The Larry We Loved

By JAMES COLLINS

Ask Garry Shandling to reflect on The Larry Sanders Show, his inspired comedy about an insecure, manipulative, talk-show host that is ending its six-year run on HBO this week, and he won't tell you about making people laugh or satirizing show business; he will talk about "the core of human existence." Recalling the show's origins, he will say, "I wanted to do a project that dealt in a deeper way with human behavior...I wanted to be more deeply challenged as an artist." He will mention his "steadfast vision" for the show--that it would be a "constant exploration of the characters." Who would guess Shandling was talking about a series whose classic lines include "Sex isn't dirty. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults."

Usually when a comedian speaks with great seriousness about his art, he is either being totally insincere or has fallen victim to a modern cliche, the clown who's laughing on the outside and thinking on the inside. In the case of Shandling, though, the sentiments seem both authentic and well considered. It's not always true, as the shibboleth holds, that the best comedy grows out of characters, not jokes, but the characters on Larry Sanders really are what make it so funny. The one-liners, the self-mocking guest stars, the setting so rich in hypocrisy--these would have been enough to make Larry Sanders a very clever show; the human-behavior bit has made it a classic.

Unlike some final episodes we could mention, the last Larry Sanders puts all the virtues of the show on display. Larry's talk show is ending as well, and he is nervous about who will appear on the final night. There are some perfect moments of celebrity humiliation: Larry chases Warren Beatty in the parking lot and asks him to be a guest to say goodbye. Beatty says, "I could say goodbye to you now." Larry's needy sidekick, Hank, and his blustering producer, Artie, have always been at the center of the show, and in the last episode too they have wonderful scenes. Artie bucks up Larry when it turns out that Clint Black will serenade him, instead of a female singer; Hank asks Larry, "At what point in the show will you thank me?"

Asked what has given him the most satisfaction about Larry Sanders, Shandling cites "the casting and the honesty of the acting." He is right to be proud. As Hank and Artie, Jeffrey Tambor and Rip Torn have been doing some of the best acting on television. When Tambor quietly boasts in one episode, "I've lost upward of 14 pounds," a whole life seems to support the line. Torn's Artie is an amazing creation, a veteran of an earlier, Chivas-fueled Hollywood generation who cajoles and bullies Larry but can look at him with a momentary expression of pure protectiveness and even love.

Shandling held his own with these two. There is an episode in which a staff member runs down a list of possible guest hosts while another keeps responding, "Threatens Larry...Threatens Larry," and Shandling's slightly wide-eyed expression (more pronounced in a face that seems to carry three extra layers of flesh) perfectly conveys the sense that Larry is always threatened--by the chance his girlfriend Illeanna Douglas will make a bad guest or that George Segal will be booked again.

Worn out by producing, writing and performing, Shandling decided a few months ago to end the show. Negotiations to syndicate it--with the foul language edited out--have begun. Shandling's own plans are vague. The most pressing matter is his legal battle with his former manager, Brad Grey, whom he has sued for $100 million, accusing Grey of, among much else, luring writers away from Larry Sanders to create shows for Grey's TV studio. Grey denies the allegations, and Shandling won't comment. Otherwise, he has a part in Hurlyburly, a just wrapped film based on the David Rabe play, and he is developing a movie script about an alien who visits earth, a project that has been in the works for years. So his career seems uncertain. But who cares? Shandling's show was better than 99% of everything that's ever been on TV. That should be enough for us, even if it isn't enough for him.