Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2012
352 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
If you ran into Stephen Tobolowsky on the street, you would not be mistaken: Yes, you've seen him before. A childhood dentist? A former geometry teacher? Your local florist? Tobolowsky is a character actor, one of the most prolific screen and stage presences of our time, having appeared in productions that range from Deadwood to Glee, from Mississippi Burning to Groundhog Day.
But Stephen Tobolowsky, it turns out, is not just an actor; he is also a dazzlingly talented storyteller and writer. He has earned a devoted base of fans for his original stories, told in front of live audiences as well as in a popular podcast. Now, for the first time, he has assembled those stories here. The result is creative mitzvah, a work of art, and a narrative feat that combines biography and essay, ranging in tone from the hilarious to the introspective.
To read these pages is to enter an astonishing world that, like all art, is universal yet individual, familiar yet disquieting. A dangerous world, indeed.
"Stories that are quirky, funny and sentimental." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Tobolowsky guides the reader along a hilarious, poignant, and haunting path. ... Ignore the celebrity aspect and put this book in the hands of your memoir readers. Lovers of good writing will welcome this powerful, compelling voice." - Library Journal
"Starred Review. The actor has plenty of rich material to mine...but the delight of the book is the author's voice: wry, discursive and full of generous spirit and curiosity […] A copiously examined life rendered with humor and heart." - Kirkus Reviews
"Stephen Tobolowsky has found his true calling as a storyteller. He is candid, insightful, often profound, and very, very funny, especially when he recounts his adventures in show business." - Leonard Maltin, film critic and author
This information about The Dangerous Animals Club was first featured
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The quintessential character actor, Stephen Tobolowsky has appeared in more than 100 movies and more than 200 television shows in his career (USA TODAY recently noted that he was the ninth most frequently seen actor in film today). Along the way his roles have spanned almost all aspects of being a working actor, from the big-budget and Oscar Award-worthy (as head of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi Burning), to the cult phenomenon (Groundhog Day), to the buzzworthy (Glee). But despite a lifetime devotion to the craft of acting that also includes a classical theater training and a Tony Award nomination, you probably wouldn't recognize him if you saw him on the street. He lives in Los Angeles.
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