Jeffrey Tambor

Biography: A well-respected acting teacher who initially made his mark in regional theater, this balding everyman came to prominence on television playing pompous, pent-up and occasionally goofy characters. A recurring role on Three's Company led to a series-regular gig on the sitcom's short-lived spin-off, The Ropers, as the title characters' snotty neighbor. Once that series folded, the producers of Three's Company invited Tambor back for a variety of guest spots. From the 1980s on, this consummate character actor (and Dr. Phil doppelgänger) never lacked for small-screen work, alternating between dramas and comedies, but making his biggest impression in the latter. After a series of flop sitcoms (9 to 5, Mr. Sunshine, Max Headroom), Tambor finally struck comedic gold in 1992, when he signed on as Garry Shandling's hilariously bombastic sidekick on the late-night talk-show spoof The Larry Sanders Show. During that series' six seasons, Tambor racked up four Emmy nods and parlayed hisA well-respected acting teacher who initially made his mark in regional theater, this balding everyman came to prominence on television playing pompous, pent-up and occasionally goofy characters. A recurring role on Three's Company led to a series-regular gig on the sitcom's short-lived spin-off, The Ropers, as the title characters' snotty neighbor. Once that series folded, the producers of Three's Company invited Tambor back for a variety of guest spots. From the 1980s on, this consummate character actor (and Dr. Phil doppelgänger) never lacked for small-screen work, alternating between dramas and comedies, but making his biggest impression in the latter. After a series of flop sitcoms (9 to 5, Mr. Sunshine, Max Headroom), Tambor finally struck comedic gold in 1992, when he signed on as Garry Shandling's hilariously bombastic sidekick on the late-night talk-show spoof The Larry Sanders Show. During that series' six seasons, Tambor racked up four Emmy nods and parlayed his newfound fame into small but memorable feature-film roles (Girl, Interrupted, Malibu's Most Wanted) that capitalized on his stock-in-trade. In 2003, he won a plum dual role on the cult hit Arrested Development. Although initially only slated to appear in the pilot, Tambor so impressed creator Mitch Hurwitz (who had previously worked with the actor on the short-lived sitcom Everything's Relative) that he was promoted to series regular, essaying an imprisoned millionaire and his hippie twin brother, a pair of tour de force turns that earned him two more Emmy nominations. That series folded in the spring of 2006, but Tambor was back on the tube by fall in the retirement-aged buddy comedy Twenty Good Years; reviews and ratings were disappointing, and the series lasted just over half a season. Undeterred, Tambor took another shot at sitcom success in 2008 with Welcome to the Captain. But when CBS pulled the plug on Captain after just a handful of episodes, the actor turned back to the big screen, putting in appearances in comedies like The Hangover and The Invention of Lying, and lending his voice to the animated hit Monsters vs. Aliens. Expand

Jeffrey Tambor's Scores

Average career score: 73
Highest Metascore: 99 The Larry Sanders Show: Season 4
Lowest Metascore: 29 Twenty Good Years: Season 1
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 36
  2. Negative: 3 out of 36
36 tv reviews
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
91 The Larry Sanders Show: Season 1 Aug 15, 1992 Hank Kingsley / Hank / Hank Kingsley 6.7
tbd Empty Nest: Season 4 Sep 21, 1991 Actor tbd
tbd The Golden Girls: Season 6 Sep 22, 1990 Jeffrey Tambor 9.8
tbd Tales from the Crypt: Season 2 Apr 21, 1990 Actor tbd
tbd The Golden Girls: Season 5 Sep 23, 1989 Dr. Stevens / Guest 9.5
tbd Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season 1 Sep 19, 1989 Miller tbd
tbd Who's the Boss?: Season 6 Sep 19, 1989 Actor tbd
tbd Murder, She Wrote: Season 4 Sep 20, 1987 Russell Armstrong tbd
tbd Max Headroom: Season 2 Sep 18, 1987 Murray tbd
tbd Max Headroom: Season 1 Mar 31, 1987 Murray tbd
tbd Hill Street Blues: Season 7 Oct 2, 1986 Attorney/Judge Alan Wachtel (Recurring) / Judge Alan Wachtel / Judge Watchel tbd
tbd The Twilight Zone (1985): Season 2 Sep 27, 1986 Milt tbd
tbd The Twilight Zone (1985): Season 1 Sep 27, 1985 Stephen Montgomery 9.0
tbd Hill Street Blues: Season 6 Sep 26, 1985 Attorney/Judge Alan Wachtel (Recurring) / Judge Alan Wachtel / Judge Wachtel tbd
tbd Hill Street Blues: Season 5 Sep 27, 1984 Attorney/Judge Alan Wachtel (Recurring) / Judge Alan Wachtel tbd
tbd Hill Street Blues: Season 4 Oct 13, 1983 Attorney/Judge Alan Wachtel (Recurring) / Judge Alan Wachtel / Wachtel tbd
tbd M*A*S*H: Season 11 Oct 25, 1982 Maj. Reddish tbd
tbd The Love Boat: Season 6 Oct 2, 1982 Lawrence Jurgens tbd
tbd Hill Street Blues: Season 3 Sep 30, 1982 Attorney/Judge Alan Wachtel (Recurring) / Wachtel tbd
tbd Three's Company: Season 7 Sep 28, 1982 Phil tbd
79 Gloria: In Her Own Words Sep 26, 1982 Dr. Webber tbd
tbd Hill Street Blues: Season 2 Oct 29, 1981 Alan Wachtel tbd
tbd Three's Company: Season 6 Oct 6, 1981 Dr. Tom Miller tbd
tbd Hill Street Blues: Season 1 Jan 15, 1981 Attorney/Judge Alan Wachtel (Recurring) 9.4
tbd Barney Miller: Season 7 Oct 30, 1980 Klein tbd
tbd Three's Company: Season 5 Oct 28, 1980 Cromwell tbd
tbd The Love Boat: Season 4 Oct 25, 1980 Mr. Rogers tbd
77 Taxi: Season 1 Sep 12, 1978 Congressman 8.0
tbd Starsky & Hutch: Season 4 Sep 12, 1978 Randy tbd