Jeffrey Tambor Biography
Summary
"Jeffrey Michael Tambor" (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor, perhaps most known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. on the television series "Arrested Development" and Hank Kingsley on "The Larry Sanders Show".
Biography
Personal life
Tambor was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Eileen (née Salzberg), a housewife, and Barney Tambor, a flooring contractor, who has Hungarian roots. He grew up in a Conservative Jewish family. Tambor is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where he studied acting and then went on to receive a master's degree from Wayne State University.
Some reports state that, like Tambor's longtime associate, acting coach Milton Katselas, Tambor is a Scientologist. However, in February 2008, Tambor expressed concern about 'internet reports' that he is involved with the religion and stated that he 'took some Scientology classes at one time, studied Scientology for a while, but no more. I have nothing against it, but I am no longer a Scientologist.'
His daughter, Allisa Tambor, received a degree at York University early in June.
Career
Tambor first moved to repertory theater, later making his Broadway debut in the comedy "Sly Fox" (1976), appearing with George C. Scott and directed by Arthur Penn. He appeared in "Measure For Measure" in the same year, and in 2005 in David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross". He has had a significant career in episodic TV, where he made numerous guest appearances and played characters on different shows. Among those shows were "Taxi", "Kojak", "M*A*S*H", "Three's Company", and "The Ropers". In an early TV job, an ad for Avis rent-a-car, he was seen running (huffing and puffing) through an airport, mocking O.J. Simpson's 'Go, O.J., go!' ads for Hertz. In 1987-88, Tambor appeared as a regular on the prime time ABC series "Max Headroom" as Murray, Edison's editor. Later on in his career, he would have success starring in "The Larry Sanders Show" as egocentric side kick Hank Kingsley. Tambor received a total of four Emmy nominations for his role on the show. In 2003, he starred in the television comedy "Arrested Development" in a dual role as twin brothers, George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth. Tambor received two more Emmy nominations for his performances.
Tambor served as the announcer for the game show "Hollywood Squares" in 2002 and 2003 and also made an appearance as well. He was also the voice of King Neptune in "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie". In the spring of 2005, he starred as George Aaronow in the Broadway revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross".
After the cancellation of "Arrested Development" in April 2006, Tambor signed on to a series with John Lithgow called "Twenty Good Years" about two men who ponder the last 20 years of their life. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 2006, but was taken off the air after only a few episodes. Also in 2006, he portrayed George Washington on "The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd". He also starred as 'Uncle' Saul in the CBS comedy "Welcome to The Captain" until its cancellation in March 2008. He made a cameo appearance in "Entourage" Season 5, Episode 7, as himself.
For several years, based on his availability, Tambor has also taught a popular class for actors. He was formerly a longtime teaching associate of famed acting coach Milton Katselas.
Filmography
"Arrested Development" (2010) as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth
"Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009) as Carl Murphy
"The Hangover" (2009) as Sid Garner
"Rogue's Gallery" (2009) as Devil
"This Side of the Truth" (2009) as TBA
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (2008) as Tom Manning
"Entourage" (2008) (guest star, one episode) as himself
"Superhero Movie" (2008) as Dr. Whitby
"Welcome to The Captain" (2008) as 'Uncle' Saul
"Slipstream" (2007) as Geek / Jeffrey / Dr. Geekman
"Twenty Good Years" (2006) as Jeffrey
"Arrested Development" (2003 - 2006) as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth
"The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" (2005) as Wizard
"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" (2004) as King Neptune
"Funky Monkey" (2004) as Crane
"Hellboy" (2004) as Tom Manning
"EuroTrip" (2004) (uncredited) as Scott's Dad
"Eloise at Christmastime" (2003) as Mr. Salomone
"Under the Tuscan Sun" (2003) (uncredited) as Frances' divorce lawyer
"Eloise at the Plaza" (2003) as Mr. Salomone
"Malibu's Most Wanted" (2003) as Dr. Feldman
"Never Again" (2001) as Christopher
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000) as Mayor Augustus Maywho
"Pollock" (2000) as Clement Greenberg
"Girl, Interrupted" (1999) as Dr. Melvin Potts
"Teaching Mrs. Tingle" (1999) as Coach 'Spanky' Wenchell
"Muppets from Space" (1999) as K. Edgar Singer
"Meet Joe Black" (1998) as Quince
"There's Something About Mary" (1998) as Sully
"Dr. Dolittle" (1998) as Dr. Fish
"The Larry Sanders Show" (1992 - 1998) as Hank Kingsley
"Big Bully" (1996) as Art Lundstrom
"Heavyweights" (1995) as Maury Garner
"Radioland Murders" (1994) as Walt Whalen Jr.
"Life Stinks" (1991) as Vance Crasswell
"City Slickers" (1991) as Lou
"Three O'Clock High" (1987) as Mr. Rice
"Mr. Mom" (1983) as Jinx
"Saturday the 14th" (1981) as Waldemar
"...And Justice for All" (1979) as Jay Porter
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Jeffrey Tambor.
