Look, when Malcolm McDowell was asked if Kubrick was a genius, he said nope.
Da Vinci, Michelangelo, those guys were genius. Kubrick was a masterful film maker, but for the sake of the term itself, settle down with the praise.
I loved Garry Shandling and he created 2 sitcoms that redefined comedy as we know it. In my book, he's up there with Pryor and Carlin and neither were genius.
But..THE GUY JUST DIED A FEW DAYS AGO.ALLOW THOSE WHO LOVED HIM TO DEFINE HIS BRILLIANCE HOWEVER THE F#%K THEY WANNA..ATLEAST UNTILL HIS BODY COOLS DOWN.
thanks

the gary shandling show more so paved the way for curb, seinfeld and the office.

When Tambor started playing a transvestite, I lost all respect.
"
Guys like you don't die on toilets
." Mel Gibson-Riggs, Lethal Weapon

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I loved The Larry Sanders Show, but yeah, they're kind of overstating his genius. He was really a far better comedic writer than he was a comedic performer. I'd say Jeffrey Tambor was a far better performer on the show.
My favorite New York moments:

David Brenner was described as being influential as well when he passed away approximately two years ago.
When Brenner passed away, at first I thought it was Shandling. They're similar. I found both to be unfunny.
I've always thought of them as being on a lower tier than comedians like Carlin, Pryor or Cosb16d0y. I always thought of Brenner and Shandling as D-listers from their standup acts.

Well, when anyone dies they tend to lay it on "thick." He really was at one time one of the most popular comedians in this country and beyond. Problem was he faded over the last twenty years. IMHO people in his comedic circle (like Bill Maher) really appreciated him, and it showed in their kind words. Top three? I don't know about that. That's so subjective.like I posted earlier, it always sucks when someone has to die for them to be appreciated. Now, personally I'd put Richard Pryor in my top 3, but when he died I hardly remember much of a fussguess because everyone knew it was coming.
Dave "Crown Time" Blankenship for Time Man of the Year.

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Good list. I would remove Rock / Miller and add Pryor, or at least the pre freebasing accident Pryor (He got too preachy after that and allowed himself to be in a bunch of garbage movies). Not saying Miller / Rock aren't good but I wouldn't put them at the top of my list.
I added Rock because obits were talking about comics from Shandling's era, and Pryor was at his peak before then.
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Top three? Hell, I'll give you four.

1. 1980s George Carlin (as opposed to his earlier versions)
2. Dennis Miller
3. Chris Rock
4. Sam Kinison
   Good list. I would remove Rock / Miller and add Pryor, or at least the pre freebasing accident Pryor (He got too preachy after that and allowed himself to be in a bunch of garbage movies). Not saying Miller / Rock aren't good but I wouldn't put them at the top of my list.

OKgood. As I said.just curious.
Pretty good list there. (80s Carlin was my favorite version of him as well)
Yeah, that was when he was beginning to get angry, but didn't become the bitter misanthrope that he became in the 90s.
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Top three? Hell, I'll give you four.

1. 1980s George Carlin (as opposed to his earlier versions)
2. Dennis Miller
3. Chris Rock
4. Sam Kinison
   OKgood. As I said.just curious.
   Pretty good list there. (80s Carlin was my favorite version of him as well)

The word genius is probably thrown around too loosely about many people. But Shandling was a brilliant guy, Larry sanders is the smartest, darkest, funniest sitcom ever, but not in the typical broad way. It was incredibly influential on Curb, Louis, and others.

Letterman absolutely was a standup.
Also, the title of the show was "It's Garry Shandling's Show," not "The Gary Shandling Show."

1. Redd Foxx
2. David Letterman
3. Johnny Carson
   Good choices, but the reason why Ida0 didn't mention them is that Letterman and Carson were never standups (obits were calling Shandler the most influential comic), and Redd Foxx spanned back to the 1950s. He wasn't really part of the 80s standup scene.
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Who's on your top three list? Just curious
Top three? Hell, I'll give you four.

1. 1980s George Carlin (as opposed to his earlier versions)
2. Dennis Miller
3. Chris Rock
4. Sam Kinison
   All of these guys influenced stand ups in some form or another. For example, "angry" comics like Lewis Black are basically incarnations of George Carlin, and any political comic that has a laid back, snarky, yet intellectual air can be traced back to Dennis Miller (for example, Bill Maher).
   Who did Shandling influence to such an extent that we can argue that he was one of the top three influential of the 80s and 90s?
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Top three? Really? Of the 1980s and '90s?
Who's on your top three list? Just curious

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Garry wasn't particularly relevant in the 21st century, but he's everything they say he is.
"I said no camels, that's five camels, can't you count?"

atomicgirl, the comeback "I was doing
x
when you were in diapers" is trite and makes you sound even older than you probably are.

Be careful telling atomicgirl24-894-130281 something she(?) may already know as you can see how mentally unstable she is.

I know a lot more about Gary Shandling than you do.
Yep, you know so much you can't even properly spell his first name. Anyway, I think it's part of the natural order for celebrity obits to be laid on a bit thick so to speak. In Shandling's case I don't think it's too terribly thick, he did create two unique and very funny shows. It's easy to find comedic hacks, Shandling most certainly was not one of them.