Shandling Says Private Eye Smeared Him

Comedian Garry Shandling took the stand yesterday and accused Los Angeles private eye Anthony Pellicano of using underhanded tactics to "smear" him. Shandling’s former manager hired Pellicano after promising to “make my life miserable,” Shandling said. The FBI soon told Shandling that the detective had rifled through confidential police files, looking for dirt on him and his friends, and planted negative stories in the media.

Shandling is the first celebrity witness in what promises to be a star-studded trial. Asked what he did for a living, he drew laughs by replying, “That’s a bad sign. I'm a comedian.” But the rest of his testimony was serious and even emotional, the LA Times reports. Pellicano faces more than a century in prison on 110 counts of wiretapping, conspiracy, and racketeering, among other charges. (More Garry Shandling stories.)