Jeff Garlin divorce, podcast, arrested, stroke, weight loss, wife

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Jeff Garlin is an American <a href="/biography/jeff-garlin">voice artist</a>, producer, actor, comedian, writer, director, author and podcast host. He has had a creative part in many television shows and movies, but his most renowned role is that of Jeff Greene in Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO.  He is now starring in the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs.

Early Life

Jeff Garlin was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1962.  His mother, Carole, was active in the local community theater while his father, Gene, spent his time running a plumbing supply business named Bilko. Jeff has one younger brother, Michael. The family was Jewish and thus Jeff went to Hebrew Schools. Jeff attended Melzer Elementary Schooli in Morton, Illinois. He enjoyed sports, but had to stop due to a heart ailment, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. When Jeff was in sixth grade, his father sold the supply business and the family relocated to South Florida. He then graduated from Nova High School, Davie, Florida in 1980. He attended Broward Community College and then briefly transferred to University of Miami to study film, but eventually dropped out. It was there he began studying stand-up comedy.

Early Career

Garlin has said he wanted to be a comedian since he was eight years old when he saw <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Durante">Jimmy Durante</a> perform in Chicago. When he was 22, he moved back to Chicago to pursue a stand-up career. He performed with the comedy troupe Second City and worked in the box office with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert">Stephen Colbert</a>. He was also briefly Wrigleyville roommates with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_O'Brien">Conan O'Brien</a>, who was writing comedy at the time. Garlin was eventually hired by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Leary">Denis Leary</a> and <a href="/biography/jon-stewart">Jon Stewart</a> to develop their specials. He worked on their shows as a stage director and script editor.

Television

Garlin has made numerous appearances in television shows both acting and doing stand up. Some of these appearances include <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Katz,_Professional_Therapist">Dr. Katz</a>, Arrested Development, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Daily Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entourage_(American_TV_series)">Entourage</a>. He currently co-stars and executive produces the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2013, he also began participating in The Goldbergs on ABC. He also has a recurring role on Wizards of Waverly Place.

Film

Although he was in the film Spring Break in 1983 as an uncredited actor, Garlin earned his first official credit in 1992 in <a href="/biography/dolly-parton">Dolly Parton</a>'s comedy Straight Talk. He then had a series of cameos in films including RoboCop 3, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Run Ronnie Run!, Fat Albert, Full Frontal (2002), Daddy Day Care (2003). He performed with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Aniston">Jennifer Aniston</a> and <a href="/biography/gerard-butler">Gerard Butler</a> in The Bounty Hunter (2010). He also voice acted in Toy Story 2 as Buttercup.

He wrote "I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With" which was shown at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and was his directoral debut. It co-starred <a href="/biography/sarah-silverman">Sarah Silverman</a> and <a href="/biography/bonnie-hunt">Bonnie Hunt</a>. Later in 2006, he directed This Filthy World. In 2008 he voice acted the character of Axiom Captian in Pixar's WALL-E.

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He executive produced Finding Viviam Maier in 2013. Later that year directed his second film, Dealin' with Idiots, which was inspired by his two songs and their experiences in Little League. The entire movie was improvised.

Although he acknowledges most of his work will stay within the television realm, he admits that he would like to make "big budget movies that make a comment on the human condition, make people feel better about themselves" like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Sturges">Preston Sturgess</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra">Frank Capra</a>.

Other Pursuits

He wrote a book, "My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World", which was released on February 23, 2010 and documents his attempt to lessen his carbon footprint along with his physical one. He also helped with The MAD Bathroom Companion: The Gushing Forth Edition with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ficarra">John Ficarra</a>. He participated in the comedy podcast network Earwolf and hosted the show By The Way, In Conversation with Jeff Garlin. The podcast featured unscripted talks rather than formal interviews. It was discontinued in February of 2015.

Jeff is also an avid <a href="/biography/jeff-garlin">photographer</a> and loves to shoot candid, un-posed pictures with his Leica M-series Rangefinder cameras. However, he keeps his works private. "My photography, I don't show it to anyone" he states in an interview with Vanity Fair. "I like showing respect to an audience, and I don't think I'm so great. The only thing that I know I'm pretty great at is being a comedian and an actor."

Having grown up in the Chicago area, Jeff is a huge Chicago Cubs MLB <a href="/biography/jeff-garlin">fan</a>.

Personal Life

Jeff married Marla Beth Cahan on January 24, 1994. They have two sons together, James (1996) and Duke (2000) who both continue to live in Los Angeles. Jeff and Marla have been separated since July 25, 2017 and announced their official intent to divorce on September 4, 2018 due to "irreconcilable differences."

Medical Issues

Jeff practices transcendental meditation twice a day as a way of managing his ADHD. He also speaks of his food and weight issues openly. In an October 11 interview he said "I think people like to look at fat people as having a lack of willpower when willpower has nothing to do with it. I didn't change my life until I approached everything like an addict. I haven't had sweets in almost three years because I know if I have one cookie, just like if an alcoholic has his first drink, I'm off to the races and I'm back eating sugar again." Jeff Garlin sees himself as a food addict.  He said that he does not just like the food because it tastes good, but because it helps him to push down his feelings.

"Anything with a feeling brings about wanting to eat", Jeff said in an interview. "I always say I eat Pop-Tarts raw because I don't have time to roast them. I need to shove down my feelings."

Social Media

Jeff's Twitter account, @TheJeffGarlin, has over one thousand followers. His active Instagram has over 107,000 followers. His official website is located at <a href="/biography/jeff-garlin">http://www.jeffgarlin.com</a>.

"It's a real important thing, comedy, to make us human and help deal with pain", he states in an interview. "Life throws a lot of pain at people. My job is to ease people's pain."

His Instagram states "[I'm] Doing the best I can with the information that I've been given."

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