11/29/1949 - 03/24/2016

[bengay]

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/garr...ow-1201738601/

Garry Shandling, best known for his role as the star and creator of the hit HBO Television Network sitcom "The Larry Sanders Show," has died at age 66.

According to the link above, Garry was found unresponsive in his Los Angeles area-home and was taken to a local Hospital where he later died.

Garry Emanuel Shandling was born in Chicago on November 29, 1949 and raised in Tucson, Arizona where he majored in Marketing and Minored in Writing.

He later used his Minor in writing to write episodes of "Sanford and Son" and "Welcome Back, Kotter" before creating his HBO sitcom "The Larry Sanders Show," which aired for 6 years on the HBO Television Network until Garry decided to retire from the series. He later starred in the Mike Nichols-directed Columbia/Sony R-Rated comedy "What Planet Are You From?," a Box-Office flop.

On a personal note, when I first heard about this news, I thought it was a VERY Sick Joke; unfortunately, it's not. RIP Garry, and thanks for the laughs.

[Mr. Television]

OMG. I am in shock. The Larry Sanders Show was a great show, one of the best of the 90's. I didn't hear where he was sick or anything. R.I.P. Garry. Thanks for all the laughs.

[ABlairican Pie]

That's sad. I used to watch his show all the time in the late 80's. As I recall, it was titled, "It's Garry Shandling's Show".

I liked it when he was host on the Grammies in 1989. After the blistering performance of "One" by Metallica in the newly-inducted heavy metal category, Gary Shandling said, "That song was written by Steve Allen."

[Mr. Television]

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...-at-66/475365/


Remembering Garry Shandling

The comedy giant was famed for creating and starring in the Emmy-winning HBO series The Larry Sanders Show.



Garry Shandling, a towering figure in American television history, died in Los Angeles today at the age of 66. His death is a tragically sudden end to a storied career that more than once redefined comedy: He was best known as the creator and star of the surreal 1986 sitcom It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, which ran for four seasons on Showtime, and the landmark HBO series The Larry Sanders Show, a spoof of late-night talk shows that pioneered an age of darker, more adult humor on television and inspired a new generation of comedians.

Born in Chicago in 1949, Shandling broke into the industry in the early ’70s, writing scripts for sitcoms like Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter, before eventually moving into stand-up comedy, where he became a star on the L.A. comedy scene—particularly at the city’s famed Comedy Store. He was a regular guest and replacement host on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, assuming the persona that was at times neurotic, brittle, and anxious, but always blisteringly funny and original.

Rather than submit to the formula of the network sitcoms he loved to deride, Shandling created It’s Garry Shandling’s Show with the former Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel, airing on the then-nascent Showtime network from 1986 to 1990. The show was presented as a sitcom, but one in which Shandling was self-aware about being in a TV show, along with the rest of his cast. He would make surreal asides to the audience, zip years into the future without warning, and even air live episodes. The show’s famous theme song, by Bill Lynch, emphasized the show’s zany metatextual quality, a revolutionary concept at the time.

Shandling then moved on to create The Larry Sanders Show for HBO in 1992. The more straightforward comedy series took a look behind the scenes of a long-running talk show, in which Shandling played a character more loosely inspired by his own foibles. Surrounded by an incredible ensemble that included Jeffrey Tambor, Rip Torn, and Janeane Garofalo, The Larry Sanders Show became the premium network’s earliest original hit, collecting hordes of Emmy nominations over its six-season run and giving special guest stars the opportunity to play deranged versions of themselves on the show (David Duchovny’s turn remains a notorious highlight).

Throughout The Larry Sanders Show’s acclaimed run, Shandling was offered the chance at a real late-night gig by multiple networks, but he continually turned them down, more interested in the unfettered creative access offered by HBO. The Larry Sanders Show was acerbic, heartfelt, and consistently brilliant: It launched the careers of comedy luminaries like Judd Apatow, Peter Tolan, and Paul Simms, and it broke ground for “single-camera” comedies that didn’t stick to the rigid format of the classic American sitcom.

Once The Larry Sanders Show ended in 1998, Shandling went into semi-retirement, appearing occasionally in films like Mike Nichols’s What Planet Are You From? (2000), which he co-wrote, and Peter Chelsom’s Town & Country (2001), which was a notorious bomb. More recently, he showed up as an evil U.S. senator in two Marvel-Universe films (Iron Man 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and wrote a book called Confessions of a Late Night Talk Show Host. Though he divulged very little about his personal life over the years and never married, Shandling remained a beloved figure in Los Angeles and an idol to comedians for whom he remains a remarkable influence.

[D-Dey]

Originally Posted by ABlairican Pie

That's sad. I used to watch his show all the time in the late 80's. As I recall, it was titled, "It's Garry Shandling's Show".

I liked it when he was host on the Grammies in 1989. After the blistering performance of "One" by Metallica in the newly-inducted heavy metal category, Gary Shandling said, "That song was written by Steve Allen."

I don't remember that, but that sounds hilarious.

BTW, I just found out about his death this afternoon, like a lot of other people.

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...-at-66/475365/

Thank you, Sonny for doing it the proper way.

[TMC]

Celebrities React to Garry Shandling of The Larry Sanders Show Death

http://www.thewrap.com/garry-shandli...hbo-exclusive/

According to The Wrap, the deal means that reruns of The Larry Sanders Show, which due to complications hasn’t been on HBO in years, will return to the pay cable network and its streaming service.

[JamesG]

Garry Shandling's Cause of Death Revealed
by Brittany King
December 27, 2016


Garry Shandling’s cause of death has been revealed. The late comedian died from pulmonary thrombosis, a blood clot that traveled from his leg into his lungs, according to an autopsy report.

Obtained by PEOPLE, the 66-year-old actor’s autopsy report states the star of "The Larry Sanders Show" had a combination of drugs in his system, including Xanax and opiates (codeine/morphine and hydrocodone), at the time of his March death.

The report also states that Shandling had an enlarged heart and that his death has been ruled an “accident” and “natural.”





PEOPLE previously confirmed that Shandling collapsed while on the phone with 911 before being taken to St. Johns hospital in Santa Monica, California, where he died on March 24.

Shandling spoke to a doctor friend before his death, complaining about the discomfort in his legs and shortness of breath.

http://ew.com/tv/2016/12/27/garry-sh...g-cause-death/