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Stephen Tobolowsky

Stephen TobolowskyAKA Stephen Harold Tobolowsky

Born: 30-May-1951
Birthplace: Dallas, TX [1]

Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day

Stephen Tobolowsky is a character actor, appearing in small roles in several films every year. He's balding, middle-aged, pudgy, and white -- utterly forgettable, really -- but like the best character actors, chances are you remember him without even knowing it. In Groundhog Day, he was Ned Ryerson, the annoying insurance salesman who pestered Bill Murray every morning. In Mememto, he was Guy Pearce's doppelganger. In Single White Female, he was Bridget Fonda's leering boss. In Sneakers, he was the "Passport?" guy. In Thelma & Louise, he was a dogged FBI agent. In Spaceballs, he was Captain of the Guard.

He co-wrote David Byrne's True Stories, and wrote and directed the bizarre but rarely-seen "make me a star" story Two Idiots in Hollywood, based on his own play. He directed Holly Hunter in the original New York stage production of The Miss Firecracker Contest. Tobolowsky has appeared in dozens of movies, from Swing Shift to The Insider, Adaptation to Freaky Friday to Freddy Got Fingered. On the small screen, he's done Seinfeld, Mad About You, The Practice. Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Drew Carey Show, among many others.

He was a high school friend of Stevie Ray Vaughan, sang in Vaughn's first amateur band, and had a long relationship with playwright Beth Henley. His aunt, Hermine Tobolowsky, was a feminist and activist, who led the movement to add the Equal Legal Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution (adopted in 1972). He is also a distant relative of 1960s schlockmeister Edwin Tobolowsky, producer of Zontar: The Thing from Venus, Mars Needs Women, and In the Year 2889.


[1] Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Father: David Tobolowsky (pediatrician)
Mother: June Tobolowsky (nurse)
Girlfriend:
Beth Henley (playwright, cohabited 1970s)
Wife: Ann Hearn (actress, b. 27-Jun-1953, m. 1988, two sons)
Son: Robert
Son: William

    High School: Kimball High School, Dallas, TX (1969)
    University: BA Drama, Southern Methodist University (1973)
    University: MA Drama, University of Illinois

    McCain-Palin Victory 2008
    Jewish Ancestry Maternal
    Russian Ancestry
    Risk Factors: Marijuana, Cocaine, LSD

    TELEVISION
    Heroes Bob (2007-08)
    John from Cincinnati Mark Lewinsky (2007)
    Big Day The Garf (2006-07)
    Deadwood Hugo Jarry (2005-06)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Atlas Shrugged III: Who Is John Galt? (12-Sep-2014)
    Mr. Peabody & Sherman (7-Feb-2014) [VOICE]
    The Lorax (2-Mar-2012) [VOICE]
    Peep World (15-Sep-2010) · Ephraim
    Buried (23-Jan-2010) [VOICE]
    Hard Breakers (2010)
    The Time Traveler's Wife (14-Aug-2009) · Dr. Kendrick
    Beethoven's Big Break (30-Dec-2008)
    The Rainbow Tribe (20-Sep-2008)
    Totally Baked (20-Apr-2007)
    Wild Hogs (2-Mar-2007)
    The Valley of Light (28-Jan-2007)
    Blind Dating (28-Jul-2006)
    Failure to Launch (10-Mar-2006)
    The Sasquatch Gang (Jan-2006) · Dalrymple
    Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (11-Mar-2005)
    Robots (10-Mar-2005) [VOICE]
    Little Black Book (6-Aug-2004) · Carl
    Garfield (11-Jun-2004) · Happy Chapman
    Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (23-Jan-2004) · George Ruddy
    Frankie and Johnny Are Married (4-Sep-2003) · Murray Mintz
    Freaky Friday (6-Aug-2003) · Mr. Bates
    Kingpin (2-Feb-2003)
    National Security (15-Jan-2003) · Billy Narthax
    The Country Bears (21-Jul-2002) · Norbert Barrington
    Par 6 (16-Apr-2002)
    Love Liza (14-Jan-2002) · Tom Bailey
    The Day the World Ended (23-Nov-2001)
    Black River (6-Jul-2001)
    Ritual (2001)
    Memento (5-Sep-2000) · Sammy
    The Prime Gig (1-Sep-2000) · Mick
    Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion (21-Apr-2000)
    Bossa Nova (21-Feb-2000)
    Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes (2000) · Dewey Wise
    The Insider (5-Nov-1999)
    Don't Look Under the Bed (9-Oct-1999)
    One Man's Hero (2-Aug-1999)
    Around the Fire (10-Apr-1999)
    The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story (29-Sep-1998) [VOICE]
    The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (19-May-1998) [VOICE]
    Black Dog (1-May-1998)
    Mr. Magoo (25-Dec-1997) · Agent Chuck Stupak
    An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (29-Sep-1997)
    Boys Life 2 (7-Mar-1997)
    The Curse of Inferno (1997)
    The Glimmer Man (4-Oct-1996) · Christopher Maynard
    Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (8-Mar-1996) [VOICE]
    Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (25-Aug-1995)
    Murder in the First (20-Jan-1995) · Mr. Henkin
    Radioland Murders (21-Oct-1994)
    My Father the Hero (4-Feb-1994) · Mike
    Trevor (Jan-1994)
    Josh and S.A.M. (24-Nov-1993)
    Calendar Girl (3-Sep-1993)
    The Pickle (30-Apr-1993)
    Groundhog Day (12-Feb-1993) · Ned
    Roadside Prophets (8-Oct-1992)
    Hero (2-Oct-1992) · Wallace
    Where the Day Takes You (11-Sep-1992)
    Sneakers (9-Sep-1992) · Dr. Werner Brandes
    Single White Female (14-Aug-1992)
    Basic Instinct (20-Mar-1992) · Dr. Lamott
    Memoirs of an Invisible Man (28-Feb-1992) · Warren Singleton
    Wedlock (5-Sep-1991)
    Thelma & Louise (24-May-1991) · Max
    Tagget (14-Feb-1991)
    Face Value (4-Feb-1991)
    Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (12-Oct-1990)
    Funny About Love (21-Sep-1990)
    The Grifters (14-Sep-1990) · Jeweler
    Last Flight Out (22-May-1990)
    Bird on a Wire (18-May-1990) · Joe Weyburn
    Mirror, Mirror (1990)
    Breaking In (13-Oct-1989) · District Attorney
    In Country (7-Sep-1989)
    Great Balls of Fire! (30-Jun-1989) · Jud Phillips
    Roe vs. Wade (15-May-1989)
    Checking Out (21-Apr-1989) · Pharmacist
    Mississippi Burning (9-Dec-1988) · Townley
    Spaceballs (24-Jun-1987) · Captain of the Guard
    Nobody's Fool (Nov-1986) · Kirk
    The Philadelphia Experiment (5-Oct-1984) · Barney
    Swing Shift (13-Apr-1984)
    Keep My Grave Open (1976)

Official Website:
http://www.tobolowskyfiles.com


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