Jeff Garlin Says He Considered Suicide After 'The Goldbergs' Exit, Credits Susie Essman With Getting Him Help

Jeff Garlin said he planned to end his life during his turbulent exit from the ABC comedy “The Goldbergs,” and that a message to his “Curb Your Enthusiasm” co-star Susie Essman set off the chain of calls that got him into treatment. The 64-year-old actor described the episode on the Wednesday, Oct. 21, installment of Ted Danson’s podcast “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” according to People and Us Weekly.

“I had a nervous breakdown, and I was going to commit suicide,” Garlin told Danson, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter. Garlin said he is sharing the experience to raise awareness about mental health, the outlet reported.

The message to Susie Essman

Garlin said he contacted Essman, who played his on-screen wife on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” to alert her to his plans, The Hollywood Reporter reported. “I reached out to Susie [Essman], and I said, ‘I hate when people don’t reach out, but at noon today I will be dead. I’m letting you know I will be dead,’” he recalled, according to The Hollywood Reporter and People.

Essman then alerted Garlin’s ex-wife, Marla Garlin, and his girlfriend, Sari Tracht, and his close friend Brad Morris stayed with him while they searched for a treatment facility, the outlets reported. “He watched me while they were looking for a place for me to go,” Garlin said of Morris. TheWrap reported that the group narrowed the options to a private facility in Beverly Hills and a treatment center in Cincinnati.

Garlin chose Cincinnati. “Middle of winter, I went to Cincinnati because I was serious,” he said, as quoted by Us Weekly.

Treatment and recovery

At the Ohio facility, Garlin underwent dialectical behavior therapy, known as DBT. “I was no longer suicidal,” he said. “They helped get me to a point where I could stand, and then I went out in the world and it took time between therapy and medication for bipolar all that stuff to where I felt kind of whole,” he added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Garlin publicly disclosed in 2022 that he has bipolar disorder, The Hollywood Reporter noted. People reported that Garlin says the condition went undiagnosed during his time on “The Goldbergs.” On the podcast, he said he is “now feeling really good” and is “very content,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He also addressed why he chose to share the experience publicly. “We have bad days just like you do,” Garlin said. “And I, Jeff Garlin, comedian, joyful gentleman, was going to end his life. But I’m grateful that I had friends and family. And then people have been so supportive of me.”

What Garlin said about leaving ‘The Goldbergs’

Garlin also described the circumstances surrounding his departure from the sitcom. He said that after he had decided he was finished with the show, a producer asked what it would take to bring him back. “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,” he said, according to Us Weekly and Complex.

TheWrap reported that Garlin said the arrangement led to “resentment” from members of the cast and crew, and that he described walking off the set after a dispute over a pizza brand’s product placement in one episode. Garlin also said that “no one at Sony said, ‘Are you OK?’” during his lowest points, according to TheWrap.

Background on the 2021 exit

Garlin played family patriarch Murray Goldberg for more than eight seasons before leaving the series in December 2021, during production of its ninth season, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The departure, described as a mutual decision between Garlin and producer Sony Pictures Television, followed a human resources investigation and a Vanity Fair report on an alleged pattern of verbal and physical conduct that made staffers uncomfortable. Garlin has disputed the allegations, Complex reported, and his character was later killed off ahead of the show’s 10th season.

At the time, Garlin told Vanity Fair, “I have my process about how I’m funny, in terms of the scene and what I have to do. They feel that it makes for a quote ‘unsafe’ workspace.” He added, “I am always a kind and thoughtful person,” according to The Hollywood Reporter and TheWrap.

Anyone in the United States who is struggling or in crisis can call or text 988 or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is available 24 hours a day.