Stephen Tobolowsky

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Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen tobolowsky 2012.jpg
Stephen Tobolowsky at the 2012 Texas Book Festival.
Born Stephen Harold Tobolowsky
(1951-05-30) May 30, 1951 (age 61)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation Actor, playwright
Years active 1984–present
Spouse(s) 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 Beggs in the Showtime series Californication.

In addition to acting, Tobolowsky does an audio podcast about once a month of autobiographical stories of his acting and personal life.[1] He has also authored The Dangerous Animals Club and Cautionary Tales based on these original stories.[2]

Contents

Career [edit]

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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5][6]

Personal life [edit]

Tobolowsky was born in Dallas, Texas. He was raised in a Jewish family.[7][8]

Filmography [edit]

Films [edit]

Television [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "iTunes - Podcasts - The Tobolowsky Files by PRI". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24. 
  2. ^ "Stephen Tobolowsky: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24. 
  3. ^ "The Tobolowsky Files Ep. 29 – The Classic". /Film. 
  4. ^ Phipps, Keith (2011-08-02). "Random Roles Stephen Tobolowsky". The A. V. Club. Retrieved 2011-08-03. 
  5. ^ Tobolowsky, Stephen (September 16, 2010). "Op-Ed Contributor - They Had Great Character". NYTimes.com (www.nytimes.com). Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  6. ^ Chapman, Glen (March 16, 2010). "Celebrating Stephen Tobolowsky". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  7. ^ Currey, Mason. "Stephen Tobolowsky: What I learned in the seventh grade - Slate Magazine". Slate.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24. 
  8. ^ Cohen, Susan (2012-11-07). "Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky writes his first book | Features". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved 2013-04-24. 

External links [edit]