Garry Shandling’s passing has really driven home how much the 66-year-old comedian was revered by his peers and another tribute has arrived from late night courtesy of The Tonight Show.
Joining the ranks of Conan O’ Brien, Seth Meyers and Bill Maher, Jimmy Fallon took time out on his talk show to pay homage to Shandling. The tribute served up by Fallon was a mixture of vintage footage, warm recollections and a loving rendition of the It’s Garry Shandling’s Show theme in a combo performance with The Roots.
Fallon’s five-minute plus tribute featured a healthy chunklet of Shandling’s first-ever Tonight Show appearance back in 1981 complete with Johnny Carson’s introduction of the comic ahead of this milestone moment. The clip was followed up with Fallon gushing with memories of Shandling’s work complete with hearty endorsements of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (a program Fallon considers to have the funniest theme song ever) and The Larry Sanders Show.
“He was just the best. I would just love him. He’s one of the greatest stand-up comedians ever. If you’re thinking about getting into stand-up comedy or if you just like watching it, you can’t go through it without seeing Garry Shandling and studying this guy.”
Viewers were encouraged to check out memorable Shandling Tonight Show moments on the chat show’s website with a recommendation from Fallon: “If you leave a comment, just say how nice his hair looks. He’d like that.” It’s an awfully sweet tribute and worthy of a watch if you’d like to hit play on the video nestled at the top of this post.
