Comedians Recall The Brilliance Of Colleague Garry Shandling
HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — The comic world remembered Garry Shandling Thursday as one of the funniest storytellers in the business.
The 66-year-old comic genius who wrung easy laughs out of paranoia and low self-esteem was a beloved and influential stand-up comic, actor and writer.
Thursday night, Shandling's fans and friends remembered his remarkable career.
"All of stand-up comedy, you see the influence, I see the influence he had on comedians. It's tremendous now," said Jamie Masada, founder of the Laugh Factory, a popular club where Shandling often performed.
Masada said that every time Shandling took the stage, the crowd couldn't get enough.
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"His storytelling people relate to and that was the most important thing. He was very honest about everything he talked about on stage; he was very honest about it, and that's why people connected," Masada said.
Outside the Comedy Store in West Hollywood, comedian Pauly Shore reacted to Shandling's passing.
"Larry David, and before all those guys, he started that whole kind of style. It's terrible; he's a very close friend of the Comedy Store," said Shore.
Shandling was best known for his work on "The Larry Sanders Show," one of HBO's first successful scripted series that won three Emmys.
Before landing his own show, Shandling established himself in stand-up, appearing on "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson." And he was a regular on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
He was with friends just days ago. This afternoon, Kathy Griffin re-posted a picture on Twitter saying: "Sunday, my longtime friend Garry Shandling was here, making every1 laugh. I loved him. I'll miss our talks the most."
One of his last appearances was in a recent episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, longtime friend Jerry Seinfeld's web series. The two went down memory lane as they visited the places that helped shape their careers.
Shandling also hosted the Emmys, Grammys and "Saturday Night Live." But Masada believes his biggest joy was being on stage.
"He had that energy and smile on his face, you knew he really enjoyed he was doing on stage making people laugh," Masada said.