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In his illuminating, often hilarious, and always honest memoir, Tambor looks back at the key moments in his life that taught him about creativity and play and pain and fear. The son of what you might call "eccentric" Russian and Hungarian Jewish parents, Tambor grew up in San Francisco a husy kid with a lisp, who suffered in his "otherness" and found salvation in the theater.
While he learned his art from the best of the best—Al Pacino, George C. Scott, Garry Shandling, Mitch Hurwitz, Jill Soloway—he also introduces his many unexpected teachers, from the nameless man in a Detroit bookstore who gave him the love of reading, to his young children who (at this ridiculously late stage in his life) have reintroduced him to play, bravery, and the simple joy of not giving a shit.
Tambor shares the triumph of landing his first Broadway role, but not before experiencing the humbling that is commercial work (and how even saying "my socks don't cling" can prove a challenge). He invites you behind the scenes of his wildly successful television shows, but he doesn't leave out the pit stops he made at addiction, Scientology, and what it feels like to get fourth billing after Sylvia the Seal on The Love Boat.
At last, Tambor answers the question "Are you anybody?" with a promise that success doesn't mean perfection and failure most definitely is an option.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 17, 2017 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780451496379
- File size: 77204 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780451496379
- File size: 77204 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Debut memoir from the acclaimed screen and stage actor.For the first part of his career, Tambor (b. 1944) was "the guy from," as people would recognize him from one of his TV roles--e.g., the Larry Sanders Show or Max Headroom--but not necessarily know who he was. Those experiences provide the title for this book, part personal history and part meditation on his craft. The author writes that when he was a child, his grandparents bought him a bow tie, and he felt special wearing it. People would notice him, and it boosted his confidence. That's what acting became for him. The author tells wonderful tales of hiding out in a college theater near his childhood home in San Francisco, watching a troupe rehearse. The experience served as an epiphany, and he began acting as soon as he could. Acting helped him escape from a mother who had suddenly turned cold, from a father who believed that any kind of celebration would draw unwanted attention, and from the "otherness" of growing up Jewish. The narrative is not strictly chronological, as the author organizes it more thematically. He admits his personal quirks, including his insistence on drinking cold coffee and reading for 30 minutes every morning. He has also watched friends and family die and his marriage dissolve because of his devotion to his craft, and he made it through a flirtation with Scientology that threatened to destroy him. Later in his career, he found professional success in projects like Arrested Development and Transparent, for which he has won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe. Tambor vacillates between student and teacher, passing on his knowledge and continuing to learn. Aspiring actors should pay particular attention to his advice. He advocates for people to speak up for themselves, even if it costs them, and to support others and surround themselves with people who will lift them up. Sure, parts of the book are schmaltzy, but that doesn't make the author's advice, or his story, any less compelling. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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January 1, 2017
The multi-award-winning actor on auditions, audiences, colleagues, and the inspiration he drew from his childhood as a self-described fat Hungarian Jewish kid. With a 100,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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