In fact, I met Tony right before he started the show. He called me from the first set for MONK to arrange an interview (which can be read on the ReelTalk site under the title “Tony Shalhoub Is Mr. Versatility.”)

My husband and I had met Shalhoub and his wife Brooke Adams at aTaos film festival where their wonderful MADE-UP movie was premiering.       

Tony Shalhoub, an actor grand.

So glad I got to shake his hand.

Even before MONK came to be

his talent appeared clear to me.

Director, one star of MADE-UP,

Shalhoub shined like no comic pup.

     Then MONK appealed to him for fun.

Who knew how long on TV run?

But it’s not gone. MONK now comes back.

Netflix has picked it up, no slack!

Fans can enjoy the OCD

detective who’s so dear to me.    

Why did MONK become so popular? Adrian Monk has many problems. OCD is only one of them. He also has germ phobia. And he’s mourning the death of his wife who was killed by a bomb years ago. But Monk still sees important clues that no one else can in each case. Shalhoub pulls all of these characteristics together to give us Monk in a humanistic manner melded with considerable humor. For many of us with OCD, it’s easy to identify with Monk because of the way Shalhoub portrays this intriguing character.

Thanks also to director Andy Breckman and supporting actors like Ted Levine as the strict Captain Stottlemeyer who doesn’t want to hire Monk back to the San Francisco police department  -- but over uses him as a consultant.

In my telephone interview mentioned above, Shalhoub explained, “I play Adrian Monk, a detective with a serious obsessive-compulsive disorder. And I’m really getting into this character. I fear Monk is more like me than I care to admit."

Tony Shalhoub played MONK on TV for eight years and won many awards for this performance including those listed below.     

Primetime Emmy

Golden Globes

SAG Awards

Family TV Awards

It’s important to add that Tony Shalhoub has kept showing his acting chops after MONK. I believe he is now one of our showbiz treasures.

I try to do other characters that are different from Monk, obviously, because I’d like to be remembered for more than just that. --- Tony Shalhoub