Is Garry Shandling the original Dave Chappelle? On the surface, the two comedians may look and perform about as differently as you can imagine, but both appear to have had the same streak of perfectionism leading to creative breakdowns and self-imposed exile as their respective shows slipped away from them.

Sunday's New York Times featured a story on the long-delayed (though incomplete) DVD of Shandling's '90s era HBO series The Larry Sanders Show. (A pared down version of season one had been released, but the new discs cover all six seasons.) The article portrays the end of the sixth season of Shandling's meta-Hollywood satire as chaotic and emotionally wrenching for Shandling. The stress was further compounded by his $100 million "triple dipping" lawsuit against manager Brad Grey, which included a cameo by wiretap-loving PI Anthony Pellicano. (Shandling politely—and wisely—chose not to discuss Pellicano with the Times.)

But what the article left out was how bad the fifth season ended. If an earlier New York Times Magazine is to be believed, it appears that Shandling had a bit of a crack-up and pulled what is now known as a Chappelle by disappearing to Hawaii to clear his head. In the May 31, 1998, issue of the magazine, Lynn Hirschberg profiled Shandling in a story headlined "Garry Shandling Goes Dark" and reported, "In December 1996 at the end of the the fifth season of 'The Larry Sanders Show,' Shandling, who was, as he put it at the time, 'blotto,' walked off the set before the final scenes were to be filmed. He told one of his producers to write him out of the last three scenes, said, 'I'm tired, I'm gone,' and flew off to Hawaii and Fiji, where he spent three weeks recuperating."

Hirschberg explained that Shandling's little mental health break directly impacted his relationship with Grey since "the incident has become the centerpiece of the 'Isn't Garry crazy?" talk. Shandling felt that Grey, as his manager, should have protected and coddled him; Grey felt that Shandling was acting unprofessionally."

The more recent Times article avoids all that unpleasantness and portrays Shandling as being in a much more stable place now. Shandling is boxing, practicing meditation, studying Buddhism, and in a raw, lengthy documentary included with the new discs, he systematically makes amends with everyone he slighted during the making (and unmaking) of The Larry Sanders Show, including costar Jeffrey Tambor and ex-fiancée Linda Doucett, an alleged target of a Pellicano wiretap.

One person who appears to be missing from the documentary is Grey. Maybe he was too busy devising his Oscar plan to participate. Or maybe his $10 million settlement with Shandling was literally "fuck you" money.

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