How The Goldbergs Will Film Jeff Garlin’s Last Episode Without Him On Set

The Goldbergs used a body double to film Jeff Garlin’s final scenes on the ABC sitcom. It’s the latest development in a story that gained traction after Garlin, who plays Murray Goldberg on the ABC sitcom, gave a lengthy interview in which he denied that he’d been fired from the show. The actor also addressed a number of complaints about him for using offensive language and unwarranted physical contact while on the set of The Goldbergs. At the time the interview was published in early December, Garlin stressed that he hadn’t been let go from the long-running series.

A few days later, on December 16, it was reported that Garlin had exited The Goldbergs in what was described as a mutual decision between the actor and production company Sony Pictures Television. The decision was said to be “effective immediately,” arriving after an HR investigation into Garlin’s on-set behavior. Although the cast and crew were informed of Garlin’s exit, and he’d said that it was unlikely he’d return for The Goldbergs season 10, if it happened, questions remained about how the former lead star’s departure would be handled from a storytelling perspective since Murray was the patriarch of the titular Goldberg family and a big part of the show’s world.

Now, according to TVLine, it’s known that The Goldbergs used a body double to complete the remainder of Garlin’s scenes. Although the Curb Your Enthusiasm alum was expected on set to shoot his final moments on the sitcom, Garlin ultimately declined the mandated COVID-19 test. As a result, the show decided to use a body double to finish off the uncompleted scenes. They would then superimpose Garlin’s face on the body in post-production. The report notes that this practice has been used in the past, several times, for “various reasons.” It remains unclear, at this point, how the character of Murray will be written out.

The complaints against Garlin go back to 2019. In one example, after a camera assistant complained about Garlin’s use of the word “vagina,” the actor put his arms around the assistant and kept repeating the word to her face. Another alleged encounter involved Garlin berating a female assistant and shouting at her husband, who also worked on the show. And since the latter incident, which is said to have occurred two months ago, Garlin had only been to the set a few times. While there, he continued to mock HR guidelines.

The actor already had an agreement to film his scenes as quickly as possible. This makes it clear, along with the knowledge that a body double had been used comfortably before, that Garlin didn’t want to be part of the ABC show anymore. And, from the sounds of things, several crew members did not feel comfortable with his continued presence. So, it’s safe to say that this departure from The Goldbergs is welcomed by all sides and potentially even overdue.

Source: TVLine

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Abdullah Al-Ghamdi
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Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019, focusing on movie and television news. In January of the same year, he wrote a 3500+ word piece on why Primo Colón is underrated. He considers it his finest work. When he’s not arguing for the merits of his favorite wrestler, he can be reached at: [email protected].

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