Garry Shandling

Comedian Garry Shandling was born on November 29, 1949, in Chicago, Illinois. Shandling attended the University of Arizona, where he initially majored in electrical engineering. Eventually he switched majors, and after earning a degree in marketing, he studied creative writing for a year. 

Shandling moved to Los Angeles in his mid-twenties, where he put his marketing skills to use at an advertising agency. Shandling soon sold one of the scripts he had written for the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son to the network’s writers. This led Shandling to more writing for other hit television shows, including Welcome Back, Kotter, starring John Travolta, and Three's Company, starring John Ritter. Although sitcom writing proved to be lucrative for Shandling, he began to feel stifled creatively, and soon sought out other comedic outlets.

After a car accident left him in critical condition, Shandling made the decision while in recovery to get into stand-up comedy, beginning with his first stand-up appearance in 1978 at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Shandling toured the country for a few years before being spotted by a talent scout from The Tonight Show, who promptly booked the comedian as a guest host. Shandling would continue to fill in for Johnny Carson regularly, before Jay Leno took over as the show’s host in 1992.

In 1985, Shandling developed his own show, called It's Garry Shandling's Show. The show was a hit, and in 1992, Shandling repeated his small-screen success with the creation of The Larry Sanders Show – also a hit with critics and audiences. The Larry Sanders Show ran on HBO from 1992 to 1998, and was nominated for three Emmys. 

In 1993, NBC attempted to persuade Shandling to return to late-night hosting when they offered him $5 million to take over Late Night following David Letterman’s move to CBS. Shandling declined the offer, which went to Conan O’Brien instead. However, Shandling didn’t give up hosting duties altogether. He hosted both the Grammy Awards from 1990 to 1995 and the Emmy Awards in 2000 and 2004.

In 2006, Shandling joined a diverse cast including Bruce Willis, Steve Carell, Avril Lavigne, and William Shatner in lending his voice to the animalistic animated picture, Over the Hedge.