My Favorite Garry Shandling Moment.

It came from an episode of "It's Garry Shandling's Show".
Red Buttons was the guest.
The premise was that Garry had this irrational fear that Red was going to replace him on his own show.
This was buttressed by the rest of the cast totally fawning over Red, and laughing at everything he said.
Once the plot was resolved, and Garry's fears were exposed as imaginary, the last five minutes were devoted to a variation of Red's routine
"They never had a dinner", called "I am everywhere"
It began with Garry asking innocuously "Have you ever been to New York?
Then Red takes over with Garry not being able to say another word.

Red: Are you kidding? Of course I've been to New York. I've been everywhere. I am everywhere.
Of course.
In Harlem, at a reunion of black hockey players for Reagan.
I was hocking, I was pucking, I was black, I was there.
That's why I'm here, right now, with you.
In Beverly Hills, at a Joan Crawford child-slapping contest.
I was childing, I was slapping, I was Joaning, I was Crawfing, I was there.
That's why I'm here. I am everywhere.

There were four or five more examples of this, one funnier than the next.
and all of this played out in a two shot of Garry and Red.
The camera did not move.
And Garry just stood there, and said nothing, looking back and forth between the camera and Red.
He completely laid out for Red.
That just made it funnier.
It was roaringly funny.
Okay, so maybe it was more of a Red Buttons moment, but it wouldn't have been nearly as good if Garry Shandling wasn't playing straight for him.

Of course, Garry was a genius, and this was simply an example of his enormous generosity as a performer.
"The Larry Sanders Show" was a major breakthrough for the sitcom form.
This is a stunning and irretrievable loss.

I will do "Getting a Crap Taken On Me From Two Separate Podcasts, Part Two", next time.
Someone like Garry Shandling just doesn't die every day.

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My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not e-books.
But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@comcast.net

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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