This is a list of The Larry Sanders Show characters. References below to a crew position are references to the occupation of these fictional characters on the show-within-a-show, which also is named The Larry Sanders Show.
Show staff
Main characters
Larry Sanders Lawrence "Larry" Sanders (all seasons) (born December 19, 1950, in Mound, Minnesota, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota), played by Garry Shandling, is the host of The Larry Sanders Show, a late-night talk show that has been on the air since 1987, airing at 11:30 PM, five days a week, on an unnamed network. He is 42 years old (as of the 1993 episode "The Breakdown (Part One)"), then 43 years old (as of the 1993 episode "Larry's Birthday"). His father is named Jerry and his brother is named Stan. His wives were Francine and Jeannie, from both of whom he is now divorced; he was briefly engaged to Roseanne Barr.
In the episode "The Garden Weasel", Larry shows his wife Jeannie a commercial that he did for Pan Am in 1979, in which he played a flight attendant. Also in the episode, Jeannie mentions that Larry once auditioned for the game show Make Me Laugh. In real life, Shandling appeared on the show as a celebrity guest.
In the episode "Larry's Partner", it is mentioned that Larry began his career as a standup comedian and as part of a double act with his friend Stan Paxton, played by Eric Bogosian. Larry and Stan recorded a comedy album together and had a bit called "The Man on the Street Meets the Man on the Moon". Larry broke up his act with Stan 15 years ago because Stan had a serious drinking problem and only joined the business to "get laid".
In the episode "The Promise", it is mentioned that Larry's first television appearance was on The Merv Griffin Show and that he later appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Also in the episode, Larry mentions that he discovered comedian David Spade while he was performing at the Comedy Store and gave him his first television appearance on his show. Spade went on to appear on the show at least six more times. Larry feels betrayed by Spade when he learns that Spade had appeared on The Tonight Show recently, but he forgives him when he recalls that he did the same thing by appearing on The Tonight Show after The Merv Griffin Show.
In the episode "Out of the Loop", Larry says he was a writer on Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop.
Larry is neurotic and self-involved. He is uncomfortable with displays of emotion and dislikes confrontation, so much so that he often deploys Artie to fight his professional battles for him. He is also very insecure about his appearance: he is always concerned about the size of his "ass", which he thinks is too big, and he was unable to disguise his displeasure at Dana Carvey's impression of him in the show's fourth season. Larry enjoys watching his own show in bed every night, which is something that frustrates his second wife Jeannie. He is addicted to an unspecified type of painkiller (possibly multiple types of painkillers), and was previously addicted to marijuana. His personal life is often more dysfunctional than his professional life: he has been married and divorced twice, and he is shown to have trouble developing intimate bonds with other people and is estranged from his family. He dates many women, such as Mimi Rogers, Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres, and Dana Delany, but these relationships never last and are often doomed by elements of Larry's celebrity or work life. The end of the series provided some hope for Larry; his decision to leave his show seemed to bring him a bit of perspective, and his relationship with Illeana Douglas appeared to be more substantial than his previous attempts at intimacy.
Larry really likes frozen yogurt and often sends his assistant Beverly to get it for him.
In the episode "The Breakdown (Part One)", it is mentioned that Larry and Hank first met in the spring of 1985. Larry does not respect Hank and thinks that Hank is not very bright. Larry constantly avoids Hank because he does not like dealing with him. However, Hank sometimes acts as a voice of reason for Larry and solves his problems for him, whether intentionally or not. Larry infrequently expresses an underlying affection for Hank, despite finding him intolerable (telling his wife-to-be that he "loves him" in the episode "Hank's Wedding"), and on occasion steps beyond his comfort zone for the sake of their friendship, for example cutting short his much needed vacation in order to attend the grand opening of Hank's 'Look Around Cafe' In the episode "The Grand Opening".
Larry depends almost entirely upon Artie to protect him from the network executives and the unpleasant realities of show business. Larry claims he can't do the show without Artie because Artie is so loyal to him. In practice, Artie says what Larry finds too awkward or uncomfortable to say. Artie often colludes with Larry to achieve a desired end, and is the only person in Larry's professional life that can understand and connect with him. Artie's last name is never mentioned in any episode. The characterization of Artie is heavily inspired by Fred DeCordova, Johnny Carson's longtime producer.
Francine is Larry's first wife, whom he begins dating again after Jeannie leaves him. Hank and Artie strongly dislike Francine. Larry's second wife, Jeannie, leaves him to go to Chicago because she thinks that he is too involved with the show. After she leaves him, Larry takes things very hard and has a minor heart episode.
In the episode "Larry's Birthday", it is mentioned that Larry discovered Jerry when Jerry was performing at the comedy club Catch a Rising Star and hired him as the head writer for his show. Jerry was doing poorly as a comedian and was just about to quit the business before being hired. Due to budgetary reasons, Larry has to fire Jerry and he is unhappy with how bitter Jerry becomes after being fired.
Larry becomes unhappy with his previous agent Leo, so he hires Stevie. Stevie is very obnoxious and Artie does not seem to like him very much. However, Stevie is good at what he does initially and he is able to negotiate Larry a very lucrative contract. Larry is impressed that Stevie represents many high-powered clients. In the episode "The Beginning of the End", Larry fires Stevie after finding out that he double-crossed him by becoming comedian Jon Stewart's agent. Stewart, at this point, is in a position to replace Larry on his talk show, and Stevie negotiates for Stewart rather than Larry before being fired. Grant is believed to be inspired by Ari Emanuel.
Larry feels contempt for Melanie because he tends to dislike network executives. In the episode "The Garden Weasel", she makes him do live commercials on the show against his will. Larry argues with her afterwards, and she ends up assaulting him. Eventually, Larry once again has to rely on Artie to bluntly tell Melanie that he doesn't want to do the commercials.
Hank Kingsley Hank Kingsley (all seasons) (born Henry Joseph Lepstein Jr.), played by Jeffrey Tambor, is the announcer and sidekick on The Larry Sanders Show, known for his "Hey now!" catchphrase (a takeoff on Ed McMahon's "Hi-yoooo!"). His father was Henry Joseph Kingsley, Sr., and he was married to Margaret Dolan, whom he later divorced.
Hank worked as a cruise director on a luxury Greek liner named Andropolis for eight years when he met Larry, who befriended him and took him to the show. Hank is exceptionally fond of Larry, and it is implied on multiple occasions that Hank may harbor some form of romantic or physical attraction toward Larry. Though both Hank and Larry are narcissistic, they generally act as foils to one another. Larry is neurotic and evasive, while Hank is open and somewhat naive. Though frequently exasperated by Hank's narcissism and insecurities, Larry will occasionally step in to help his on-air colleague, such as intervening in Hank's contract renegotiations with the network once it became clear that the top executive Shel Davidoff is not willing to give the sidekick a requested raise. While Larry's narcissistic personality sometimes results in positive outcomes for other characters, Hank's narcissism almost exclusively manifests itself in bullying. Unlike Larry, Hank is more than willing to lend his name to commercial products and tries to cultivate a cult of personality through his little-read newsletters, fan club, and so on. Hank tends to be dense and is frequently the butt of jokes, often without realizing it. While McMahon built success beyond The Tonight Show as a commercial spokesman and TV host in his own right, Hank's desire to emulate McMahon was constantly foiled by his ego and bumbling attempts at self-aggrandizement.
He is generally disrespected among his co-workers because of his ego and dimness. Hank will often act humble and unassuming, especially on camera or in front of media executives and other influential persons, but would become condescending and often quite nasty to anyone whom he perceives to be of a lower status. Hank spends considerable time furthering his career, often endorsing questionable products and working behind Larry's back to ensure his enduring presence on the show, even when Larry is being scrutinized.
Hank is shown to be relatively untalented as an on-air personality. In the "Hank's Contract" episode from the first season, the network, represented by its president Shel Davidoff, is so convinced about Hank's lack of options elsewhere in show business that they completely ignore his walk-off threats during contract renegotiations and refuse any of his demands. His limited performing talents become especially apparent in season six, during which it is continuously implied that Hank has no other opportunities after the show's end, as well as the first episode of the third season, in which Hank is forced to take a job reading lottery numbers for the local news. Though it is never explicitly stated, Hank seems as though he might be subtly aware of his inadequacy, causing him to amplify his bullying of coworkers.
On the romantic front, during the second season episode "Hank's Wedding", Hank marries a woman named Margaret Dolan who's a regional sales manager for the Sandwich King fast food chain. Only two weeks after meeting her on a personal appearance tour he had been on, Hank proposes through television at the end of an episode of The Larry Sanders Show. As Larry was getting ready to end that day's show taping following an interview segment with Adam Sandler, Hank delivered the impromptu proposal into the camera without prior notifying Larry or the executive producer Artie to the latter's great displeasure. However, after Margaret says yes and Hank picks Larry to be his best man, Artie (inspired by Tiny Tim's 1969 wedding on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show that brought in huge ratings) recognizes the potential for increased viewership as a result of Hank doing the same and is now the first to offer to have the wedding on the show, which Hank ecstatically accepts. Following an alcohol-fuelled bachelor party at a strip club with Ed McMahon among the partiers, Hank and Margaret get married on the show with Alex Trebek officiating the ceremony.
The couple got divorced only a year later with Margaret initiating the split unable to deal with Hank's excessive personal and professional focus on Larry to the exclusion of everyone else in his life. Hank does not maintain any long term relationships after the divorce though is occasionally seen on dates while his interaction with strippers and female escorts is either shown or implied both before and after his marriage.
A running gag in the series involved Hank sending his assistant to tell Larry that he would like to speak with him, only to then approach Larry asking "You wanted to see me?"
Artie described him once as someone who means well, but "keeps his brain at home in a box".