Beloved Comedian Garry Shandling Dies at 66

[fariha baig]

From his reinvention of TV comedy to his scene-stealing moments in blockbuster movies, the stand-up comic, actor and Emmy Award-winning writer made a name for himself with dry wit, sharp writing, anxious antics onstage and an easy-going attitude off it.

Countless comedy peers, including Albert Brooks and Jimmy Kimmel, mourned the loss as news spread Thursday afternoon on Twitter.

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[/FONT]Although Shandling's life was full of professional accolades and accomplishments including hosting the Grammys, Emmys and "Saturday Night Live" here are five of his most memorable.


Premiering Jan. 20, the ominously titled "It's Great That Garry Shandling is Still Alive" is full of laughs, but also shows Shandling's pensive side. The two comedians get nostalgic upon their return to the adjacent Hollywood lots where their TV shows were filmed. Shandling looks solemn while reading the neon-emblazoned names of comics surrounding the stage of the legendary Comedy Store, where Shandling got the invitation to do his first "Tonight Show" performance, noting, "It's like every other person has passed away."

He later makes a point to mourn David Brenner and Robin Williams. "That [comedic] material, and your material, is purely a vehicle for you to express your spirit, and your soul and your being," Shandling tells Seinfeld. "It doesn't have any value beyond you expressing yourself spiritually, in a very soulful, spiritual way. It's why you're on the planet." He adds that when a news anchor reported that Williams died at age 63, "I realized, '63 is so young' is a phrase you never hear relative to anything but death."

Replies Seinfeld, "You have to die in your 60s for someone to say, 'Wow, he was young.'"The video concludes with Shandling's story about an odd interaction with a medical technician. "He said, 'I did a CT scan a year ago of you,'" Shandling recalled. "He said, 'Do you have cancer?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Oh, good, so you're still alive. I was watching the news, and it seemed like if you'd have passed away, I'd have heard about it on the news.' And I said, 'Well, I don't know, man. I mean, uh, I don't know if they would have broken in or anything.'"


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