August 15, 1992 - May 31, 1998
HBO Situation Comedy - 89 Episodes
Cast:
| Larry Sanders: | Garry Shandling |
| Arthur: | Rip Torn |
| Hank Kingsley: | Jeffrey Tambor |
| Beverly Barnes: | Penny Johnson |
| Phil: | Wallace Langham |
| Paula: | Janeane Garofalo |
| Jeannie Sanders: | Megan Gallagher |
| Francine Sanders: | Kathryn Harrold |
| Jerry Capen: | Jeremy Piven |
| Darlene: | Linda Doucett |
| Brian: | Scott Thompson |
| Mary Lou: | Mary Lynn Rajskub |
| Sid: | Sid Newman |
Shandling's satire of late-night talk shows was free
from censorship and ratings constraints. As Shandling
explained in 1994: "We can show people in the show-business
world talking as they really do, which does include profanity.
Also, we explore a dark side of people's personalities that
often network shows aren't willing to explore,
because it is not always pleasant."
Arthur is the war-horse Producer of "The Larry Sanders Show."
He oversees all aspects of the show's production.
To the uninitiated, it may seem that the job "talk show sidekick"
is as easy as falling off a log. Well, Hank Kingsley has done
both, and that makes him uniquely qualified to tell you that
there's nothing "easy" about either one.
Along with Arthur, the staffer upon whom Larry most depends is
his personal assistant, Beverly. Beverly says that from the
moment she first met Larry -- when he came to her interview in
genie pants and a turban -- she knew she wanted to work for him.
Since that fateful meeting some years ago, Beverly has proven
herself an irreplaceable asset to the Larry Sanders team.
A native of British Columbia and formerly the personal assistant
to Barbra Streisand's personal assistant, Brian is now Guy
Friday to none other than Hank Kingsley -- a man whose fan he's
been since way back when Hank was the host of "Double Danger!"
Phil is the Head Writer it's his job to assist Larry in coming
up with jokes for his monologues and write the hilarious
sketches that are such a renowned part of the show. When
Larry takes that ball and scores with the audience,
Phil knows that he has done his job.
If there were a "Miss Congeniality" award to be given to a
member of the Larry Sanders staff, it would definitely go
to the talent booker, Paula. She knows so many showbiz
personalities that it's said there are only two degrees of
separation between Paula and anyone in tinseltown! In the
many years that she's been working on the show, Paula has
booked everyone from Elvis Costello to Angie Dickinson to
the dog that drinks coffee while it smokes a cigarette.
The conceit of the guest star-laden Sanders Show is to switch
between the talk show itself and the backstage back-biting
of Larry, his loyal producer, obsequious announcer, and
assorted wives, agents, and staffers. Rarely has so much
discomfort been mined in the name of comedy. Shandling
himself shows an admirable willingness to let himself
look bad, at times taking his trademark self-deprecating
shtick to almost self-immolating proportions.
Click HERE to download theme song.
(Theme song provided by Todd Fuller's Sitcoms Online.)
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Episode Guide
From EpGuides.com
The Larry Sanders Show
By TV.com
The Larry Sanders Show
From Wikipedia
The Larry Sanders Show Message Board
From Todd Fuller's Sitcoms Online
These links were last tested November 2001.
Check out this classic TV Guide cover...
