Key Takeaways
- Jeff Garlin said close friends helped him through a suicidal crisis after workplace tensions and his bipolar diagnosis destabilized his mental health near the end of his time on The Goldbergs.
- Garlin said a major raise and one-day-a-week schedule fueled resentment among castmates before he left the sitcom in December 2021 amid misconduct investigations, whose allegations he disputed.
- After Susie Essman alerted his loved ones, Garlin entered treatment and said dialectical behavior therapy, ongoing therapy, and bipolar medication helped him feel “really good” nearly five years later.
Jeff Garlin got candid about his feelings surrounding the end of his time on The Goldbergs, crediting close friends with helping him get a tough period that included a mental health crisis.
During the Oct. 21 episode of Where Everybody Knows Your Name, the 64-year-old actor spoke with Ted Danson about workplace tensions, his bipolar diagnosis, and the years he spent recovering.
Garlin recalled a producer approaching him about returning to the ABC sitcom after he had decided he was done. When asked what would convince him to come back, he requested more money and a significantly lighter schedule.
“I said, ‘A big raise and I work one day a week.’ They said, ‘Yes,’ and if it sounds too good to be true, it’s too good to be true,” Garlin reflected.
According to Garlin, the arrangement created tension with some of the people working alongside him.
“I had resentment from my castmates, not as much the crew, but there were some of them [who harbored] great resentment,” he said. “I didn’t know it at the time, though. I was naïve.”
Garlin left the series in December 2021 amid HR investigations into allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior, which he disputed. His character, family patriarch Murray Goldberg, was subsequently killed off ahead of the show’s 10th season.
On the podcast, Garlin said his mental health deteriorated to the point that he considered suicide. He reached out to his Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star Susie Essman, who alerted people close to him.
His ex-wife Marla Garlin, girlfriend Sari Tracht, and friend Brad Morris helped arrange care. Morris stayed with him while they searched for an available treatment facility.
Garlin ultimately entered a facility in Cincinnati, where he said dialectical behavior therapy helped him move beyond the immediate crisis.
“I was no longer suicidal, they helped get me to a point where I could stand,” he said.
Recovery continued after he left treatment. Garlin credited ongoing therapy and medication for bipolar disorder with helping him gradually feel more like himself.
“Then, I went out in the world and it took time between therapy and medication for bipolar [disorder and] all that stuff to where I felt, kind of, whole,” he said. “I’m just now, this is from five years ago, feeling really good.”
