Garry Shandling - Biography

• Garry Shandling was born in Chicago but raised in Tucson, Arizona.
• He became a comedy and sitcom writer in 1973, writing for shows like Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter.
• In 1978, Shandling began performing stand-up in L.A. nightclubs.
• By the early 1980s, he became a regular on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and even became a regular fill-in for the show's host.
• He created his own starring sitcom, It's Garry Shandling's Show, for Showtime in 1985. The show ran until 1990.
• In 1992, Shandling created another hit cable sitcom, The Larry Sanders Show, for HBO. It ran until 1998.

By the early '80s, Shandling had become a very popular stand-up and was chosen to act as guest host for an absent Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Shandling's returned regularly as a fill-in host until 1985.

In 1985, Shandling and co-writer Alan Zweibel created It's Garry Shandling's Show, a half-hour sitcom for the cable channel Showtime. The groundbreaking series was a meta-sitcom, with endless jokes about the format's conventions and Shandling speaking directly to the audience. The series received four Emmy nominations during its run, which lasted until 1990.

Read more about It's Garry Shandling's Show

In 1984, Shandling taped his first stand-up special, Garry Shandling: Alone in Vegas, for Showtime. Two more stand-up specials would ultimately follow: The Garry Shandling Show: 25th Anniversary Special in 1986 (also on Showtime) and Garry Shandling: Stand-up for HBO in 1991.

Following his HBO special in 1991, Shandling developed a new series for the cable network a year later. The Larry Sanders Show, following the backstage exploits of a fictional, Tonight Show-like talk show (hosted by Shandling's alter ego, Larry Sanders), was a commercial success and critical darling until its run ended in 1998.

• Shandling was nominated for an Emmy for his performance on It's Garry Shandling's Show (which received four nominations total). He also received two Cable Ace Awards for his performance, while the series received another two awards for Best Comedy Series.
• The Larry Sanders Show received 56 Emmy nominations during its run, but only three wins. He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, won eight Cable Ace Awards and two American Comedy Awards for his work on Larry Sanders.
• At one time, Shandling was considered as David Letterman's successor as the host of Late Night on NBC.
• He acted as host of the Grammy Awards from 1990 to 1995, and twice hosted the Emmys (in 2000 and 2004).
• He has occasionally acted in films, including Town & Country, Hurlyburly and What Planet Are You From>, for which he wrote the screenplay.