Trivia

In his last appearance on TV in a 20 January 2016 episode of Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars getting Coffee" they talk almost exclusively about death and dying, and what Mr. Shandling wanted at his funeral titled "It great that Garry Shandling is still alive." Three months later he was dead of a heart attack.

Grew up in Tucson, Arizona. He attended Palo Verde High School and the University of Arizona. He initially majored in electrical engineering, but graduated with a degree in marketing. He studied creative writing for a year as a grad student.

Turned down an offer from NBC to take over "Late Night With..." after David Letterman left for CBS, because he was launching The Larry Sanders Show (1992).

Wrote for television early in his career on such shows as Sanford and Son (1972) and Welcome Back, Kotter (1975). An automobile accident left him in critical condition. It was during recovery that he decided to get into stand-up comedy.

He was born to a Jewish family (from Skuodas, Lithuania and Odessa, Ukraine on his father's side, and from Austria, Romania, and Poland on his mother's side).

Older brother Barry died of cystic fibrosis in 1960.

Lived with sometimes co-star, Linda Doucett from 1987-1994. When they broke up, she filed charges against him for sex discrimination and sexual harassment.

Sued former manager Brad Grey, dispute is over talents that Grey met through their business association.

Is portrayed by Stewart Francis in Gilda Radner: It's Always Something (2002).

Friend of Dana Delany.