Jeff Garlin

Jeff Garlin

Active - 1992 - 2022  |   Born - Jun 5, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois, United States  |   Genres - Comedy, Drama, Romance

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Biography by AllMovie

Heavyset comedian Jeff Garlin started doing standup comedy at his Florida college before he returned to his hometown of Chicago, IL, and joined the cast of Second City. In 1992, he made his film debut in the Dolly Parton comedy Straight Talk, followed by small roles in other features and made-for-TV movies. In 1997, he starred in his own HBO half-hour comedy special and guest starred on Everybody Loves Raymond a couple times before playing the reoccurring role of Marvin on NBC's Mad About You. After bit parts in the comedies Senseless and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Garlin made the successful switch back to television. This time he tried directing and producing in addition to playing Larry David's manager, Jeff Greene, on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, which would become his most recognizable role. He then hosted the short-lived variety show Late Friday and joined the cast of What About Joan for its second and final season. He made a brief return to film for Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal and then gained co-star status with Eddie Murphy for Daddy Day Care in 2003. In 2006 he wrote, directed, and starred in the sweet indie comedy I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, and two years later joined the Pixar family providing the voice of the ship captain in the highly-successful Wall-E. As he continued working on Curb, he found working on animated films to his liking and lent his voice to Cars 2, Toy Story 3 and ParaNorman.

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Factsheet

  • Made his debut as a stand-up comedian at the Comic Strip in Ft. Lauderdale at the age of 20.
  • Was a member of Chicago's famed Second City comedy troupe.
  • Lived with Conan O'Brien in the '80s in an apartment adjacent to Chicago's Wrigley Field.
  • Released a memoir, My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World, in 2010, that documents his journey to lessen his carbon footprint, which was inspired by his work in WALL-E (2008).
  • Suffered a stroke at the age of 37 and also suffers from Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and Attention Deficit Disorder.