Fame-Ish by Mary Lynn Rajskub

Author:Mary Lynn Rajskub
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2022-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

GARRY SHANDLING, ACTING COACH

I had been in Los Angeles going on three years when I was cast to replace Janeane Garofalo on The Larry Sanders Show. It’s a brilliant show created by Garry Shandling. This show was about Larry Sanders, a late-night talk show host like Jay Leno. It’s a meta depiction behind the scenes of the show being made within the show. Janeane played the talent booker. Her career was taking off and she decided to leave the show.

I had done a few guest spots on sitcoms such as NewsRadio (as a server at a pirate-themed restaurant) and Over the Top with Annie Potts and Tim Curry. I had also been in a few music videos like “The Good Life” by Weezer (as a pizza delivery girl) and “The New Pollution” by Beck (as a girl who cries after pouring a glass of milk). I was also a cast member on Mr. Show and had done a lot of live performance. I also did a stand-up set on a show hosted by Janeane Garofalo called Comedy Product. My stand-up was still very performance art–heavy. This was where I was mentally at the time. All I wanted to do was perform, but I didn’t have the capacity to speak my mind or write clearly. It was working for me. In fact, I was in character as a performance artist. As part of my set I said, “This piece started five minutes ago when I took ecstasy.” I hadn’t really taken ecstasy. It was a comedic device to give the audience permission to laugh at the non sequiturs I was spewing. I showed drawings of different combs on notebook paper and attempted to explain my artistic vision but I kept getting distracted because I was “on drugs.” This was the tape that my manager submitted to casting.

That got me a meeting with Garry Shandling and his head writer John Riggi. I was seated in a director’s chair opposite John and Garry. Garry said something to the effect of “So how’s it going?”

I shot back, “Great. How’s it going with you?” There was no material for me to read. And I had no idea how to act in a meeting so I just stared. Then, Garry said, “What brings you here today?” I said, “I have no idea.” He replied, “That’s what I thought.” He stared at me for an awkward beat and then started to laugh. That made me laugh. Life was ridiculous and we all knew it. They whispered to each other and then the meeting was over. I got the part. I was very fortunate to get the part this way. These were two creators who were confident in their vision and knew what they wanted after getting a feel for a person in the room. That person was me and my character’s name was Mary Lou.

One day, a few episodes in, Mary Lou was going to get a cup of coffee in the bullpen. She runs into Larry

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