The great Garry Shandling describing Rip Torn’s audition for “The Larry Sanders Show”:
Rip came in for the first time, and his agent said he wouldn’t read. Weeks later it was just him and me in a room with no one else, and I said to Rip, “Could we read half of this together?” And he said, “I don’t want to read.” I said, “That’s totally fine,” and I pushed it to the side of the table. We talked for less than another minute, and he reached over and took the page, and he starts the scene. It’s like trying to describe a good date to a friend the next day. I had to say to HBO and everybody else, “Honestly, this is the best sex I have had.”
[From Garry Shandling Recalls ‘Larry Sanders,’ – NYTimes.com]
“The Larry Sanders Show” is finally getting the full DVD treatment (I am a happy owner of Season One). And, oh man, I’ve just discovered that the complete “It’s Gary Shandling’s Show” is on Region 1 DVD. Must. Have.
And on the subject of “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”, here’s the famous theme tune:
[audio:https://funeralsandsnakes.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Its-Garry-Shandlings-Show.mp3]And while we’re on the subject of Garry, please read this extended interview with the man at GQ. That is all.
“The direction I’m going in is eventually you won’t know if it’s a joke or not,” he explains, describing his new act, which he has been quietly testing in clubs where his name never appears on the marquee. “What I want to happen is that I talk for an hour and the audience doesn’t realize it is funny until they’re driving home.”