The star and creator of the funniest live-action American sitcom ever forged, Garry Shandling passed away Thursday from a massive heart attack in Los Angeles. He was 66.
Shandling’s half-hour “The Larry Sanders Show,” which transformed America’s perception of HBO as a purveyor of quality original programming during its 1992-1998 run, depicted the on- and off-screen adventures of a Shandling-esque late-night talk show host.
Shandling was also part of the Marvel screen universe thanks to Jon Favreau casting him as the adversarial Senator Stern in “Iron Man 2.” Shandling reprised the role, to even more hilarious effect, in “Captain America: Winter Soldier.”
“Sanders” was nominated for 56 primetime Emmy awards over its six year run. Shandling won for writing, Todd Holland for directing, Rip Torn for his star-making role as Sanders’ producer Artie.
(For comparison sake: When “Sanders” arrived on the scene, HBO’s most prominent piece of original programming in those pre-“Oz,” pre-“Sopranos” days was likely “Dream On,” which snagged a comparatively few nine Emmy nominations over its six seasons.)
“Sanders” was also instrumental in boosting the careers of writers Judd Apatow (“Trainwreck”), Peter Tolan (“Rescue Me”), Paul Simms (“NewsRadio”), Jon Vitti (“King of the Hill”), Drake Sather (“Zoolander”) and actors Bob Odenkirk (who played Larry’s agent), Jeremy Piven (Larry’s head writer), Sarah Silverman (Larry’s new writer), Janeane Garofalo and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Larry’s bookers) and Jeffrey Tambor (Larry’s announcer/sidekick).
HBO got interested in Shandling thanks to “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” an 1986-1990 pay-cable game-changer which introduced Shandling played himself as a stand-up comedian three years before the arrival of NBC’s “Seinfeld.”
After earning a degree in marketing from the University of Arizona, Shandling moved to Los Angeles in 1973, where he worked in advertising before selling scripts to “Sanford and Son” and “Welcome Back, Kotter.” Subsequent years as a road comic led to his first appearance on “The Tonight Show” in 1981. He soon became a regular “Tonight” guest host (and Johnny Carson heir apparent) until he stepped back to oversee his Showtime series.
Soon after leaving HBO, Shandling and longtime “Sanders” collaborator Peter Tolan co-wrote the Mike Nichols movie “What Planet Are You From?” which starred Shandling as a socially awkward extraterrestrial charged with impregnating a human female.
Shandling played smaller roles in such big-screen fare as “Love Affair,” “Mixed Nuts,” “Hurlyburly” and “Town & Country.”
Shandling’s final screen appearance was in a January episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s online series “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.”
