Legendary comedian Garry Shandling died Thursday at the age of 66.
Shandling was an innovative comedian and writer who influenced a generation of comedians, a few of whom paid tribute to Shandling on Thursday night.
First up, “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Seth Meyers on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers”:
Next, Conan O’Brien paid tribute to Shandling three hours after he found out and said it didn’t “feel real.” O’Brien said Shandling was there for him after his tenure at the “Tonight Show” collapsed:
O’Brien also aired one of his favorite conversations between himself and Shandling:
Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore tweeted his tribute:
So saddened by the loss of Garry Shandling. His sneaky wit, self deprecating charm, and neurotic humor always made me laugh. True original.
— Larry Wilmore (@larrywilmore) March 24, 2016
Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” on NBC was filmed before the news broke, so the show opened with this card instead:
RIP to a true comic innovator.
I’m pretty sure the word is “legendary,” not “legandary.”
It’s a puzzle that Trump hasn’t sent out a mean tweet about Shandling.
Beverly - BEVERLY? Look at this, will you? Has Artie seen this? What - Angie Dickinson AGAIN? Look, can we at least spell “LEGENDARY” with one less “A”, otherwise we come across like we’re hosting Mayor Rob Ford’s wake. And tell Hank we’re firing his idiot nephew.
If you didn’t see Lawrence O’Donnell’s tribute to Shandling on MSNBC, you missed one of the creepiest I’ve ever seen. O’Donnell was gushing so much that I thought he and Shandling were close friends. Find out that O’Donnell used to see him on the street while walking to Starbucks and maybe said a couple of words to him on occasion. O’Donnell went on and on and on like a pathetic fanboy. Just horrible.
I never met Shandling, and I’m pretty sure if having seen him somewhere in LA or Arizona - which I did a few times - if I’d approached him and started talking, he’d look at me like I might be a John Lennon assassin type and find a way to scuttle away before things went from awkward - which he liked; he was an aficionado of awkward, so long as it was funny - to threatening. So, I actually identified with O’Donnell’s admission of regret, and I suppose it just goes to show it takes all kinds to make up this species, which is, on the whole, a good thing.