aswhitesell's review
My genuine thanks to Random House for sending me "It's Garry Shandling's Book" in a Goodreads giveaway.
It will take a while to go through it thoroughly, because it is so thoroughly researched and beautifully presented. I was a huge fan of It's Garry Shandling's Show because it broke all the rules about television, primarily in how it broke down the 4th wall. The home audience was part of the show. This book reads the same way, breaking down the wall between public and private persona. We hear from all the industry greats who worked with Garry, and see through countless pictures, what led to the creative genius behind that show and The Larry Sanders Show. For example, I didn't realize that Garry wanted The Tonight Show when Carson left. And when Garry didn't get it, it spurred the creation of The Larry Sanders Show - a show about a guy with a talk show.
Most of the pages are supplemented with examples of Garry's handwritten notes, showing his thought process. We often think that because someone is publicly "on" whenever we see them, that they are instantly and automatically that way all the time. I love these notes, for telling the story himself. Seems like the book is built around them, and it's perfect.
It will take a while to go through it thoroughly, because it is so thoroughly researched and beautifully presented. I was a huge fan of It's Garry Shandling's Show because it broke all the rules about television, primarily in how it broke down the 4th wall. The home audience was part of the show. This book reads the same way, breaking down the wall between public and private persona. We hear from all the industry greats who worked with Garry, and see through countless pictures, what led to the creative genius behind that show and The Larry Sanders Show. For example, I didn't realize that Garry wanted The Tonight Show when Carson left. And when Garry didn't get it, it spurred the creation of The Larry Sanders Show - a show about a guy with a talk show.
Most of the pages are supplemented with examples of Garry's handwritten notes, showing his thought process. We often think that because someone is publicly "on" whenever we see them, that they are instantly and automatically that way all the time. I love these notes, for telling the story himself. Seems like the book is built around them, and it's perfect.
msand3's review
5.0
Judd Apatow has done a great honor to Garry Shandling and given a gift to his fans with both this book and the accompanying documentary. This is a massive 400+ pages of personal reflections, diary entries, letters, jokes, scripts, and other documents that chronologically present Shandling’s personal life and career. We get full color photos and scans of many writings in Shandling’s own handwriting, as well as remembrances from some of Shandling’s family and friends. It is at once a tribute, memoir, biography, autobiography, scrap book, and oral history all rolled into one.
The book ultimately reveals a brilliant, sensitive, empathetic, self-reflective man whose private struggles informed both his comedy and his worldview. Rather than allowing his mistakes and set-backs to hold him down or to become fatal flaws (like so many entertainers -- especially comedians) Shandling turned these moments into ways to improve his life and generate the wisdom needed to adapt and grow. There are so many pieces of learned insight and philosophical musing in this book that surpass anything you might read in a self-help book, mostly because these reflections were meant for an audience of one; but such personal epiphanies are precisely those that can be universal and lasting when shared with others. We are lucky enough to share in Shandling’s life experiences through this book. It’s a rare instance when a deep look into the life of one of your favorite performers reveals a better person than what you saw in public -- and that’s saying a lot, since Shandling’s public persona was always wonderful and highly regarded to begin with.
The book ultimately reveals a brilliant, sensitive, empathetic, self-reflective man whose private struggles informed both his comedy and his worldview. Rather than allowing his mistakes and set-backs to hold him down or to become fatal flaws (like so many entertainers -- especially comedians) Shandling turned these moments into ways to improve his life and generate the wisdom needed to adapt and grow. There are so many pieces of learned insight and philosophical musing in this book that surpass anything you might read in a self-help book, mostly because these reflections were meant for an audience of one; but such personal epiphanies are precisely those that can be universal and lasting when shared with others. We are lucky enough to share in Shandling’s life experiences through this book. It’s a rare instance when a deep look into the life of one of your favorite performers reveals a better person than what you saw in public -- and that’s saying a lot, since Shandling’s public persona was always wonderful and highly regarded to begin with.
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