Tabb was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn in 1960. Nine years later, his family moved to Freeport, Long Island, where he lived with his mother, grandmother and uncle. Except for a few cameos, Tabb’s father was not in the picture. As a child, Tabb says he became easily irritated by his peers. Ultimately, he shut himself off from others. “I wanted to be a hermit,” Tabb recalls. “I wanted to be the only person on earth.” At his mother’s insistence, Tabb attended Queens College but did not graduate. Instead, Tabb decided to pursue a career with the railroad, his first love. He was eventually hired by Amtrak, where he worked in the towers as a Block Operator controlling traffic. One day, Tabb became extremely agitated at work. He felt overworked and underappreciated – and he started to hear negative voices: “You’re not gonna keep this job. You’re gonna lose this job!” Ultimately, those voices got the best of him, and Tabb lost control. He tossed everything off his desk and damaged a machine. Consequently, Tabb was fired. At his mother’s urging, Tabb went to see a psychiatrist, and he was eventually diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia. With the aid of impulse control disorder medication and psychiatric help, Tabb got a handle on his condition. Now, Tabb refers to himself as a “mental health consumer.” With his railroad career done, Tabb needed a second act. In the early 90s, Tabb got his cue via a New York Times classified ad: “Actors needed no experience necessary.” Tabb, who had always been interested in theater, responded. Tabb was interviewed, photographed and sent out on assignments. For his first major film, he played a subway rider with Al Pacino in Carlito’s Way. (Tabb didn’t make the film’s final cut, which is often the case with extras.) Since, Tabb has appeared in hundreds of projects, everything from student films to commercials to the relatively recent Jason Bateman film, The Family Fang, in which he plays a department store elf. Tabb also played an elf in a Black & Decker commercial. For his 30 Rock appearance, in the Season 3 debut, Tabb’s line wasn’t in the original script, but Alec Baldwin thought the scene was lacking, and he suggested a line for Tabb. In the scene, which took place in Central Park, Baldwin and Tabb play mailroom employees. “And what I’m saying is don’t dress for the job you have, dress for the job you want to have, so now Manny …” says Baldwin, and then Tabb picks up the line: “…Tomorrow I’ll show up for work dressed as a Mexican wrestler” replies Manny, Tabb’s character. It’s a great little moment, and earned mention on IMDB and AVClub.
