Stephen Tobolowsky

Early life and education

Tobolowsky was born to a Jewish family (from Russia and Poland) in Dallas, Texas. He grew up creating imaginative games with his brother, and his story The Dangerous Animals Club paints a picture of how unsupervised children in the 20th century could amuse themselves. He showed talent at baseball, but a serious childhood illness stopped his career as an athlete before it got started. He graduated from Justin F. Kimball High School and Southern Methodist University. He is the cousin of former Dallas attorney Ira Tobolowsky, who was murdered in his home in 2016—a mystery that remains unsolved. Tobolowsky also played in a band called A Cast of Thousands which had two songs, "Red, White and Blue" and "I Heard a Voice Last Night" on a compilation of local Dallas bands called A New Hi. Both of these songs featured Steve Vaughan on guitar who would be later known as Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Career

Tobolowsky has appeared in over 200 films, plus many television projects. He has worked in the theater as well, directing and acting in plays in New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He directed one movie, Two Idiots in Hollywood, based on his play of the same name. He also co-wrote the film True Stories with David Byrne and Beth Henley. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for the 2002 revival of Mornings at Seven.

On October 29, 2009, Tobolowsky started a new podcast on /Film called The Tobolowsky Files, where he tells stories, in a similar fashion to Tobolowsky's film Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party. The show was picked up by Public Radio International in 2012.