Comedian and actor Garry Shandling, best known for his work on the cable television comedy series, The Larry Sanders Show, has died at age 66.

Shandling, who began his career as a writer for TV sitcoms such as Welcome Back, Kotter and Sanford and Son, was transported from his Los Angeles home to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, LAPD officer Aareon Jefferson said.

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The official cause of death is unknown, however US gossip outlet TMZ is reporting sources close to Shandling believe he died of “a massive heart attack”.

Fellow comedians have paid tribute to Shandling, recognising him as a “pioneer” in the comedy industry.

“Garry Shandling was as kind and generous as he was funny and that is saying a lot,” late night television host Jimmy Kimmel posted on Twitter.

“Goodbye Gary Shandling thank you for your kindness and your generosity and for making me laugh so damn much,” actress and comedian Amy Schumer tweeted.

“Garry Shandling was a very special comedian with a beautifully unpredictable mind. He even voluntarily offered jokes and ideas for Oscars,” comedy veteran Steve Martin tweeted.

Sunday, my longtime friend Garry Shandling was here, making every1 laugh. I loved him. I’ll miss our talks the most. pic.twitter.com/Ud8AQXNBXN

— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 24, 2016

RIP the great Garry Shandling. Surely, one of the most influential comedians of a generation.

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) March 24, 2016

One of Shandling’s most notable recent gigs was an appearance on Jerry Seinfeld’s web video series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

During the episode, eerily titled ‘It’s great Garry Shandling is still alive’, Shandling and Seinfeld discuss mortality in the wake of Robin Williams’ August 2014 death.

“I realized ’63 is so young’ is a phrase you never hear relative to anything but death,” Shandling said, revealing to Seinfeld that he was suffering from a health condition known as hyperparathyroidism.

“So it turns out I had a hyper parathyroid gland that was undiagnosed because the symptoms mirror the exact same symptoms an older Jewish man would have,” Shandling said.

“Which is lethargic, you get puffy, you get heavy, you think you kind of want a divorce but you’re married.”

The comedian even joked about his own funeral plans.

“What I want at my funeral is an actual boxing referee to do a count, and at ‘five’ just wave it off and say, ‘He’s not getting up.'”

You can watch Shandling’s full Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee episode here.

Watch Shandling’s monologue during a Saturday Night Live appearance in 1987.

– with AAP