Jeff Garlin

Infobox actor
name = Jeff Garlin

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birthdate = birth date and age|1962|6|5|
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois

Jeff Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American comic actor best known for his role as Jeff Greene, Larry David's manager on the HBO show "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

Biography

Early life

Garlin was born and raised in Chicago and then South Florida. He graduated from Nova High School in Davie, Florida in 1980. He then studied filmmaking, and began performing stand-up comedy as a student at the University of Miami in the 1980s. He left the university without completing a degree in order to pursue his comedy career.

Comic style

Garlin has toured the country as a stand-up, is an alumnus of Chicago's Second City Theatre, and has written and starred in three critically-acclaimed solo shows, "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With", "Uncomplicated", and "Concentrated".

Garlin's comic style has much in common with the stand-ups of the '60s and early '70s (among them, Woody Allen, Shelley Berman, Richard Pryor, and Mort Sahl). His style takes a story-telling approach, exploring his personal foibles and exposing his innermost secrets for all to hear (allowing what the Greeks and Shecky Greene called "catharsis".)

"Curb Your Enthusiasm"

On television, Garlin co-stars and executive produces the critically acclaimed HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm". The show stars Larry David, the co-creator of "Seinfeld".

Garlin spent three seasons on NBC's "Mad About You" in the role of Marvin. In addition to his acting career, Garlin has also directed both Jon Stewart ("Unleavened") and Denis Leary ("Lock-n-Load") in their respective HBO specials, as well as several episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Garlin has also had his own HBO half-hour comedy special.

Film and television

Garlin has a variety of television and film appearances to his credit, as an actor and a stand-up, including "Dr. Katz", "Arrested Development", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "The Late Show with David Letterman", "Tom Goes to the Mayor", "The Daily Show", and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". Garlin appeared with Eddie Murphy in the box office hit "Daddy Day Care" and appeared in Steven Soderbergh's "Full Frontal", starring Julia Roberts and David Duchovny.

His feature directorial debut, "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With" (which he also wrote), premiered to favorable reviews at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. It opened in September, 2007. The film co-stars Sarah Silverman and Bonnie Hunt, with many memorable supporting turns, including appearances by Paul Mazursky, Dan Castellaneta, and Amy Sedaris.

In 2006, Garlin also directed "This Filthy World", a one-man show performed by director John Waters. Garlin also appeared in "WALL-E", an animated film by Pixar that was released June 27, 2008, as Captain B. McCrea of the "Axiom" spaceship.

He recently appeared in an episode of the Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place".

External links

*imdb name|id=0307531|name=Jeff Garlin
*"New York Times Magazine" article, June 25, 2006 [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/magazine/25garlin.html] .