Amber Tamblyn
Tamblyn at the MuchMusic Video Awards red carpet, June 17, 2007
Born	Amber Rose Tamblyn (1983-05-14) May 14, 1983 (age 29) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1995–present

Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and poet. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera General Hospital as Emily Quartermaine, followed by a starring role on the prime-time series Joan of Arcadia portraying the title character. Her feature film work includes roles in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Grudge 2, and 127 Hours; she recently had an extended arc as Martha M. Masters on the main cast of the medical drama House M.D.

Early life[link]

Tamblyn was born in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Russ Tamblyn, an actor, dancer, and singer who starred in the 1961 film of West Side Story, and Bonnie Murray, a singer, teacher, and artist.^[1] Her paternal grandfather, Eddie Tamblyn, was a vaudeville performer. She attended the Santa Monica Alternative School House, which, in her words, was "very unorthodox, no letter grades".^[2] At the age of ten, she played Pippi Longstocking in a school play; her father's agent, Sharon Debord, was attending as a family friend and ended up convincing her father to allow Tamblyn to go on auditions.

Television[link]

Tamblyn's first TV role was Emily Bowen (later known as Emily Quartermaine) on the soap opera General Hospital, a role that she played for six years (from 1995 to 2001). She also starred in the pilot episode of the revived Twilight Zone series on UPN in 2002.

Tamblyn became better known playing Joan Girardi, a teenage girl who receives frequent visits from God, on the CBS drama series Joan of Arcadia. Tamblyn's father made several appearances as God in the form of a dog walker on the show, which ran from 2003 to 2005.

Early guest starring roles include: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (playing Janice Penshaw, the best friend of Dawn Summers), on Boston Public, CSI: Miami, and Punk'd (where Ashton Kutcher and his crew members tricked her into losing someone else's dog).

In 2007, Tamblyn starred in the CBS pilot Babylon Fields, an apocalyptic comedic drama about the undead trying to resume their former lives.^[3] The CBS network excluded the show from its Fall 2007 programming lineup, since it would have competed with the network's other undead-themed drama, Moonlight.^[4]

In spring 2009, Tamblyn starred in The Unusuals, playing NYPD homicide detective Casey Shraeger in this notably acclaimed crime drama.^[5] The show was canceled after its first season.

In November 2010 until April 2011, Tamblyn starred as medical student Martha M. Masters, in a story arc of the seventh and eighth season in the medical procedural drama House M.D.^[6]

Awards and nominations[link]

The role of Joan Girardi earned her both Golden Globe and Emmy^[7] nominations in 2004. Tamblyn was also nominated for a Saturn award for Best Actress In a Television Series in both 2004 and 2005, winning in 2009 Other nominations include The Teen Choice Awards, The Golden Satellite Awards and The Young Artist Award. Her successful spell on House M.D., which was cut short by family needs^{[citation needed]}, ended with her having multiple nominations for her final performance as Martha Masters.

Films[link]

Tamblyn launched her film career playing bit parts in her father's movies: Rebellious and Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard. She also appeared in 1995's Live Nude Girls.

Her first major film role was in 2005's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, co-starring Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Blake Lively. She also starred in its 2008 sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Her horror film career began with the opening scene of 2002's The Ring. Tamblyn also appeared in the Japan-set The Grudge 2, a sequel to The Grudge. The film, which also stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, was released on October 13, 2006, and debuted in the #1 spot at the North American box office. In August 2006, Tamblyn won the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival for her performance in the title role of Stephanie Daley. The film, which also won an award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, features Tamblyn as a 16-year-old who kills her baby, moments after giving birth in the bathroom of a ski resort. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film also stars Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton. She also starred in Blackout in 2007.^[8]

In January 2008, Tamblyn appeared in the Hallmark movie, The Russell Girl about a woman suffering from disease and mental anguish.

Tamblyn appeared in the 2009 film Spring Breakdown, also featuring Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, and Parker Posey.^[9]

Tamblyn appeared alongside Orlando Bloom, Colin Firth, and Patricia Clarkson in the 2010 film Main Street, a drama set in North Carolina. That year, she also had a role in the drama 127 Hours, with James Franco.

Poetry[link]

Tamblyn has self-published two chapbooks of poetry, Of the Dawn and Plenty of Ships, and has participated in poetry readings at various venues, particularly in California. The Loneliest, a poem book inspired by Thelonious Monk and his music, was published in 2005 and contains haiku poetry written by Tamblyn and coupled with collages by George Herms. Only 300 copies of the book were published.

In 2005, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing published a book of poems that she wrote over the span of seven years entitled Free Stallion. The School Library Journal's review states that, "Free Stallion is a compilation of poetry that amounts to a portrait of the artist as a teenager.... Many of the selections are appropriately self-absorbed but move beyond journalistic catharsis to real insight and stunning language for one so young."^{[citation needed]}

In October 2006, Tamblyn did several poetry readings in California, including a few with poet Derrick C. Brown. In 2008, she was featured in the Write Bloody Publishing anthology, The Last American Valentine: Illustrated poems to seduce and destroy.

Tamblyn appeared in a poetry concert film recorded on August 4, 2007 in Los Angeles, "The Drums Inside Your Chest." Premiere date: April 26, 2009 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.^[10]

A new collection of poetry, Bang Ditto, was published in September 2009 by San Francisco's Manic D Press.

Beginning in October 2009, Tamblyn began blogging for the Poetry Foundation's blog, Harriet.^[11] She is currently working on a new book of poems supported by the artwork of Marilyn Manson due out in 2013.

Personal life[link]

She is the daughter of actor Russ Tamblyn, best known for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and West Side Story. She is the goddaughter of actors Dean Stockwell and the late Dennis Hopper and musician Neil Young. Her uncle is Larry Tamblyn, who was the keyboardist in the 1960s rock band The Standells.

Tamblyn and comedian and actor David Cross were rumored to have been dating as early as April 2008, but did not officially step out as a couple until 2009. The two became engaged on August 17, 2011.^[12]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

TV series[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amber Tamblyn

• Amber Tamblyn at the Internet Movie Database
• Amber Tamblyn at AllRovi
• Free Stallion from the Simon & Schuster website
• Watch Amber Tamblyn read "He Seemed Like a Nice Axe" at Open-Door Poetry
• Amber Tamblyn at Emmys.com

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2011)

David Cross
Cross at the Arrested Development 2011 Reunion
Born	(1964-04-04) April 4, 1964 (age 48) Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Medium	Stand up, Television, Film, Books
Nationality	American
Years active	1992–present
Genres	Satire, Black comedy, Blue comedy, Observational comedy, Sketch comedy
Subject(s)	Recreational drug use, Drinking culture, Race relations, American culture, Self-deprecation, Human behavior, Religion, Human sexuality
Notable works and roles	Host/Various – Mr. Show Tobias Fünke – Arrested Development

David Cross (born April 4, 1964)^[1] is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr. Show and for his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox sitcom Arrested Development.

Cross starred in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, had main roles in the Comedy Central animated sitcom Freak Show and the Fox sitcom Running Wilde and currently has a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Modern Family.

Early life[link]

Cross was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Susi^[2] and a father who immigrated from Leeds, England.^[3] Six months after his birth, Cross's family moved to Florida. After additional moves to New York and Connecticut, the family settled back in Roswell, Georgia, where Cross remained for nearly a decade. His family was poor and his father left the family when Cross was ten years old, and Cross and his father have not spoken since he was 19, though they both primarily resided in New York City until Cross sold his home there in 2011.^[4] Cross and his family were evicted from their home while living in Georgia. He spent some time living in motels and at friends' homes while growing up.^[5] He has two sisters, and once bailed his youngest sibling out of jail.^[6]

Career[link]

Beginnings in comedy[link]

Cross began performing stand-up comedy at 17. The day after he graduated from high school, Cross went to New York. Lacking a plan, he drifted around, working briefly for a lawn care company on Long Island, and later enrolled at Emerson College in Boston. He would drop out after only a semester, but during his time there he discovered his new favourite things: partying and sketch comedy. Cross joined This is Pathetic, a college sketch group, where he met John Ennis. In the summer of 1985, the two aspiring actors took a road trip to Los Angeles, although this did not significantly further their acting careers. In Boston, Cross began to perform stand-up more regularly. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Boston had a booming comedy scene, although Cross did not fit the types of acts being booked most of the time. He recalls that it was "a loud-, dumb-, pandering-, racist-, homophobic-type scene".^[7]

In 1990, a new comedy scene began to emerge at the famous comedy club chain called Catch a Rising Star (where many of the comedians of the 1970s and 1980s got their start). Cross—along with Janeane Garofalo, Louis C.K., and other comics—appeared regularly several nights a week. Cross formed the sketch comedy group "Cross Comedy" with twelve other performers, and they put on a new show every week. They were known for playing tricks on the audience, such as introducing fake comics or planting fake hecklers. Cross became increasingly focused on his comedy work.^[7] Cross performed at the alternative comedy club Un-Cabaret in Los Angeles.

[edit] Work on The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show and other programs

Cross at 2007 Plug Awards

Cross began his professional television career as a writer on The Ben Stiller Show. The short-lived Fox Network series hired him toward the end of its run, and he occasionally made brief appearances in the sketches. He had a speaking role in "The Legend of T.J. O'Pootertoot", a sketch written almost entirely by Cross. It was during this period that he first met Bob Odenkirk, with whom he would later co-create the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show in 1995. Cross won an Emmy for his work on The Ben Stiller Show in 1993.^[8]

Cross later co-starred as Tobias Fünke in Arrested Development, which was originally intended to be only a minor role. He has also played smaller roles on programs such as Just Shoot Me!, The Drew Carey Show, NewsRadio, Strangers with Candy, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Since October 2005, Cross has appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report as Stephen Colbert's arch-nemesis, a fictional liberal radio talk show host from Madison, Wisconsin named "Russ Lieber". Cross also developed an animated series for Comedy Central called Freak Show, which co-starred H. Jon Benjamin, and was cancelled due to low ratings. He has appeared several times on the MTV2 series Wonder Showzen.

Cross teamed up with "Mr. Show" Producer/Director Troy Miller and Odenkirk to produce a feature film Run Ronnie Run, based on one of their Mr. Show characters. The film satirized the reality television craze, and featured cameos from many stars; however, Odenkirk got into conflict with the studio New Line Cinema, and they then released it direct-to-video. In 1994 and again in 1999, Cross was a guest voice actor on Joe Frank's radio show, featured in the episodes "The Last Run", "A Hearing", "The O.J. Chronicles", and "Jam".

Cross continues to perform stand-up, in which he blends liberal-leaning political commentary and satire.^[9] In 1999, he was given his own one-hour comedy special on HBO, entitled The Pride Is Back. He has released three recordings, Shut Up You Fucking Baby!, It's Not Funny, and Bigger and Blackerer. Cross' stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. In 2004, Shut Up You Fucking Baby! was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. In 2003, he released his first tour film, Let America Laugh, and was named #85 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time. He appears on Un-Cabaret compilation albums, including Freak Weather Feels Different and The Good, the Bad and the Drugly.

In 2004, Cross provided voices for a Marine in the Xbox game Halo 2, and a store clerk named Zero in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He also was the voice of the violent, alcoholic "Happy-Time Harry" doll and Bert Banana in Aqua Teen Hunger Force (although the part was credited as Sir Willups Brightslymoore). He has also made guest appearances in the Adult Swim series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. He directed the music video for The Black Keys' song "10am Automatic", a spoof of public-access television.

Cross appeared in The Strokes' music video for "Juicebox" as a bad local "morning zoo" radio DJ. He also appeared in The New Pornographers' video for "Use It", in Superchunk's video for "Watery Hands" (along with Janeane Garofalo), and in Yo La Tengo's video for "Sugarcube" (along with Bob Odenkirk and John Ennis). Cross contributes to Vice magazine, writing a column titled "My America".

In 2005, he contributed to the UNICEF benefit song "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?".

In the Beastie Boys' 2006 concert film Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!, Cross played the character Nathaniel Hörnblowér in the fictional segment "A Day in the Life of Nathaniel Hörnblowér". In the Bob Dylan biographical film I'm Not There, Cross played the role of poet Allen Ginsberg. Both Bill Lawrence and Zach Braff of Scrubs were ambitious to have Cross cameo on the show as Tobias Fünke, but because of the series' cancellation, the plan never came to fruition.^[10][11]

Cross provided commentary on the Vicarious music video DVD for the band Tool. He has previously performed comedy as an opening act for the band, and its members appeared on Mr. Show several times. He played Ian Hawke in the 2007 movie Alvin and the Chipmunks and Crane in the 2008 movie Kung Fu Panda, a role which he has continued through most of the animated franchise.

Cross starred in a pilot for HBO called David's Situation which filmed in May 2008 and included many Mr. Show alumni at the taping. On August 6, 2008, Bob Odenkirk announced on bobanddavid.com that David's Situation would not be produced.

Cross' comedy series The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, which he co-wrote with writer Shaun Pye, has run on Channel 4 in the UK and the cable channel IFC in the U.S. Cross's first book, I Drink For A Reason, was published in August 2009.

In September 2009, Cross performed at his own comedy stage at the ATP New York 2009 music festival, for which he picked Eugene Mirman, Jon Benjamin & Jon Glaser and Derrick Brown & The Navy Gravy to join him. In 2009 Cross, along with Jon Benjamin, created and wrote for Paid Programming, a live action television pilot for Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim. Paid Programming was not picked up for a full series, and Benjamin referred to it as an "abject failure".^[12]

On March 29, 2010 Cross's first comedy special in six years "Bigger and Blackerer" was streamed on Epix HD. A CD with "slightly different content" was released on May 25, 2010.^[13]

Cross at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival

Personal life[link]

Cross was born Jewish; however he is an atheist and does not practice Judaism.^[14][15] Actress Amber Tamblyn confirmed on August 17, 2011 that she and Cross had become engaged.^[16]

In October 2005, Cross was sued by Nashville club owner Thomas Weber, who accused Cross of taping him without permission for Shut Up You Fucking Baby and Let America Laugh in violation of Weber's privacy rights. In April 2006 the case against Cross himself was dismissed and the case proceeded with Warner Music, Subpop Records, WEA Corporation, and the Alternative Distribution Alliance.^[17][18]

In a 2012 interview with Playboy magazine, Cross admitted that he had snorted a small amount of cocaine at the 2009 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Cross said, "It wasn’t like I got high...It was just about being able to say that I did it, that I did cocaine in the same room as the president."^[19]

Criticism of others[link]

Larry the Cable Guy[link]

In April 2005, Cross criticized stand-up comedian Larry the Cable Guy in a Rolling Stone interview, saying, "It's a lot of anti-gay, racist humor — which people like in America — all couched in 'I'm telling it like it is.' He's in the right place at the right time for that gee-shucks, proud-to-be-a-redneck, I'm-just-a-straight-shooter-multimillionaire-in-cutoff-flannel-selling-ring-tones act. That's where we are as a nation now. We're in a state of vague American values and anti-intellectual pride." In response, Larry devoted a chapter in his book GIT-R-DONE to Cross and the "P.C. left", claiming that Cross had "screwed with my fans, it was time for me to say something". Larry claimed that Rolling Stone was baiting comedians to attack him, and they turned to Cross only after Lewis Black refused. Cross responded with An Open Letter to Larry the Cable Guy posted on his website.^[20] He continued to mock Larry in his stand-up, satirizing Blue Collar TV during a guest appearance on Wonder Showzen. In December 2005, he ended his performance on Comedy Central's Last Laugh '05 by mockingly yelling "GIT-R-DONE!" (Larry the Cable Guy's catchphrase) to the audience as he left the stage. He pokes fun at Larry's comedy in Freak Show with a character called "Danny the Plumber Guy".

James Lipton[link]

Cross has criticized Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton on a Mr. Show sketch and in his stand-up performance The Pride Is Back, calling him "pretentious."^[21] Lipton, who thought that Cross's impression of him was not good-natured, would later appear alongside Cross in Arrested Development, in the recurring role of Prison Warden Stefan Gentles. During filming, Cross was impressed with Lipton's acting and comedic ability, and the two became good friends.^[22] On one commentary track for season four of Mr. Show, Cross discussed the encounter, complimenting Lipton for his professionalism and performance, saying that he liked Lipton personally but still "didn't care for" Inside The Actors Studio.

Alvin and the Chipmunks[link]

Responding to critics of his decision to appear in the critically panned but commercially successful Alvin and the Chipmunks, Cross noted that the film paid for a summer home,^[23] and more than "all my other projects combined: book, TV show, the two pilots, Year One, yeah."^[24] Cross reprised his Chipmunks role in the film's two sequels. In 2011, Cross said that making Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, the third film, was, "the most unpleasant experience I've ever had in my professional life."^[25]