Stephen Tobolowsky Spotted More Than 30 Years After ‘Groundhog Day’

Groundhog Day star Stephen Tobolowsky kept a low profile as he was spotted more than 30 years after the classic comedy’s release.

Tobolowsky, 74, was photographed keeping it casual as he grabbed breakfast to go from a Los Angeles café on Sunday, July 13.

The noted character actor gave an unforgettable performance as obnoxious insurance agent Ned Ryerson in 1993’s Groundhog Day, where one very fateful day repeats over and over again for beleaguered TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray). A classic running gag throughout the film involves Ned repeatedly stopping old friend Phil on the street to catch up, until Phil finally punches him to shut him up.

Earlier this year, Tobolowsky revealed that he was “scared as a jackrabbit” to shoot the scene where Murray knocked Ned Ryerson out.

“It was the first scene on the first day,” he confirmed to WGN Radio. “We started at like 6:30 in the morning, was my call time … Bill looked and there were about 700 people from the town [where we were filming] … ready to watch this scene!”

The actor continued, “[Director] Harold Ramis was setting up and Bill looked at the crowd and said, ‘You know what these people need?’ I go, ‘No, Bill, what?’ He goes, ‘They need danishes! Come with me!’ He grabbed me, before we started the scene, we went into the bakery and Bill pulls out this wad of money and sticks it on the counter. He says, ‘Give me every cupcake, every danish, every donut you have!’”

Tobolowsky has often reflected on the legacy of Groundhog Day, including sharing his opinion with Variety in 2018 that Murray gave “one of the greatest comedic performances of all time.”

“[Bill] is able to be both antagonist and protagonist at the same time in the same film,” Tobolowsky pointed out. “He’s everything that’s horrible and everything that’s wonderful. I’ve never seen anyone able to pull something like that off in a single film and get laughs and get your sympathy. I think it’s gonna stand up as long as films are made.”

Aside from Groundhog Day, Tobolowsky has had a 50-year career with memorable roles in Memento, Deadwood, Glee and The Mindy Project. More recently, he has made frequent TV guest appearances in sitcoms Hacks and Nobody Wants This, and will next reprise his Freaky Friday role as English teacher Mr. Bates in Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis’ upcoming body-swap sequel, Freakier Friday. He frequently shared tales of working with many of Hollywood’s biggest stars on his podcast, “The Tobolowsky Files.” (The podcast ended in 2021 after 99 episodes.)

Behind the scenes, Tobolowsky teamed up with rock legend David Byrne and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley to pen the screenplay for John Goodman’s 1986 cult classic movie True Stories. He also wrote and directed the 1988 independent comedy Two Idiots in Hollywood, a satire of the movie industry where two Ohioans get caught up in a murder investigation after seeking fame and fortune in Los Angeles.

Tobolowsky is also a stage veteran, having made his theater debut in 1975’s Los Angeles production of Paris. He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for 2002’s revival of Morning’s at Seven, and has also appeared in productions of Tennessee Williams‘ The Glass Menagerie and Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters in L.A.