Overview

A darkly witty, deeply affecting, and finely crafted memoir by the Big Bang Theory and Speechless star and comedian, John Ross Bowie. From his earliest memories of watching Rhoda with his parents in their tiny Hell's Kitchen apartment, John knew that he wanted to be an actor. The strange, alternate world of television--where people always cracked the perfect joke, lived in glamorous Upper East Side buildings, and made up immediately after fighting--seemed far better than his own home life, with a mother and father on the brink of divorce and a neighborhood full of crumbling pre-war architecture and not-so-occasional muggings. And yet that other world also seems unattainable. Besides crippling stage fright (which would take him years to overcome) John's father, ever aloof and cynical, has instilled within him the notion that acting is no job for a man. His father would impart that while theater, film, and television should be consumed and even debated, to create was no way to make a living or support a family. Putting aside his acting dreams, John stumbles through his twenties. He tries his hand at teaching and other traditional occupations, but nothing feels nearly as fulfilling as playing with his fleetingly on-the-map punk band, Egghead. When he and his bandmates break up, John lands a joyless job copywriting for a consulting agency and slips into a dark depression. He loses weight, begins drinking heavily, and his relationships flounder. But everything changes when John discovers improv (and anti-depressants). As a part of New York's now-famous Upright Citizens Brigade, John not only explores his passion for acting and comedy--and begins to envision himself doing so professionally--he also meets his future wife and fellow actor, Jamie Denbo. No Job for a Man follows the couple as they relocate to Los Angeles and try to make it in the arts, meeting success and failure, wins and losses, despair and hope along the way. Though his father chronically refuses to acknowledge pride in his adult son's accomplishments, John comes to realize what being a man truly means.

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No Job For A Man is the kind of personal journey I want to read about. Filled with fascinating stories beginning with Bowie growing up in an environment of theatre, TV comedy, and music. The way John sees his life is endlessly entertaining. -- Fred Armisen, Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, and Trenchmouth For how specific this memoir is, it inadvertently serves as a life guide to any aspiring actor. -- Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, author of I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are Get ready to know John as a thoughtful raconteur whose stories beautifully blend heartfelt contemplation on masculinity, generational shifts, forgiveness, and the way that the arts can save wandering souls. -- Chris Gethard, Beautiful/Anonymous, and HBO's Career Suicide John has seemingly lived ten thousand lives. He manages to tell each life story with a perfect balance of introspective wisdom and laugh-out-loud humor. -- Broti Gupta, writer, The Simpsons and The New Yorker This moving, humane, and funny memoir is ultimately about how we determine who we are. He goes on a mission, a personal odyssey really, to figure out if he's a DJ, a teacher, a corporate cog, a rock star, or a Hollywood actor and he poignantly shares the many losses and huge wins that go along with that effort. -- John Moe, author of The Hilarious World of Depression

"No Job For A Man is the kind of personal journey I want to read about. Filled with fascinating stories beginning with Bowie growing up in an environment of theatre, TV comedy, and music. The way John sees his life is endlessly entertaining. -- ""Fred Armisen, Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, and Trenchmouth"" For how specific this memoir is, it inadvertently serves as a life guide to any aspiring actor. -- ""Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, author of I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are"" Get ready to know John as a thoughtful raconteur whose stories beautifully blend heartfelt contemplation on masculinity, generational shifts, forgiveness, and the way that the arts can save wandering souls. -- ""Chris Gethard, Beautiful/Anonymous, and HBO's Career Suicide"" John has seemingly lived ten thousand lives. He manages to tell each life story with a perfect balance of introspective wisdom and laugh-out-loud humor. -- ""Broti Gupta, writer, The Simpsons and The New Yorker"" This moving, humane, and funny memoir is ultimately about how we determine who we are. He goes on a mission, a personal odyssey really, to figure out if he's a DJ, a teacher, a corporate cog, a rock star, or a Hollywood actor and he poignantly shares the many losses and huge wins that go along with that effort. -- ""John Moe, author of The Hilarious World of Depression"""

Author Information

"John Ross Bowie is best known for playing recurring villain and fan favorite Barry Kripke on the international hit television show The Big Bang Theory. He also recently co-starred on ABC's Speechless. John has been appeared on the television shows Veep, Fresh off the Boat, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Brooklyn 99, CSI, and Glee, among others, and in movies such as Road Trip, The Heat, He's Just Not That Into You, and the cult hit What The Bleep Do We Know? John has written and developed television scripts at Fox, CBS, and Amazon. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jamie Denbo and their two children and he thinks an author bio on a memoir is a real ""hat-on-a-hat"" situation. John Ross Bowie is best known for playing recurring villain and fan favorite Barry Kripke on the international hit television show The Big Bang Theory. He also recently co-starred on ABC's Speechless. John has been appeared on the television shows Veep, Fresh off the Boat, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Brooklyn 99, CSI, and Glee, among others, and in movies such as Road Trip, The Heat, He's Just Not That Into You, and the cult hit What The Bleep Do We Know? John has written and developed television scripts at Fox, CBS, and Amazon. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jamie Denbo and their two children and he thinks an author bio on a memoir is a real ""hat-on-a-hat"" situation."

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