Jeffrey Tambor

An incisive presence when it comes to playing bent, off-the-wall characters, Jeffrey (Michael) Tambor has been captivating audiences for nearly four decades in both comic and dramatic projects. Born (July 8,1944) in San Francisco to Eileen (Salzberg) and Michael Bernard Tambor, a flooring contractor, he was raised there. His family is Jewish (from Hungary and Ukraine). Following graduation from Abraham Lincoln High School, Jeffrey studied acting at San Francisco State University and earned his BA degree there. Following his Masters at Wayne State University, he started building up his resumé with repertory theaters in such places as Seattle and Milwaukee.

Teaching fellow/graduate assistant at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1960s.

He was first seen on episodic TV in the late 1970s in both comedies ("Taxi," "Barney Miller") and dramas ("Kojak," "Starsky and Hutch," ). A large, somewhat looming fellow, his sly-eyed look, obnoxious attitude and leering gaze, matched with a bright set of pearly teeth and stark pattern baldness, made him a natural for broad, warped comedy.

He was nominated for a 1974 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in a Principal Role for his performance in "The Play's the Thing", at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

The folks at Three's Company (1976) thought enough of Jeffrey to cast him on the show's spin-off series The Ropers (1979) starring Norman Fell and Audra Lindley. He and Patty McCormack played the Ropers' chagrined neighbors. While the series only lasted a season, "Three's Company" continued to use him as a guest on their mainstay series where he brightened several episodes standing toe-to-toe with John Ritter and sharing several classic scenes with his noticeably bizarre gents. On the legitimate stage, he has been an earnest player over the years with Broadway performances in "Sly Fox" (Bdwy debut), "Glengarry Glen Ross" and the musical "La Cage aux Folles. " Additional roles include "Measure for Measure," "The Play's the Thing," "A Flea in Her Ear" (Dramalogue Award) and "The Seagull. " On the side, Jeffrey has directed a number of stage productions and taught acting at one time in the Los Angeles area.

Although not as well known for his film work, Jeffrey made a strong impression with his film debut in And Justice for All (1979), in which he played Al Pacino's half-crazed law partner.

He was awarded the 1982 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Performance in "A Flea in Her Ear", at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Mom (1983), Brenda Starr (1989), Radioland Murders (1994), Doctor Dolittle (1998), Pollock (2000) and played the Mayor of Whoville in Dr.

He went on to enhance a number of other movies including The Dream Chasers (1984), Mr.

Sunshine (1986); had a recurring role as a cross-dressing judge on Hill Street Blues (1981); played a neurotic producer in a regrettably short-lived satire way ahead of its time -- Max Headroom (1987); and a cynical news editor in the equally short-lived Robert Urich comedy American Dreamer (1990); and a co-star lead with John Lithgow as two aging single guys in still another comedy Twenty Good Years (2006).

He appeared in Phil Collins' music video of his song "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (1990).

Award-worthy series performances began with Jeffrey's Emmy-nominated for his quirky work as Larry's "Ed McMahon" sidekick on The Larry Sanders Show (1992); his underhanded tycoon and dysfunctional Bluth family patriarch on the series Arrested Development (2003), which earned him several Emmy nominations; and his most poignant role as transgender woman Maura Pfefferman in The Norman Paris Trio, winning two Emmys and a Golden Globe.

Reportedly, the first actor to use the C-word on TV which he did on The Larry Sanders Show: The Hankerciser 200 (1993) when referring to Larry's wife as "that c--t". Jeffrey was supposed to say "bitch", but in rehearsals he improvised and Garry Shandling opted for the C-word instead.

Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). Having more success on the smaller screen, Jeffrey's fondness and talent for the weird and wacky found several nesting roosts. He played a blind university professor in the comedy series Mr.

Film work into the millennium included a rare romantic comedy starring role with Jill Clayburgh in Never Again (2001), Get Well Soon (2001), Malibu's Most Wanted (2003), Marked! (1993), Slipstream (2007), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), The Invention of Lying (2009), Win Win (2011), the top-billed role in Meeting Spencer (2011), Flypaper (2011), the Jim Carrey fantasy Mr.

Children: Molly Tambor (b. 1975); Gabriel Kasper (b. December 10, 2004), Eve Julia (December 10, 2006), Hugo Bernard and Eli Nicholas (twins b. October 4, 2009) with wife Kasia. Daughter Molly gave birth to his grandson (Mason Jay Moore) four days before his son Gabriel was born.

He originally played Tom Abernathy in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005). However, when the scene needed to be reshot, he was shooting Arrested Development (2003), so the scene was reshot with Stephen Tobolowsky. The version of the scene with Jeffrey can be seen on the DVD.

In 2007, he sold his five-bedroom, Cape Cod-style house in Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades neighborhood for $3.3 million. In early 2005, he had purchased the house for $2,749,000.

Tambor's unique voice has been highly suited for animated series, providing voices for China, IL (2008) (as Professor Cupcakes); Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017) (as Big Nose); 2758770] (as Glossaryck).

Popper's Penguins (2011), Branded (2012), Banánové rybicky: Jak vyuzít chut (2004), The Accountant (2016) and The Death of Stalin (2017).

In February 2018, Amazon Studios fired Tambor from the series Transparent after multiple allegations of sexual harassment against the actor arose. Amazon, who owns and produces the Soloway series, had been investigating the actor and made an official decision for Tambor not to have any role in Season 5.