No Job for a Man

“Bowie writes in a style that is both comfortably earnest and humorous about his time as a college DJ, a high-school English teacher, and leader of his own punk band, Egghead. He also writes candidly of dealing with depression, and it’s clear that by the time he joins the Upright Citizens Brigade, that there is nothing he takes for granted. Bowie’s hard-won success on television is truly only a small part of his story. Like the punk bands Bowie idolized as a teenager, his voice rings true in a crowded genre.” * Library Journal *
“A smart, pithy memoir with an earnest emotional arc. The recurring contrast—bleak and grotesque collide with redeeming beauty—keeps Bowie’s free-flowing narrative grounded. Bowie employs a light touch while recounting love and family relationships that spark and fade through choice conversational snippets and anecdotes, culminating in a poignant climactic encounter with his brusque father. No Job For a Man is like a worn-in band T-shirt at a wrap party: sardonic yet soft.” * Publishers Weekly *
“For how personal this memoir is, it inadvertently serves as a life guide to any aspiring actor.” – Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and author of I Want To Be Where the Normal People Are
“While you’ve long known John Ross Bowie as ‘that guy from that thing,’ get ready to know him 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, HBO’s Career Suicide
“No Job For A Man is the kind of personal journey I want to read about. Filled with fascinating stories beginning with John Ross Bowie growing up in Manhattan in an environment of theatre, TV comedy, and music. His relationship with his father is complicated, and is beyond just simple generational resentment. There are expectations and disappointment, but at the same time, a lot of love and understanding. The way John sees his life is endlessly entertaining. It was not always easy, and now I see what is behind his wonderful performances and his love of punk music.” – Fred Armisen, Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, and Trenchmouth.
“Bowie knows how to set a scene, knows how to hook readers with sensory detail before packing a punch with honest, self-reflective (and occasionally self-depreciating) writing—a page-turner for sure, all delivered with a sardonic wit and peppered with Easter eggs for aging punk nerds like me.” * Razorcake *
“John has seemingly lived ten thousand lives. He was a kid that got mugged in New York City. He was in a punk band. He was a teacher. And he ultimately became an actor in one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. He manages to tell each life story with a perfect balance of introspective wisdom and laugh-out-loud humor. Reading this book feels like sitting down with a friend and having one of those long chats that spellbind you til you realize it’s six hours later and you should move your car so you can listen for another six hours.” – Broti Gupta, writer, The Simpsons, The New Yorker
“John Ross Bowie’s moving, humane, and funny memoir is ultimately about how we determine who we are. It’s a lot like the characters I’ve seen John play on screen: relatable guys who have seen some shit and are trying to figure shit out. 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. I loved traveling with John as he made that journey, gathering wisdom and sometimes hard lessons from his unique parents, the murky New York City of his youth, and relationships both doomed and fruitful.” – John Moe, author of The Hilarious World of Depression

John Ross Bowie is perhaps 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 as Minnie Driver’s husband, Jimmy DiMeo, on ABC’s “Speechless.” John has appeared on the television shows Veep, Fresh off the Boat, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Brooklyn 99, CSI, and Glee, among many others, and in movies such as Road Trip, The Heat, He’s Just Not That Into You, The Santa Clause 3, Jumanji: The Next Level, and the cult hit What The Bleep Do We Know? Prior to his acting career, John was a contributing writer for the New York Press and has since 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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