup. “I loved him. I’ll miss our talks the most”, Griffin tweeted after the sad news broke. Even the theme song was self-referential from the opening line: “This is the theme to Garry’s show…” Shandling became a recurring guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which led to an opportunity to develop It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, a “parody of a sitcom” that was one of the first successful television series on Showtime, earning the young network four Emmy nominations.
And if Shandling hadn’t done that – if he hadn’t created the character of Larry Sanders, the egotistical host of a late-night talk show and the centerpiece of a comedy series that ran for six seasons on HBO in the 1990s – the current landscape of late-night might look very different. “Working with him was one of the great privileges of my career”, he wrote. Tributes poured in for the comedian after news of his death. The closest thing Larry had to friends were his chronically needy announcer Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) and his Napoleonic producer, Artie (Rip Torn).
“I would not do a show where you just sit and talk to somebody”, Shandling had said back in 1993 when he was courted by NBC to take over for Letterman on “Late Night”.
Shandling hosted both the Grammys and Emmys Awards and snagged small-but-funny part in movies like “Mixed Nuts” and “Zoolander“.
Shandling was never married.
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If for no other reason, watch the tour to remember how hilarious Shandling always was – like when he jokes that he decorated the clutter-filled loft himself or details the mirror he’s going to hang above his bed, explaining, “Objects are larger than they appear”.
