Comedian Garry Shandling has died, aged 66.
According to TMZ, the popular comedian, actor, writer and producer died earlier today at a hospital in Los Angeles.
“Comedian Garry Shandling died at an L.A. area hospital on Thursday,” they revealed. “The 66-year-old star was not suffering from any illness… as far as we know… so, it appears this was sudden. A source connected to Shandling says he was healthy and speaking to people on Thursday morning.”
“Our source says there was a 911 call from The Larry Sanders Show star’s home, and he was transported to the hospital,” they added. At the time of writing, a cause of death has not been revealed.
Of course, Shandling was best known for It’s Garry Shandling’s Show but also made appearances in numerous Hollywood movies, and appeared as Senator Stern in Iron Man 2 as well as Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
He also appeared in comedy flick The Dictator opposite Sacha Baron Cohen and appeared as himself in the cult comedy, Zoolander. Shandling even turned his hand to voice acting, with a role in the animated movie, Over the Hedge.
Perhaps his most important accomplishment came with The Larry Sanders Show on HBO, which ran from 1992 to 1998. He both starred in and co-created the hit US comedy, set in the office of a fictional late-night talk show, with Dennis Klein.
The Larry Sanders Show is often said to have left a lasting impact on American comedy and influenced other shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm. It also appeared in Time’s 100 Best TV Shows of All Time.
Most recently, Shandling was offered a whopping $5 million to take over Late Night from previous host, David Letterman… but Shandling declined.
Our thoughts are with his family at this time.
Garry Shandling died 24 March 2016.
