Famous American character actor, Stephen Harold Tobolowsky also know as Stephen Tobolowsky was born on May 20, 1951. His native place is Dallas, Texas in the United States of America. He is recognized for his parts in movies such as Groundhog Day’s insurance agent Ned Ryerson and Memento’s amnesiac Sammy Jankis. Commissioner Hugo Jarry (Deadwood), Bob Bishop (Heroes), Sandy Ryerson (Glee), Stu Beggs (Californication and White Famous), “Action” Jack Barker (Silicon Valley), Dr. Leslie Berkowitz (One Day at a Time), and Principal Earl Ball (The Goldbergs) are among the television characters he has played. Tobolowsky hosts The Tobolowsky Files, a monthly audio podcast that features autobiographical anecdotes about his acting and private life. In 2015, he and David Chen co-hosted a brief second show, Big Problems — An Advice Podcast. He is also an author and has written several books. The Dangerous Animals Club, Cautionary Tales, and My Adventures With God are three of his books.
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Net Worth
According to sources, Tobolowsky made a fortune of over $1.5 million in mid-2017 as a fruit of his activities in the entertainment sector.
Family and Early life
Tobolowsky was born into a Jewish household in Dallas, Texas. His ancestors hailed from Russia and Poland. He and his brother used to make up fantastic games. For his writings, he used occurrences from his upbringing as inspiration. His story The Dangerous Animals Club depicts how unsupervised youngsters could amuse themselves in the twentieth century. When he was in school, he excelled in baseball. However, a tragic childhood illness cut short his athletic career before it even began. Justin F. Kimball High School and Southern Methodist University are where he earned his degrees. In 1975, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Illinois. The former Dallas attorney Ira Tobolowsky, who was murdered in his home in 2016 is his cousin. His death is still a mystery that remains unknown. The sculptor George Tobolowsky is another cousin (and Ira’s brother). Stephen Tobolowsky also worked in a band named A Cast of Thousands, which featured two songs on a compilation of local Dallas bands called A New Hi, titled “Red, White, and Blue” and “I Heard a Voice Last Night.” Steve Vaughan, later known as Stevie Ray Vaughan, played guitar on both of these tracks.
Career Journey
Tobolowsky has acted in over 200 films and numerous television shows. He’s also done theatre work in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, directing and playing in plays. Two Idiots in Hollywood, based on his play of the same name, was his only film. With David Byrne and Beth Henley, he co-wrote the film True Stories. For the 2002 revival of Morning’s at Seven, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. Tobolowsky began a new podcast called The Tobolowsky Files on /Film on October 29, 2009, in which he narrates stories in the style of Tobolowsky’s film Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party.
His role in Silicon Valley
In the third season of Silicon Valley, Tobolowsky debuted as new Pied Piper CEO Jack Barker. Tobolowsky, as always, brings an exciting and humorous element to the program, which has never been afraid to mix things up. He also provides an interesting contrast to the original cast. In just two episodes, the actor has given Silicon Valley an altogether new dynamic, expressing everything we despise about CEOs while adding fresh depth to the satirical series’ silliness.
The involvement of Jack Barker at Pied Piper is somewhat surprising. It’s pleasantly surprising on multiple occasions. It twists and swirls, propelling Richard’s argument ahead. The tale of Silicon Valley revolves around Richard, who discovers flame. He’s discovered something that will forever alter not only computers but also the way the world works. And that is the heart of Silicon Valley, where you’ll find all kinds of criminals, heroes, villains, sycophants, and people who are either attempting to steal Richard’s concept, undermine Richard’s idea or ride Richard’s coattails to success. Richard has to step up and give the public presentation at the end of the first season. He must transcend who he is and become something other than an engineer, as he has always been. He now has to establish himself as a public personality. At the end of season two, he is tested in ways no one could have predicted, and he is nearly destroyed by his own success.
His role in Glee
Glee’s Sandy Ryerson is portrayed by Stephen Tobolowsky. Sanford Ryerson, sometimes known as Sandy, is the former director of Rhythm Explosion and a William McKinley High School drug dealer.
Sandy is in his forties and has a receding hairline. In Season Two, he comes out as gay, after claiming to have a long-distance girlfriend in Season One. He has an effeminate house set-up and likes porcelain dolls. He dresses strangely and frequently gesticulates erratically when speaking.
Sandy also has a habit of sitting on the fence,’ aligning with whoever appears to have the best chance of winning. In Preggers, he supports Sue in seducing Rachel out of Glee Club but subsequently assists Will in Funk. Prior to Will Schuester, Sandy Ryerson first appeared in Pilot, when he was the Glee Club teacher. Sandy was sacked after Principal Figgins received information from Rachel Berry that he had been sexually touching a male student. Sandy was issued a restraining order by the court to stay away from students, so she went off-campus and started a ‘career’ selling marijuana to Ken and the kids. Will is able to blackmail Finn Hudson into joining the Glee club thanks to Sandy’s pot. His Glee Club is seen playing One from A Chorus Line in the unedited Pilot.
Stephen Tobolowsky is a busy man, no doubt about it. His work ethic puts the majority of us to pity. Tobolowsky has spent the previous four decades amassing an amazing résumé of appearances in some of the most beloved movies and television shows of all time, all without ever becoming a household name, thanks to a steady stream of projects.
