Garry Shandling (born November 29, 1949) is an American comedian. He was the star of It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show, and ranked #30 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. Shandling's influences include Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Johnny Carson.

Early Life

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Shandling was born to a Jewish American family in Chicago, Illinois and attended the University of Arizona, at first majoring in electrical engineering, but eventually completing a degree in marketing and pursuing a year of post-graduate studies in creative writing.

Sitcom Writing

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In 1973, Shandling moved to Los Angeles, made contact with George Carlin after catching one of his shows, worked at an ad agency for a time, then sold a script to the writers on what was then one of the hottest shows on network television, the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son. Shandling's script became "Sanford and the Rising Son," the episode in which Ah Chew (played by Pat Morita) turned Fred Sanford's house into a Chinese restaurant (broadcast in November 1975). After his Sanford and Son success, Shandling got more work, writing numerous scripts for other hit sitcoms of the time, including Welcome Back, Kotter and Three's Company.

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