Larry Sanders (character)

Infobox character


caption=
name = "Larry Sanders"
first = "The Garden Weasel"
last = "Flip"
gender = Male
age = 42 (as of the 1993 episode "The Breakdown (Part One)"), 43 (as of the 1993 episode "Larry's Birthday")
born =
occupation = Host of "The Larry Sanders Show"
family = Jerry Sanders (father)
Stan Sanders (brother)
spouse = Francine (divorced)
Jeannie (divorced)
Roseanne (former fiance)
portrayer = Garry Shandling
creator = Dennis Klein & Garry Shandling

Lawrence "Larry" Sanders (born December 31, 1950 in Mound, Minnesota) is a fictional character played by Garry Shandling on the American television series "The Larry Sanders Show".

Personal history

Larry Sanders has been hosting his own late night talk show, "The Larry Sanders Show", since 1987. It airs at the 11:30 PM timeslot, five days a week, on an unnamed network.

Career history

In "The Garden Weasel," Larry shows his wife Jeannie a commercial that he did for Pan Am in 1979, in which he played a male flight attendant. Also in the episode, Jeannie mentions that Larry once auditioned for the game show "Make Me Laugh". In real life Shandling actually appeared on the show as a celebrity guest.

In the episode "Larry's Partner," it is mentioned that Larry began his career as a standup comedian and as part of a double act with his friend Stan Paxton. Larry and Stan recorded a comedy album together and had a bit called "The Man on the Street Meets the Man on the Moon." Larry broke up his act with Stan 15 years ago because Stan had a serious drinking problem and only joined the business to "get laid."

In "The Promise", it is mentioned that Larry's first television appearance was on "The Merv Griffin Show" and that he later appeared on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson".

Also in the episode, Larry mentions that he discovered comedian David Spade while he was performing at the Comedy Store and gave him his first television appearance on his show. Spade went on to appear on the show at least six more times. Larry feels betrayed by Spade when he learns that Spade had appeared on "The Tonight Show" recently, but he forgives him when he recalls that he did the same thing by appearing on "The Tonight Show" after "The Merv Griffin Show".

In "Out Of The Loop," Larry says he was a writer on "Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop."

Personality

Larry is neurotic and self-involved. He is uncomfortable with displays of emotion and dislikes confrontation, so much so that he often deploys Artie to fight his professional battles for him. He is also very insecure about his appearance: he is always concerned about the size of his "ass", which he thinks is too big, and he was unable to disguise his displeasure at Dana Carvey's impression of him in the show's fourth season. Larry enjoys watching his own show in bed every night, which is something that frustrates his second wife Jeannie. He is addicted to unspecified prescription medications. His personal life is often more dysfunctional than his professional life: he has been married and divorced twice, and he is shown to have trouble developing intimate bonds with other people and is estranged from his family. He dates many women, such as Mimi Rogers, Ellen DeGeneres, and Dana Delany, but these relationships never last and are often doomed by elements of Larry's celebrity or work life. The end of the series provided some hope for Larry; his decision to leave his show seemed to bring him a bit of perspective, and his relationship with Illeana Douglas appeared to be more substantial than his previous attempts at intimacy.

Larry really likes frozen yogurt and often sends his assistant Beverly to get it for him.

Relationships

Hank Kingsley

Hank is Larry's on-air sidekick and announcer. In the episode "The Breakdown (Part One)", it is mentioned that Larry and Hank first met in the spring of 1985. Larry does not respect Hank and thinks that Hank is not very bright. Larry constantly avoids Hank because he does not like dealing with him. However, Hank sometimes acts as a voice of reason for Larry and solves his problems for him, whether intentionally or not. Larry infrequently expresses an underlying affection for Hank, despite finding him intolerable (telling his wife-to-be that he "loves him" in the episode "Hank's Wedding"), and on occasion steps beyond his comfort zone for the sake of their friendship, for example cutting short his much needed vacation in order to attend the grand opening of Hank's 'Look Around Cafe' in "The Grand Opening".

Artie

Larry's producer. Larry depends almost entirely upon Artie to protect him from the network executives and the unpleasant realities of showbusiness. Larry claims he can't do the show without Artie because Artie is so loyal to him. In practice, Artie says what Larry finds too awkward or uncomfortable to say. Artie often colludes with Larry to achieve a desired end, and is the only person in Larry's professional life that can understand and connect with him. Artie has no last name; it is never mentioned in any episode. The characterization of Artie is heavily inspired by Fred DeCordova, Johnny Carson's longtime producer.

Jeannie Sanders

Larry's second wife, Jeannie, leaves him to go to Chicago because she thinks that he is too involved with the show. After she leaves him, Larry takes things very hard and has a minor heart episode.

Francine Sanders

Francine is Larry's first wife, who he begins dating after Jeannie leaves him. Hank and Artie strongly dislike Francine.

Jerry Capen

Jerry serves as the head writer for the show from 1992 to 1993. In the episode "Larry's Birthday", it is mentioned that Larry discovered Jerry when Jerry was performing at the comedy club Catch a Rising Star and hired him as the head writer for his show. Jerry was doing poorly as a comedian and was just about to quit the business before being hired. Due to budgetary reasons, Larry has to fire Jerry and he is unhappy with how bitter Jerry becomes after being fired.

Beverly Barnes

Larry depends upon Beverly to do many simple tasks for him and she is very loyal to him. In the episode "The Breakdown (Part Two)," Larry sleeps with Beverly. Afterwards, they both agree that it was a mistake to sleep together.

tevie Grant

Stevie Grant is Larry's agent, who he hires in the episode "Larry's Agent." Larry becomes unhappy with his previous agent Leo, so he hires Stevie. Stevie is very obnoxious and Artie does not seem to like him very much. However, Stevie is good at what he does initially and he is able to negotiate Larry a very lucrative contract. Larry is impressed by the fact that Stevie represents many high-powered clients. In the episode "The Beginning of the End," Larry fires Stevie after finding out that he double-crossed him by becoming comedian Jon Stewart's agent. Stewart, at this point, is in a position to replace Larry on his talk show; and Stevie negotiates for Stewart rather than Larry before being fired. Grant is believed to be inspired by Ari Emanuel.

Melanie Parrish

Larry feels contempt for Melanie because he tends to dislike network executives. In the episode "The Garden Weasel", she makes him do live commercials on the show against his will. Larry gets into an argument with her afterwards and she punches him in the face.

References