He was rushed from his Los Angeles home to a nearby hospital where attempts to save him failed.
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Word of his passing stunned his friends.
Shandling wasn’t known to be suffering from any illnesses, and just a few days ago retweeted Kathy Griffin’s photograph of himself, her and Bob Odenkirk.
“Goodbye Garry Shandling thank you for your kindness and your generosity and for making me laugh so damn much”, comedian Amy Schumer tweeted.
Word of his passing drew condolences from other famous funnymen like Fred Willard, who said he was heartbroken.
Shandling was born on November 29, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois.
A popular stand-up comedian, Shandling often appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson during the 1980s. It was 2009 and he had just lost his short-lived job as host of The Tonight Show in “crazy, fucked up, spectacular fashion”. But that was not to be.
The late Garry Shandling’s The Larry Sanders Show is returning to HBO, the network that first aired six seasons of the influential comedy series. The series, which launched in 1992, was nominated for several Emmys and won a writing Emmy for writing in 1998.
Considered by leading critics and industry figures as his comic masterpiece, it starred Shandling as an egotistical late-night TV host. He also turned down a $5 million offer from NBC to take over “Late Night” when David Letterman split for CBS.
USA comics also lined up to express their thoughts, with Steve Martin branding Shandling a “very special comedian with a beautifully unpredictable mind”.
They would end up spending the entire week together as Shandling helped O’Brien see his way out of a depressed haze.
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At the time of his death, Shandling was single, having never been married nor did he have children.
