Stephen Tobolowsky

Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor and writer. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters as Commissioner Hugo Jarry in '' Deadwood'', Bob Bishop in '' Heroes'', Sandy Ryerson in ''Glee'', Stu Beggs in ''Californication'' and '' White Famous'', "Action" Jack Barker in ''Silicon Valley'', Dr. Leslie Berkowitz in '' One Day at a Time'', Principal Earl Ball in '' The Goldbergs'', and Dr. Schulman in ''The Mindy Project''.

Tobolowsky has a monthly audio podcast, ''The Tobolowsky Files'', of autobiographical stories of his acting and personal life. He has also authored three books: ''The Dangerous Animals Club'', ''Cautionary Tales'', and '' My Adventures with God''.

Early life and education

Tobolowsky was born on May 30, 1951, in Dallas, Texas. He grew up creating imaginative games with his brother, and his story ''The Dangerous Animals Club'' paints a picture of how unsupervised children in the 20th century could amuse themselves. He showed talent at baseball, but a serious childhood illness ended his career as an athlete before it began. He graduated from Justin F. Kimball High School and Southern Methodist University. He received a master's degree from the University of Illinois in 1975.

Tobolowsky is a cousin of former Dallas attorney Ira Tobolowsky, who was murdered in his home in 2016 by a disgruntled former litigant. George Tobolowsky, Ira's brother and Stephen's cousin, is a sculptor.

Stephen Tobolowsky also played in a band called A Cast of Thousands, which had two songs, "Red, White and Blue" and "I Heard a Voice Last Night", on a compilation of local Dallas bands called ''A New Hi''. Both of these songs featured Steve Vaughan on guitar, who would be later known as Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Career

Tobolowsky has appeared in over 200 films, plus many television projects. He has also worked in the theater, directing and acting in plays in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. He directed one film, '' Two Idiots in Hollywood'', based on his play of the same name. He also co-wrote the film '' True Stories'' with David Byrne and Beth Henley. While writing ''True Stories,'' he told Byrne about his supposed psychic abilities, which inspired Byrne to write the song "Radio Head" for the film. Tobolowsky 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 '' Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party'' (2005). The show was picked up by Public Radio International in 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Discography

* Featured on two tracks of the 1971 compilation album ''A New Hi''
* Featured on the track " Loser" (also released as a digital single) of the 2010 cast album '' Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers''
* Featured on the tracks "Loser" and "I Wanna Sex You Up" of the 2010 compilation downloadable cast album ''Glee: The Music, The Complete Season One''

Stage appearances

Selected stage appearances

Writing credits

Directing credits

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobolowsky, Stephen
1951 births
Living people
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American podcasters
Jewish American male actors
Justin F. Kimball High School alumni
Male actors from Dallas
Southern Methodist University alumni
Writers from Dallas