Comedian testifies in sleuth case

Garry Shandling is best known for TV series The Larry Sanders Show

Comedian Garry Shandling has testified at the trial of Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano.

Mr Shandling said Mr Pellicano took part in a "spin campaign to assassinate my character" during a legal battle with his former manager in 1999.

Prosecutors claim Mr Pellicano obtained unauthorised background checks from a police officer on Mr Shandling, the star of The Larry Sanders Show.

Mr Pellicano has pleaded not guilty to bribing the police and tapping phones.

Prosecutors have accused him of illegally obtaining details about people, leading to threats and blackmail in divorce and business battles.

In 1998, Mr Shandling sued his former manager Brad Grey for $100m (£49m), claiming he was cheated out of earnings from his spoof chat show.

Prosecutors said Mr Pellicano was hired by Mr Grey's lawyer and got a former police officer to run background checks on the comedian, his personal assistant, his accountant and a friend.

Mr Pellicano is defending himself during the trial

In court on Thursday, Mr Shandling leafed through a printout of the checks, which included names of his friends and associates.

"This bothers me as much as the first time I saw this," he said.

The comedian also testified that Mr Grey made threatening phone calls and that numerous inaccurate stories about him began to appear in the media.

"It's a creepy feeling," Mr Shandling said. "It was a spiritual test to get through."

Both Mr Grey - now head of Paramount Pictures - and his lawyer Bert Fields have denied knowing about Mr Pellicano's tactics and have not been charged.

Prosecutors estimate Mr Pellicano, a retired Los Angeles policeman and former telephone company employee, collected a total of almost $2m (£1m) from what they say was a racketeering scheme.

Following a police investigation dating back to 2002, 14 people have been charged to a variety of charges including perjury and conspiracy, with seven pleading guilty.

The 127 people on the prosecution's witness list include celebrities such as Farrah Fawcett, Chris Rock and Sylvester Stallone.

The case continues.