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Early life

Tambor was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Eileen (née Salzberg), a housewife, and Barney Tambor, a flooring contractor. He grew up in a Conservative Jewish family. Tambor is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where he studied acting and then went on to receive his masters degree from Wayne State University.

Career

Tambor first moved to repertory theater and then on to episodic TV where he made several guest appearances and played characters on different shows. Among those shows were Taxi, Kojak, M*A*S*H, Three's Company, and The Ropers. In an early TV job, an ad for Avis rent-a-car, he was seen running (huffing and puffing) through an airport, mocking O.J. Simpson's "Go, O.J., go!" ads for Hertz. Later on in his career, he would have success starring in The Larry Sanders Show as egocentric side kick Hank Kingsley. Tambor received a total of four Emmy nominations for his role on the show. In 2003, he starred in the television comedy Arrested Development in a dual role as twin brothers, "George Bluth Sr." and "Oscar Bluth." Tambor received two more Emmy nominations for his performances.

Tambor served as the announcer for the game show Hollywood Squares in 2002 and 2003. He was also the voice of King Neptune in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. In the spring of 2005, he starred as George Aaronow in the Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross.

After the cancellation of Arrested Development, in April 2006, Tambor signed on to a series with John Lithgow called Twenty Good Years about two men who ponder the last 20 years of their life. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 2006, but was taken off the air after only a few episodes. Also in 2006, he portrayed George Washington on The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd. He is currently starring as "Uncle" Saul in the CBS comedy Welcome to The Captain.

For several years, Tambor has also taught a popular class for actors, based on his availability. He was formerly a longtime teaching associate of famed acting coach Milton Katselas. Some reports state that, like Katselas, Tambor is a Scientologist. However, he has recently expressed concern about reports that he is involved with Scientology and states that he is "no longer a Scientologist."

His daughter, Allisa Tambor, received a diploma at York University early in June.