Biography
Jeff Garlin, the heavyset comedian, first took the stage for standup performances while enrolled at a Florida college. Upon returning to Chicago, his native city, he became a member of the Second City ensemble. His screen introduction arrived in 1992 via a supporting turn in Dolly Parton’s comedy Straight Talk, after which he accumulated minor appearances in additional theatrical releases and television films. In 1997 Garlin headlined an HBO half-hour standup special of his own, made several guest appearances on Everybody Loves Raymond, and assumed the recurring part of Marvin on NBC’s Mad About You. Following brief comic roles in Senseless and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, he returned to television with expanded responsibilities that included directing and producing, while also portraying Larry David’s manager, Jeff Greene, on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm—an assignment that would define his public image. Garlin next hosted the short-lived variety program Late Friday and joined the cast of What About Joan for the series’ concluding season. He stepped back into features for a small part in Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal before sharing top billing with Eddie Murphy in the 2003 family comedy Daddy Day Care. His first feature as director, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006; later that year he earned a second directing credit with This Filthy World, which preserved a live solo performance by “the Pope of Trash,” John Waters. Garlin supplied the voice of the Captain in Pixar’s 2008 animated success Wall-E, and the following year his standup resurgence was preserved on the DVD and CD set Young & Handsome: A Night with Jeff Garlin.