Garry Shandling died from blood clot in heart, coroner says

LOS ANGELES -- Garry Shandling died from a blood clot in his heart, coroner's officials said Tuesday, more than seven months after the comedian's unexpected death.

A report by Los Angeles coroner's officials released Tuesday states the fatal clot occurred after the comedian developed blood clots in his legs, a condition known as deep vein thrombosis.

The comedian had not been feeling well during a trip to Hawaii, the report stated. Shandling died March 24 after calling paramedics to his home.

Los Angeles coroner's officials had delayed issuing their determination of what killed the 66-year-old until after a review of his medical records and toxicology tests were completed.

The toxicology results found only a therapeutic amount of Xanax and some cold medication in his system.

In 1992, Shandling created his comic masterpiece with "The Larry Sanders Show," which starred him as an egomaniacal late-night TV host with an angst-ridden show-biz life behind the scenes.

The HBO series ran until 1998.

As Larry, Shandling dug deep to confront his demons and did it brilliantly as the series teetered between dual realities: public and private; make-believe and painfully true.

Shandling had blurred the lines for a television comedy before, with his "It's Garry Shandling Show," in the 1980s. Actors on the Showtime sitcom routinely broke the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience on what they were doing.

After "Larry Sanders" ended, Shandling's few public appearances included hosting the Emmys Awards in 2000 and 2004 and a role in 2001's "Zoolander."

Shortly before his death, he appeared in Jerry Seinfeld's web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" in a segment that had the pair recount memories of their stand-up comedy days and trying to make it in Hollywood.