This year, Campus Activity Board (CAB) is excited to announce Emmy Award nominated actor Jeffrey Tambor’s presentation of “What’s Keeping You From Performing Your Life?”
Recognized for his role as George Bluth, Sr., (as well as his own identical twin, Oscar Bluth) on the sitcom series Arrested Development, actor Jeffrey Tambor has been known to play a variety of unique characters during his forty year acting career. Though most iconic for appearing in a number of televisions shows, including his Emmy nominated role on ‘The Larry Sanders Show,’ Tambor’s versatility garners him much respect for his voice acting in cartoons and animated film such as Tangled and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Jeffrey Tambor was one of several speakers that the CAB Arts and Entertainment Committee considered to bring to campus. The wide range of speakers were narrowed down to three individuals for which the Gustavus campus would cast their votes for.
“Beginning in October 2012, we asked for input from friends, faculty and staff,” CAB Arts and Entertainment Committee Chair Ellen Liebe said. “We searched several keynote speakers, representing different fields until we arrived at about two dozen possible speakers.”
Among the other possible speakers were businesswoman and entrepreneur Jessica Jackley, an expert in micro financing, and athlete, actress and fashion model Aimee Mullins who would speak on overcoming adversity. Mullins was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of the lower portion of her legs.
With about 400 student votes, Jeffrey Tambor won with over 60.8 percent of the votes, the other two at around 20 percent each.
The committee has been working closely with his agent to bring him to campus. Jeffrey Tambor’s presentation, “What’s Keeping You from Performing Your Life?” is expected to be an amusing and hilarious time.
Sophomore Connor Haugen, an avid fan of Arrested Development, was one of several students excited to hear about Jeffrey Tambor coming to Gustavus as the Big Speaker. “It’s hilarious,” Haugen said. “He pulls off these lines that don’t really make that much sense. For example, he’s in prison and randomly converts to Judaism because he sees the Star of David in his cell.” In this episode, Jeffrey Tambor’s character then proceeds to cut off part of his left shoe and wears it as a yarmulke. Initially introduced to the sitcom series in high school by his sister, Haugen came to recognize the actor as an absurdly talented actor skilled in his delivery of lines.
“I didn’t know if I liked it at first,” Haugen said, “but then I started getting the inside jokes that I didn’t pick up before. He can’t say things straightforward, he says things so that people take the hint, but they never get the hint. One of my favorite lines from him is ‘There’s always money in the banana stand’. People don’t understand that really, he literally lined the walls with $250,000.”
Students are eager to hear about his optimistic view on life, are hoping for a memorable presentation recounting his success and achievements. “He’s experienced so much and worked with so many different people, and I’m hoping to be able to apply some of what he has to say to my own life,” First -Year CAB Arts and Entertainment Committee member Jessie Dettling said. “As the distinct voice for the mayor in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, I grew up watching him in a number of cartoons and hearing him as different voices and in different roles. He’s a fun and personable actor who’s literally done everything across the board—he’s not always a comedian, a villain or a cartoon character, and that’s unique.”
Jeffrey Tambor’s presentation of “What’s Keeping You From Performing Your Life?” will be held on Friday, April 26, 2013 in Christ Chapel at 8:00 p.m. A question/answer session and autograph signing will follow.
Tickets are free to the Gustavus community and will be available online at gustavustickets.com or at the Information Desk in the Campus Center. Tickets are available to the general public April 19th for $5.