03/25/2016
Comedian, actor, and TV personality Garry Shandling, ex-KD6OY, died March 24
after suffering an apparent heart attack in Los Angeles. He was 66. Shandling
became a ham as a teenager in the 1960s, long before he entered show business.
"When I was 13 I had a ham radio set (true!), so I could sit in my room and
talk to people the world-over. Geeky? Or just ahead of my time!!?" Shandling
had tweeted in May 2011.
Shandling grew up in Arizona and majored in electrical engineering at the
University of Arizona. But went on to earn a degree in marketing and complete
some post-graduate work in creative writing. He worked in marketing for a time,
but a script he wrote for "Sanford and Son" turned into his first big break
into entertainment.
His most-recent Amateur Radio license - issued to him under a pseudonym, Dave
Waddell - expired in August 2009. The call sign was KQ6KA. Shandling obtained
the call sign under an assumed name, so that he could get on the air without
anyone recognizing him as a celebrity. Shandling had held an Advanced class
license. Prior to that, he held KD6OY under his real name, as well as WA7BKG,
which may have been his first call sign while he was living in Arizona.
He had an alter-ego on television as well. On "It's Garry Shandling's Show," he
played a comedian much like himself. "The Larry Sanders Show" followed, and in
that popular HBO series, he played a late-night talk show host, sometimes
parodying or spoofing the real late-night talk shows and their hosts. Shandling
was a frequent fill in for Johnny Carson, and at one time he was considered as
Carson's possible successor on "The Tonight Show.
Shandling won five Emmy Awards - three for "The Larry Sanders Show" - as well
as other awards for his writing and comedy performances. As a writer, he may be
best known for his work on episodes of "Sanford and Son," "Welcome Back,
Kotter," and "The Harvey Korman Show." He won two Peabody Awards. He also
appeared in a variety of movies, including "Iron Man 2."
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