Tony Shalhoub

Tony Shalhoub

Shalhoub, December 2008
Born Anthony Marcus Shalhoub
October 9, 1953 (1953-10-09) (age 57)
, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1986–present
Spouse Brooke Adams (m. 1992–present) «start: (1992)»"Marriage: Brooke Adams to Tony Shalhoub" Location: (linkback:http://localhost../../../../articles/t/o/n/Tony_Shalhoub_000b.html) (2 children)

Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub (born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. His television work includes the role of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk.

Contents

Early life

Shalhoub was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His father, Joe Shalhoub, emigrated from Lebanon to the United States as an orphan at the age of 10. He married Shalhoub’s mother, Helen, a second-generation Lebanese-American, and founded a family grocery chain, starting with a store in downtown Green Bay.

The second youngest of the couple's 10 children, Shalhoub was introduced to the theater by an older sister, who put his name forward as an extra in a high school production of The King and I. Despite finding himself standing on the wrong side of the curtain during the final dress rehearsal, he became addicted to the theater. Shalhoub graduated from Green Bay East High School, where his senior peers named him the best dressed and most likely to succeed. In his senior year he suffered a setback, breaking his leg in a fall off the stage into the pit during a rehearsal. Recovering quickly, he was able to perform in the school's final play of the year. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in drama from the University of Southern Maine in Portland, going on to earn a masters from the Yale School of Drama in 1980.

The stage

Shortly thereafter, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he spent four seasons with the American Repertory Theater before heading to New York City, where he found work waiting tables while honing his craft and auditioning. He made his Broadway debut in the 1985 Rita Moreno/Sally Struthers production of The Odd Couple and was nominated for a 1992 Tony Award for his featured role in Conversations with My Father. Shalhoub met his wife, actress Brooke Adams, when they co-starred on Broadway in The Heidi Chronicles. His Off-Broadway credits include Waiting for Godot, For Dear Life, Rameau's Nephew, Zero Positive, and two productions of Shakespeare in the Park: Henry IV, Part 1 and Richard II.

Shalhoub returned in December 2006 to Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre with Everybody Loves Raymond star Patricia Heaton for a run of The Scene by Theresa Rebeck.[1] Rebeck’s black comedy takes a look at the NYC entertainment scene with Shalhoub starring as Charlie, a has-been actor who is married to Heaton's character Stella, a very successful producer of a morning television show.

He has been confirmed to star as Saunders in the Broadway revival of Lend Me a Tenor, which will begin performances at the Music Box Theatre on April 4, 2010, after previews from March 12.[2]

Breaking into screen roles

One of his first television roles was in 1991 as the Italian cabdriver Antonio Scarpacci in the sitcom Wings. Shalhoub was pleasantly surprised to land the role after having a recurring role in the second season. Shalhoub affected an Italian accent for the role. In the same time period, Shalhoub played physicist Dr. Chester Ray Banton in the X-Files second-season episode "Soft Light".

Shalhoub's film roles following his Wings breakout included an excitable producer in Barton Fink and a fast-talking lawyer in The Man Who Wasn't There (both directed by the Coen brothers), a linguistically unidentified cabby in Quick Change, a Cuban-American businessman in Primary Colors, a sleazy alien pawn shop owner in the Men in Black films, a sympathetic attorney in A Civil Action, a widowed father in Thir13en Ghosts, a cameo role in the film Gattaca, and a has-been television star in Galaxy Quest. He also had a co-starring role in the film Big Night, where he plays an Italian-speaking chef complete with accent. And in 1995 he had a role in the hit NBC sitcom Frasier in the episode "The Focus Group" as an Arab newsstand owner named Manu Habbib.

Shalhoub also did voice acting for the 1997 computer game Fallout.

Shalhoub demonstrated his dramatic range in the 1998 big-budget thriller, The Siege starring Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis. His character, FBI Special Agent Frank Haddad, was of Middle Eastern descent and suffered discrimination after terrorist attack sites in New York City.

He later returned to series television in 1999, this time in a lead role on Stark Raving Mad opposite Neil Patrick Harris. The show did not attract much of an audience and NBC canceled the series in July 2000.

Monk

After a two-year absence from the small screen, Shalhoub starred in another TV series, Monk, in which he plays a San Francisco detective diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, for USA Network. Michael Richards had been offered the role when the show was being considered for broadcast on ABC, which later reran the first season in 2002, but he eventually turned it down. Shalhoub was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in seven consecutive years from 2002 to 2009, winning in 2003, 2005, and 2006. He also took the Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy, in 2003.[3]

Career during Monk

In addition to his acting work, Shalhoub, along with the Network of Arab-American Professionals and Zoom-in-Focus productions, established The Arab-American Filmmaker Award Competition in 2005. Arab-American filmmakers submitted screenplays, with the chosen winner flown to Hollywood to have their screenplay produced. Two runners-up were also invited to participate in the production.

Shalhoub was one of the celebrity judges for the 2003 "Bush in 30 Seconds" advertisement competition.

He also appeared with Alec Baldwin in the 2004 Hollywood satire The Last Shot as a gruff small-time mobster with a love for movies, and as the voice of Luigi in the 2006 Disney/Pixar film Cars.

Shalhoub appeared in the 2007 horror film 1408 as John Cusack’s literary agent.

In 2007, Shalhoub played Charlie in The Scene off-Broadway.

He received a 2008 Grammy nomination in the category "Best Spoken Word Album For Children" for his narration of The Cricket in Times Square.

Personal life

Shalhoub married actress Brooke Adams in 1992. The two have worked together in several films, and Adams made several guest appearances on Monk, almost always as different characters. Shalhoub and Adams are currently appearing on Broadway together in the 2010 hit revival of Lend Me a Tenor.

At the time of their wedding Adams had an adopted daughter, Josie Lynn (born 1988), whom Shalhoub adopted. In 1994, they adopted another daughter, Sophie (born 1993). The family resides in Los Angeles and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

In 2006, Shalhoub's brother, Dan, appeared on the reality show American Inventor, pitching the Sha-Poopie, a catch-in-action pooper scooper.[4] Judges rejected it. The invention has since appeared on an episode of Monk. Tony Shalhoub is the cousin of Chicago radio personality Jonathon Brandmeier. He is also the brother-in-law of former Guiding Light actress Lynne Adams.[5]

Filmography

Motion pictures

Year Film Role Notes
1986 Heartburn Airplane Passenger
1988 Alone in the Neon Jungle Nahid TV movie
1989 Money, Power, Murder Seth Parker TV movie
Day One Enrico Fermi TV movie
Longtime Companion Paul's Doctor
1990 Quick Change Taxicab Driver
1991 Barton Fink Ben Geisler
1992 Honeymoon in Vegas Buddy Walker
1993 Gypsy Uncle Jocko TV movie
Addams Family Values Jorge
Searching for Bobby Fischer Chess Club Member
1994 I.Q. Bob Rosetti
1996 Radiant City Narrator TV movie
Big Night Primo
1997 A Life Less Ordinary Al
Gattaca German
Men in Black Jack Jeebs
1998 A Civil Action Kevin Conway
The Siege Agent Frank Haddad
The Impostors Voltri, First Mate
Paulie Misha Belenkoff
Primary Colors Eddie Reyes
1999 Galaxy Quest Fred Kwan
That Championship Season George Sitkowski TV movie
The Tic Code Phil
2001 Thir13en Ghosts Arthur Kriticos
The Man Who Wasn't There Freddy Riedenschneider
Spy Kids Alexander Minion
The Heart Department Dr. Joseph Nassar TV movie
2002 Life or Something Like It Prophet Jack
Made-Up Max Hires
Impostor Nelson Gittes
Men in Black II Jack Jeebs
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams Alexander Minion
2003 Party Animals Celebrity Father
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over Alexander Minion
T for Terrorist Man in White Suit
Something More Mr. Avery
2004 The Last Shot Tommy Sanz
Against the Ropes Sam LaRocca
2005 The Great New Wonderful Dr. Trabulous
2006 Cars Luigi Voice
2007 Careless Mr. Roth
AmericanEast Sam
1408 Sam Farrell
2008 L.A. Actors Bum
2009 Feed the Fish Sheriff Anderson

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1986 The Equalizer Terrorist Season 1, Episode 19
"Breakpoint"
1987 Spenser: For Hire Dr. Hambrecht Season 2, Episode 19
"The Road Back"
1991 Monsters Mancini Season 3, Episode 17
"Leavings"
1991 - 1997 Wings Antonio Scarpacci 136 Episodes
1992 Dinosaurs Jerry Voice (puppet)
Season 2, Episode 14 "Fran Live"
1995 Gargoyles The Emir Voice (animated)
Season 2, Episode 31 "Grief"
The X-Files Dr. Chester Ray Banton Season 2, Episode 23
"Soft Light"
1996 Frasier Manu Habib Season 3, Episode 23
"The Focus Group"
Almost Perfect Alex Thorpe Season 1, Episode 16
"Auto Neurotic"
1999 Ally McBeal Albert Shepley Season 2, Episode 18
"Those Lips, That Hand"
1999 - 2000 Stark Raving Mad Ian Stark 22 Episodes
2000 MADtv Taxi Cab Driver, Himself Season 5, Episode 18
Season 5, Episode 24
2002 - 2009 Monk Adrian Monk 125 Episodes

Video Games

Year Film Role
1997 Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game Aradesh
2006 Cars Luigi
2007 Cars Mater-National Luigi
2009 Cars Race-O-Rama Luigi

Produced

Year Film
2003 - 2009 Monk
2005 Mush
2009 Feed the Fish
2009 Pet Peeves

Directed

Year Film
2002 Made-Up

References

  1. ↑ "Tony Shalhoub to Join Patricia Heaton in Theresa Rebeck's The Scene, Broadway.com Buzz". Broadway.com. http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=539093. Retrieved 2010-05-27. 
  2. ↑ Wilson, Gemma (March 12, 2010). "'Tenor' Troupers Learn the Rules of Farce - Or Else". Playbill.com. http://news.yahoo.com/s/playbill/20100313/en_playbill/137742. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
  3. ↑ IMBD.com, Tony Shalhoub - Awards. Retrieved 4-09-2010.
  4. ↑ "The Shapoopie-The ultimate Pooper Scooper - As seen on TV's American Inventor". Theshapoopie.com. http://www.theshapoopie.com/. Retrieved 2010-05-27. 
  5. ↑ "Biography for Lynne Adams". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0011165/. 

External links

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series

Eric McCormack (2001) · Ray Romano (2002) · Tony Shalhoub (2003) · Kelsey Grammer (2004) · Tony Shalhoub (2005) · Tony Shalhoub (2006) · Ricky Gervais (2007) · Alec Baldwin (2008) · Alec Baldwin (2009) · Jim Parsons (2010)

Complete list: (1950–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–present)
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy

Ted Danson (1990) · Burt Reynolds (1991) · John Goodman (1992) · Jerry Seinfeld (1993) · Tim Allen (1994) · Kelsey Grammer (1995) · John Lithgow (1996) · Michael J. Fox (1997) · Michael J. Fox (1998) · Michael J. Fox (1999) · Kelsey Grammer (2000) · Charlie Sheen (2001) · Tony Shalhoub (2002) · Ricky Gervais (2003) · Jason Bateman (2004) · Steve Carell (2005) · Alec Baldwin (2006) · David Duchovny (2007) · Alec Baldwin (2008) · Alec Baldwin (2009)

 · (1970–1989) · (1990–2009)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Jason Alexander (1994) · David Hyde Pierce (1995) · John Lithgow (1996) · John Lithgow (1997) · Michael J. Fox (1998) · Michael J. Fox (1999) · Robert Downey, Jr. (2000) · Sean Hayes (2001) · Sean Hayes (2002) · Tony Shalhoub (2003) · Tony Shalhoub (2004) · Sean Hayes (2005) · Alec Baldwin (2006) · Alec Baldwin (2007) · Alec Baldwin (2008) · Alec Baldwin (2009)