Garry Shandling’s A-List Memorial
At Garry Shandling’s star-studded memorial service on Sunday night at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, a buddhist monk, cloaked in a traditional brown robe and sporting the traditional shaved head, walked to the stage more than halfway through the three-hour event and praised the star, a longtime buddhist, for his dedication and service to the Deer Park Monastery outside San Diego.
During the five minutes that he shared his views with other attendees, he offered his religion’s highest compliment to the late comedian who passed away suddenly from a heart attack on March 24 at the age of 66, calling Shandling, “a real human being.”
That is precisely who was honored on Sunday night, a real human being, celebrated in front of nearly 500 of his closest friends, colleagues, associates and admirers. More than a dozen of them took the stage to help paint a 360-degree portrait of a man who was at times lauded for his comedic genius, roasted for his neuroses (associated largely with intimacy issues), admired for his spirituality and above all, applauded for his ability to be the best friend, mentor and comedy writer around.