For 20 years, Jeff Garlin has played Larry’s manager on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and he’s always seemed incredibly popular.
But over on ABC’s “The Goldbergs,” Garlin has also been playing the Dad, Murray, for nine seasons. There are kids and women on the set. It seems they didn’t like his language between scenes. And now he’s fired.
Garlin will not return for the balance of the 9th season. It’s doubtful that the show will be renewed anyway for a 10th season without him and without George Segal, who died last year. And their ratings are pretty bad. So this is is just a last minute PR thing for ABC, which has to be politically correct.
It’s unclear how they’ll explain the absence of Murray’s large presence going forward. The rest of the cast is fairly uninteresting, I don’t think they could be picked out of a line-up.
Garlin was asked about his status recently in an online Vanity Fair article. He denied he was being fired, and the magazine couldn’t confirm it. It does seem there were complaints made to HR about him starting at least in 2019 he ignored them.
I’m trying to imagine a crossover between “Curb” and the insipid “The Goldbergs.” It would make a great sketch on “SNL” if they were brave enough to do it. The latter characters would go running for cover and start crying. Or better yet. a “Goldbergs” in which everyone talked like Susie Essman’s character. Now, that would be funny!
PS UPDATE A source says Garlin’s issues were just about using bad language and nothing worse than the word “vagina.” My source says a stand-in was on the set one day, heard Garlin blurting out jokes, and reported him. “It was no one in the regular cast and crew.” Things snowballed from there.
