On March 18, 1981, an up-and-coming comedian from Tucson, Arizona, named Garry Shandling made his network television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. "Make him feel welcomed," said Carson, who would become a long-time mentor of Shandling's.
Slim, with a puff of wavy hair and a wide, eager smile, Shandling eased into the kind of jokes that would become his signature — sweet yet dark, self-deprecating, and laugh-out-loud funny. Shandling, who died Thursday at the age of 66, would come to be one of comedy's greats. Watch him get his start, below. Lauren Hansen
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