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Jeffrey Tambor

With memorable characters to his credit, including toadying sidekick Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show and patriarch George Bluth Sr. on Arrested Development, Jeffrey Tambor has made his mark on pop culture and earned six Emmy Award nominations along the way.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Tambor began his study of acting at age 12. He earned a bachelor of arts degree at San Francisco State University and completed his master's degree in theater arts at Wayne State University.

He made his film debut as Al Pacino's deranged law partner in Norman Jewison's …And Justice for All in 1979. Since then, his credits have included provocative dramas such as Pollack, Ed Harris' opus to artist Jackson Pollock, as well as the eye-popping comedy Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, in which Ron Howard cast Tambor as the Mayor of Whoville.

Tambor costarred opposite Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted and has also been featured in Meet Joe Black, Dr. Dolittle, There's Something About Mary, City Slickers, Mr. Mom, Pastime, Crossing the Bridge, Article 99, Mel Brooks' Life Stinks, Three O'Clock High, Saturday the 14th, Lisa, No Small Affair, Face Dancer, Under Pressure, A House in the Hills, George Lucas' Radioland Murders, Heavy Weights, Big Bully, Never Again, Get Well Soon and Learning Curves. Tambor voiced King Neptune in the The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Tambor received two Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his portrayal of George Bluth Sr. in the Emmy Award-winning series Arrested Development. The critically acclaimed show was nominated for two Golden Globes for Best Comedy, and Tambor won a Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor.

During his six years on HBO's award-winning The Larry Sanders Show, he was nominated four times for Emmy Awards, and four times for CableACE Awards. He also received an American Comedy Award nomination.

Tambor starred opposite veteran actor John Lithgow in the sitcom Twenty Good Years. His many television credits include regular and recurring stints on such series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, American Dreamer, Studio 5-B and Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future. He starred in his own series, Mr. Sunshine, and guest-starred in the Dead Right episode of HBO's horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt.

Tambor has returned to the legitimate stage throughout his career. Most recently, he appeared as Max Detweiler in the Hollywood Bowl's production of The Sound of Music. On Broadway, he starred opposite Alan Alda and Liev Schreiber in the Tony Award-winning revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, and in Sly Fox, directed by Arthur Penn. His credits also include the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Measure for Measure and Los Angeles productions of Sly Fox, The Hands of Its Enemy, A Flea in Her Ear, American Mosaic and The Seagull.

He directed Lanford Wilson's Burn This at the Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles and has acted and directed at such prestigious regional companies as the Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the Academy Festival Theatre in Chicago, the San Diego Shakespeare Festival, the South Coast Repertory Theatre and the Loeb Drama Center at Harvard University.

When he isn't acting, Tambor teaches class at the Santa Monica Playhouse. Tambor lives in Los Angeles with his wife Kasia, his son Gabriel and his daughter Eve.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2008.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Jeffrey Tambor Facts

Birth NameJeffrey Michael Tambor
OccupationActor
BirthdayJuly 8, 1944 (79)
SignCancer
BirthplaceSan Francisco, California, USA
Height6' 2" (1m88)  How tall is Jeffrey Tambor compared to you?

Selected Filmography

Not available.