Stephen Tobolowsky
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| Stephen Tobolowsky | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephen Harold Tobolowsky May 30, 1951 Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, playwright |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | Ann Hearn (1988–present); 2 children |
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons. Tobolowsky has a recurring role as Sandy Ryerson in the FOX show Glee and as Stu Biggs in the Showtime series Californication.
In addition to his acting, Tobolowsky also does an audio podcast about once a month of autobiographical stories of his acting and personal life.[1]
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[edit] Career
Tobolowsky has appeared in over 200 films and at least as many television projects with mostly minor roles. In 1994's Radioland Murders, he portrayed Max Applewhite, a gentle sound man with a dark secret. He appeared on Seinfeld as Tor Eckman, Kramer's holistic healer, in the second season episode, "The Heart Attack". He is also known for having played "Sammy Jankis" in 2000's Memento, starring Guy Pearce. In 2005, he was the eponymous subject of the documentary film, Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party, that featured him preparing for, and hosting, his own birthday party, while delivering a series of anecdotes from his life. He was a member of the cast of NBC's television series Heroes for its second season, portraying Bob, the new boss of "The Company".
Tobolowsky is well-known for his role in the 1993 film Groundhog Day, in which he played Bill Murray's annoying former high school classmate—now insurance salesman—Ned Ryerson. Tobolowsky wrote his last scene in Groundhog Day while filming and it was accepted by Bill Murray and the director Harold Ramis.[2] Tobolowsky reunited with Murray 11 years later, appearing in the movie version of the comic strip Garfield, playing the sinister dog trainer Happy Chapman, with Murray providing the voice of Garfield.
He has worked in the theater as well, directing and acting in plays in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He directed one movie, Two Idiots in Hollywood, based on his play of the same name. He also co-wrote the film True Stories with David Byrne and then-girlfriend Beth Henley.[3] He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for the 2002 revival of Morning's at Seven.
On October 29, 2009, Tobolowsky started a new podcast on /Film called The Tobolowsky Files, where he tells stories, in a similar fashion to Tobolowsky's film Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party.[4][5]
[edit] Personal life
Tobolowsky is Jewish and attended Southern Methodist University (SMU).[6] He and his wife, actress Ann Hearn, have been married since 1988 and have two children.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Films
- The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) as Barney
- Spaceballs (1987) as Captain of the Guards
- Mississippi Burning (1988) as Clayton Townley
- Checking Out (1989) as Pharmacist
- Great Balls of Fire! (1989) as Jud Phillips
- In Country (1989) as Pete
- Bird on a Wire (1990) as Joe Weyburn
- Funny About Love (1990) as Hugo
- Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990) as Mayor Bill Klepler
- The Grifters (1990) as The Jeweler
- Thelma and Louise (1991) as Max
- Wedlock (1991) as Warden Holliday
- Basic Instinct (1992) as Dr. Lamott
- Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) as Warren Singleton
- Single White Female (1992) as Mitch Myerson
- Sneakers (1992) as Werner Brandes
- The Pickle (1993) as Mike Krakower
- Groundhog Day (1993) as Ned Ryerson
- Trevor (1994) as Father Jon
- Radioland Murders (1994) as Max Applewhite
- Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995) as Oliver Mintz
- Murder in the First (1995) as Mr. Henkin
- The Glimmer Man (1996) as Christopher Maynard
- Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996) as Bando (voice)
- Mr. Magoo (1997) as FBI Agent Chuck Stupak
- Black Dog (1998) as ATF Agent McClaren
- The Insider (1999) as Eric Kluster
- Bossa Nova (1999) as Trevor
- Memento (2000) as Sammy Jankis
- Freddy Got Fingered (2001) as Uncle Neil
- Love Liza (2002) as Tom Bailey
- The Country Bears (2002) as Beary's Father
- Freaky Friday (2003) as Mr. Bates
- Garfield (2004) as Happy Chapman
- Little Black Book (2004) as Carl
- Robots (2005) Voice
- Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party (2005) as himself
- Pope Dreams (2006) as Carl
- Blind Dating (2006) as Dr. Perkins
- Failure to Launch (2006) as Bud
- National Lampoon's Totally Baked: A Potumentary (2006) as Jesco Rollins
- Wild Hogs (2007) as Charley
- Loveless in Los Angeles (2007) as Jon Gillece
- Beethoven's Big Break (2008) as Sal
- First Howl (2009) as Christopher Cox
- The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) as Dr. David Kendrick
- Buried (2010) as Alan Davenport
- Peep World (2011) as Ephraim
[edit] Television
- Big Day as the Garf, eccentric father of the groom
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, unaired pilot episode as Principal Flutie
- Californication (Season 4)
- Community as Professor Sheffield (Season 2, Ep. 20)
- Complete Savages as Mr. Frehley
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Spencer Freiberg
- CSI: Miami as State Attorney Don Haffman
- Curb Your Enthusiasm as Len Dunkel, Jeff's arch-conservative brother-in-law
- Deadwood as Commissioner Hugo Jarry
- Dweebs as Karl
- Entourage as the Mayor of Beverly Hills
- Ghost Whisperer (Season 1 Ep. 16) as a doctor
- Glee as Sandy Ryerson, former glee club teacher (8 episodes, 2009-11: "Pilot", "Acafellas", "Preggers", "The Rhodes Not Taken", "Wheels", "Bad Reputation", "Funk", "A Night of Neglect")
- Heroes as Bob Bishop, founder of The Company
- John From Cincinnati as Mark Lewinsky
- Las Vegas (Season 1 Ep. 3) as Donny Rollins, Ed Deline's cousin
- Malcolm in the Middle as Lois' boss at Lucky Aide
- Off Centre as Mike's dad
- Picket Fences (Season 1 Ep.17) as blind date
- Roswell as Julius Walters
- Seinfeld as Tor Eckman (the The Heart Attack episode)
- That '70s Show as Laurie's professor
- The Drew Carey Show as Judge
- The New Adventures of Old Christine as a school principal
- True Jackson, VP as Lars Balthazar, a famous cellist
- Will and Grace as Ned (the same first name as his character in Groundhog Day)
[edit] References
- ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tobolowsky-files/id339001481
- ^ "The Tobolowsky Files Ep. 29 – The Classic". /Film. http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/05/28/the-tobolowsky-files-ep-29-the-classic.
- ^ Phipps, Keith (2011-08-02). [http://www.avclub.com/articles/stephen-tobolowsky,59769/ "Random Roles Stephen Tobolowsky"]. The A. V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/stephen-tobolowsky,59769/. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- ^ Tobolowsky, Stephen (September 16, 2010). "Op-Ed Contributor - They Had Great Character". NYTimes.com. www.nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/opinion/17tobolowsky.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ^ Chapman, Glen (March 16, 2010). "Celebrating Stephen Tobolowsky". Den of Geek. http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/440997/celebrating_stephen_tobolowsky.html. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ^ Bloom, Nate (November 4, 2005). "Celebrity Jews". The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/27608/celebrity-jews.
