Late night hosts, Jeffrey Tambor pay tribute to Garry Shandling

Moments after news of Garry Shandling's death broke Thursday, celebrities from across the entertainment industry began posting memories of and tributes to the comedian. Shandling's influence was profound, from his stand-up career to pioneering The Larry Sanders Show on HBO.

“I am so sad,” said actor Jeffrey Tambor, who starred on Larry Sanders with Shandling, in a statement.

“Garry was my dear friend and was and always will be my teacher. Garry redesigned the wheel of comedy and he was the kindest and funniest of Geniuses. I will miss him so much.”

Confirmation of Shandling's death came at a time when many talk shows were already taping -- but for the truly late of the late-night hosts, there was time to salute this lost legend.

Conan O'Brien recalled having Shandling's unlikely company during a career low, when O'Brien's brief stint hosting The Tonight Show ended in shambles. O'Brien took a trip to Hawaii with his family and ended up spending the week with Shandling, who was staying in the same hotel, offering comfort, inspiration and a surprisingly romantic date:

Meanwhile, Seth Meyers confessed that he made friends with Jason Sudeikis partially because Sudeikis had VHS recordings of The Larry Sanders Show.

"[It] was completely groundbreaking, and changed the way I thought about TV and I think a lot of people thought about TV," Meyers said. He still uses Larry Sanders as a standard for his own talk show.

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