Comedy legend Garry Shandling dies at 66

(Image credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

published 24 March 2016

Comedy legend Garry Shandling has died at the age of 66. No cause of death was given, and Shandling was not publicly known to be ill.

Shandling began his Hollywood career as a writer, with credits on '70s sitcoms Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter. After a stint as a stand-up comic, Shandling hit mainstream success as the creator and star of his first major sitcom: It's Garry Shandling's Show, which aired on Showtime from 1986 to 1990, and became a critical darling for its fourth-wall breaking storytelling.

Shandling's second major sitcom was The Larry Sanders Show, which aired on HBO from 1992 to 1998. The series, which chronicled the behind-the-scenes drama at a fictional late-night show, was a critical smash, and was roundly praised for pushing the then-entrenched boundaries of the TV sitcom. It also earned Shandling multiple offers to host an actual late-night series — an opportunity he always declined.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

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