Monk & Shalhoub ~ both have garnered popularity

August 28, 4:04 PMActing ExaminerDeborah Smith Ford

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  Tony Shalhoub                                                                 (Photo/wiki)

Adrian Monk is a fictional character and protagonist of the USA Network television series Monk, played by Tony Shalhoub, co-starring Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford.

Monk is a legendary former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department who suffers from acute obsessive-compulsive disorder, which, severely intensified by the murder of his wife that resulted in his suspension from the department.

On the show, as a private detective, Monk is a combination of a Columbo and Sherlock Holmes.

Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese origin, best known for his role as manic-obsessive sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk.

Both Monk and Shalhoub have gained popularity. Monk was included in Bravo's list of The 100 Greatest Television Characters of All Time, and Shalhoub has won various awards for his portrayal, including a Golden Globe Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Tony 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.  And even though he found himself standing on the wrong side of the curtain during the final dress rehearsal, he became addicted to the theater.

In his senior year of high school Shalhoub 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.

By 1991, one of Shalhoub's first television roles was as the Italian cabdriver Antonio Scarpacci in the sitcom Wings.  Since then his film roles, after Wings, include The Man Who Wasn't There, Primary Colors, Men in Black films, A Civil Action, Thirteen Ghosts, and Galaxy Quest.

Other comedy shows:  Glee, Always Sunny, Chevy Chase, Funny People, Jackson clan, Jamie Foxx, Little Monk