A well-respected acting teacher who initially made his mark in regional theater, this chubby, balding everyman came to prominence on television playing pompous, pent-up and occasionally goofy characters. A recurring role on
Three's Company led to a series-regular gig on the sitcom's short-lived spin-off,
The Ropers, as the title characters' snotty neighbor. Once that series folded, the producers of
Three's Company invited Tambor back for a variety of guest spots. From the '80s on, this consummate character actor (and Dr. Phil doppelgänger) never lacked for small-screen work, alternating between dramas and comedies, but making his biggest impression in the latter. After a series of flop sitcoms (
9 to 5,
Mr. Sunshine,
Max Headroom), he finally struck comedic gold in 1992 when he signed on as Garry Shandling's hilariously bombastic sidekick on the late-night talk-show spoof
The Larry Sanders Show. During the show's six seasons, Tambor racked up four Emmy nods and parlayed his newfound fame into small but memorable feature-film roles (
Girl, Interrupted, Malibu's Most Wanted) that capitalized on his stock-in-trade. In 2003, he won a plum dual role on the cult hit
Arrested Development. Although initially only slated to appear in the pilot, Tambor so impressed creator Mitch Hurwitz (who had previously worked with the actor on the short-lived
Everything's Relative) that he was promoted to series regular, essaying an imprisoned millionaire and his hippie twin brother, a pair of tour de force turns that earned him two more Emmy nominations. Although the series folded in the spring of 2006, Tambor was back on the tube that fall as the uptight member of the retirement-aged buddy show
Twenty Good Years.
Jeffrey Tambor Fast Facts:
- Began taking acting lessons as a preteen.
- Dropped out of a PhD program at Wayne State University in 1970 for a role in Richard II with Richard Chamberlain at the Seattle Repertory Theater.
- Signature catchphrase as sidekick Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show was "Hey now!"
- In 1996, he became the co-owner of Los Angeles' Skylight Bookstore.
- Was the announcer on Hollywood Squares for the 2002-03 season.
- On December 10, 2004, his wife Kasia Ostlun gave birth to his son Gabriel Kasper. Four days later, his grown daughter Molly Tambor gave birth to his grandson Mason Jay Moore.
- Jeffrey Tambor Relationships:
- Eli Nicholas Tambor - Son
- Eve Julia Tambor - Daughter
- Gabriel Kasper Tambor - Son
- Hugo Bernard Tambor - Son
- Kasia Ostlun - Wife
- Katherine Mitchell - Ex-wife
- Molly Tambor - Daughter
- Jeffrey Tambor Awards:
- 1993 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1996 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor for a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1997 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1998 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- College:
- San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA (BA, 1965); Wayne State University, Detroit, MI (MFA, 1969)
