Stand-up Comedy
In an interview, he said that he became a stand-up comedian because he was frustrated by situation comedy's formulaic writing. In 1978, Shandling performed his first stand-up routine at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
In 1979, Shandling was one of about eighteen comedians who crossed the picket line during the (CFC) Comedians for Compensation strike. Other notable comics to have done so included Yakoff Smirnoff and Mike Binder. According to William Knodelseder's I'm Dying Up Here, before the strike, Mitzi Shore had not booked Shandling in the Comedy Store's regular lineup. Shandling is the descendant of a notable family with holdings in manufacturing, which may have led to anti-union views and he may have been using the stand-up comics striking as an opportunity to get out of sitcom writing by getting noticed as a stand-up comedian.
His persona was an anxiety-ridden, grimacing, guarded, confused man on the verge of losing control. After a couple of years on the road, a talent scout from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson caught his act and booked him to appear as a guest host on March 18, 1981. Shandling began substituting for Carson on a regular basis, along with Joan Rivers, until 1985.
In 1984, he performed his first stand-up special, Garry Shandling: Alone in Vegas, for Showtime, followed by a second televised special in 1986, The Garry Shandling Show: 25th Anniversary Special, also for Showtime. In 1991, a third special, Garry Shandling: Stand-Up, was part of the HBO Comedy Hour.
Shandling still performs stand-up comedy and tours the U.S. each year. He also continues to perform on various television talk shows. Some of his stand-up performances can be viewed on YouTube, including his first appearance on The Tonight Show and some of his Comic Relief act.
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