Comedian Garry Shandling

Comedian Garry Shandling dies at 66

Alexandra Le Tellier and Yvonne Villarreal Contact Reporter

Comedian Garry Shandling has died at the age of 66.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that Shandling, known for “The Larry Sanders Show" and “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” on cable television, was transferred by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died. No cause of death was announced.

No additional details were immediately available. Calls to Shandling’s publicist were not immediately returned.

Shandling, whose comedic career spanned decades, most recently appeared in “Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War” and “Iron Man 2,”as well as cameo bits in “The Dictator” and “Zoolander.”

Friends immediately took to social media to express their condolences and remember the actor with a biting sense of humor. “Garry Shandling was as kind and generous as he was funny and that is saying a lot,” Jimmy Kimmel tweeted. Added Albert Brooks on Twitter: “Brilliantly funny and such a great guy. He will be so missed.”

Born in in Chicago, Shandling’s family would later move to Tuscon, Ariz., to seek treatment for his older brother Barry, who suffered from cystic fibrosis. (Barry died at age 10).

Shandling moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s to pursue a career in comedy writing. He cut his teeth by writing ad copy before eventually landing staff writing jobs on sitcoms like “Sandford and Son” and “Welcome Back, Kotter.”

The comedian had a brush with death in 1977, when he was 27, when he was involved in a series car accident in Beverly Hills. The incident prompted Shandling to focus on building a career as a stand-up comedian. He landed gigs at the Comedy Store in L.A. and cultivated a stage persona that played up his real-life neuroses.

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