Comedian Garry Shandling Dies at 66

LOS ANGELES, CA -Comedian Garry Shandling, whose three-decade career was marked by appearances on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” and included the widely acclaimed talk show spoof, "The Larry Sanders Show," died Thursday.

He was 66 years old.

As first reported by TMZ, the star of the "The Larry Sanders Show" was not known to be suffering from any illness, making his sudden passing a shock to loved ones and fans.

An ambulance was called to Shandling's Los Angeles home Thursday morning, and he was rushed to the hospital where he died, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

A comedian’s comedian, Shandling earned a cult following throughout his career. Upon his passing, many comedians credited him as their mentor and idol Thursday.

“He was a comedy idol of mine. He leaves behind the greatest single-camera comedy of all time,” tweeted “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane.

Jimmy Kimmel tweeted, "Garry Shandling was as kind and generous as he was funny and that is saying a lot."

A Jewish native of Chicago, Shandling got his start writing for shows such as Welcome Back, Kotter'' and ``Sanford and Son.'' He started doing standup on amateur night at The Comedy Store in LA, and it wasn’t long before he caught the attention of Johnny Carson, doing standup on ``The Tonight Show,'' and frequently guest hosting.

The experience would become comedy fodder for Shandling who broke into his own with the “It's Garry Shandling's Show,'' followed by Emmy winning HBO series “The Larry Sanders Show.”

While the quirky “It's Garry Shandling's Show,” of the 1980s earned Shandling a cult following for his deadpan delivery and dorky persona, it was HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show” that introduced him to wider audiences in the 1990s.

A who’s who of comedians from Carol Burnett to Robin Williams guest starred on the spoof, playing on the absurdity behind late night talk shows. Jeffrey Tambor played Shandling’s Ed McMahon.

More recently, Shandling played small roles in a string of films, ``Captain America: The Winter Soldier,'' ``Iron Man 2,'' ``Zoolander'' and``Trust the Man.''

However, Shandling was best at improv, delivering quirky one-liners like, “I'm very loyal in relationships. Even when I go out with my mom I don't look at other moms,” and, “My friends tell me I have an intimacy problem. But they don't really know me.”

But Shandling, who endured being a witness in the high-profile wiretap trial of celebrity private investigator Anthony Pellicano, could be very candid about his personal life and motivations.

“Without comedy as a defense mechanism I wouldn't be able to survive,” he once said.

Often playing characters based upon himself, he mastered the quirky nice-guy persona, noting, “Nice guys finish first. If you don't know that, then you don't know where the finish line is.”

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. PLEASE REFRESH THE SCREEN FOR UPDATES.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons