Martin Balsam
| Martin Balsam | |
|---|---|
| Born | Martin Henry Balsam November 4, 1919 Bronx, New York City, New York, USA |
| Died | February 13, 1996 (aged 76) Rome, Italy |
| Resting place | Cedar Park Cemetery in Emerson, New Jersey |
| Alma mater | DeWitt Clinton High School |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1947–1995 |
| Spouse(s) | Pearl Somner (1952–1954) Joyce Van Patten (1957–1962; 1 child) Irene Miller (1963–1987; 2 children) |
| Children | Talia Balsam, born 1959 Adam Balsam Zoe Balsam |
Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996)[1] was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as Arnold Burns in A Thousand Clowns and his role as Detective Milton Arbogast in Psycho.
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Early life [edit]
Martin Balsam was born in The Bronx borough of New York City to Jewish parents, Lillian (née Weinstein) and Albert Balsam, who was a manufacturer of ladies sportswear.[2][3] He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, where he participated in the drama club.[2] He studied at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator and then served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
Career [edit]
Martin Balsam made his professional debut in August 1941 in a production of The Play's the Thing in Locust Valley.[4] In early 1948, he was selected by Elia Kazan to be a member in the recently formed Actors Studio.[5] Balsam would go on to perform in several episodes of the Studio's dramatic television anthology series, broadcast between September 1948 and 1950. He appeared in many other television drama series, including Decoy with Beverly Garland, The Twilight Zone (episodes "The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine" and "The New Exhibit"), as a psychologist in the pilot episode, Five Fingers, Target: The Corruptors!, The Eleventh Hour, Breaking Point, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Fugitive, and Mr. Broadway, as a retired U.N.C.L.E. agent in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode, "The Odd Man Affair", and guest starred in the two-part Murder, She Wrote episode, "Death Stalks the Big Top". He also appeared in the "Route 66" episode, "Somehow it Gets to be Tomorrow".
Balsam appeared in such films as On the Waterfront, 12 Angry Men (as Juror #1), Time Limit, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Carpetbaggers, Seven Days in May, The Anderson Tapes, Hombre, Catch-22, Tora! Tora! Tora! (as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel), Little Big Man, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, All the President's Men, Murder on the Orient Express,The Delta Force, and The Goodbye People.
In 1960, he appeared in one of his most famous roles as Detective Arbogast in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.
Along with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, Martin Balsam appeared in both the original Cape Fear (1962), and the 1991 Martin Scorsese remake.
In 1965, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Arnold Burns in A Thousand Clowns. In 1968, he won a Tony Award for his appearance in the 1967 Broadway production of You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running.
Balsam played Washington Post editor Howard Simons in the 1976 blockbuster All the President's Men.[6] He also appeared in a film that eventually became a highly popular Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode, the 1975 Joe Don Baker police drama Mitchell. In 1973, he played Dr. Rudy Wells when the Martin Caidin novel Cyborg was adapted as the TV-movie, The Six Million Dollar Man, though he did not reprise the role for the subsequent weekly series. He appeared as a spokesman/hostage in the 1976 TV movie Raid on Entebbe and as a detective in the 1977 TV movie Contract on Cherry Street. He also appeared on an episode of Quincy ME. Balsam starred as Murray Klein on the All in the Family spin-off Archie Bunker's Place for two seasons (1979–1981). He even filled in for Charles Nelson Reilly on Match Game for one question when Reilly was late for a taping.
Personal life [edit]
In 1951, Balsam married his first wife, actress Pearl Somner. They divorced three years later. His second wife was actress Joyce Van Patten. This marriage lasted for four years (from 1958 until 1962) and had one daughter, Talia Balsam. He married his third wife, Irene Miller, in 1963. They divorced in 1987 and had two children, Adam and Zoe Balsam.[2]
Death [edit]
On February 13, 1996, Balsam died in Rome, Italy, of a heart attack at the age of 76. He is interred at Cedar Park Cemetery, in Emerson, New Jersey.[7] He was survived by his three children and Renee Landau, his companion.[2]
Awards [edit]
- (1964) Best Supporting Actor - The Carpetbaggers (Won)
- (1966) Best Actor in a Supporting Role - A Thousand Clowns (Won)
- (1968) Best Actor in a Play - You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running (Won)
- (1974) Best Supporting Actor - Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (Nominated)
- (1976) Best Supporting Actor - The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Nominated)
- (1977) Best Supporting Actor - All the President's Men (Nominated)
- (1977) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - Raid on Entebbe (Nominated)
References [edit]
- ^ "Balsam, Martin Henry". Who Was Who in America : with World Notables, v. XI (1993-1996). New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who. 1996. p. 13. ISBN 0837902258.
- ^ a b c d The New York Times, February 14, 1996: "Martin Balsam Is Dead at 76; Ubiquitous Character Actor" Retrieved 2012-06-15
- ^ Great Character Actors
- ^ Ian Herbert, ed. (1981). "BALSAM, Martin". Who's Who in the Theatre 1. Gale Research Company. pp. 39–40. ISSN 0083-9833.
- ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Birth of The Actors Studio: 1947-1950". A Player's Place: The Story of the Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 52. ISBN 0-02-542650-8. "Others usually considered founding members in Kazan's group were added in the early months of 1948. They include Martin Balsam, Kim Hunter, and Vivian Nathan."
- ^ All the President's Men (1976)
- ^ "Sometimes the Grave Is a Fine and Public Place". New York Times. March 28, 2004.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Martin Balsam |
- Martin Balsam at the Internet Movie Database
- Martin Balsam at the Internet Broadway Database
- Martin Balsam at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Martin Balsam at AllRovi
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- 1919 births
- 1996 deaths
- Actors from New York City
- Actors Studio members
- American film actors
- American military personnel of World War II
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners
- Deaths from myocardial infarction
- DeWitt Clinton High School alumni
- Jewish American actors
- People from the Bronx
- Tony Award winners
- Cardiovascular disease deaths in Italy
- American Jews in the military
- United States Army Air Forces soldiers
- Poliziotteschi actors
- 20th-century American actors
- Burials in New Jersey
