Martin Balsam

Children3, including TaliaAwardsSee list

Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996)^[1] was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television.^[2][3] An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New York stage, winning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Robert Anderson's You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running (1968). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Thousand Clowns (1965).

His other notable film roles include Juror #1 in 12 Angry Men (1957), private detective Milton Arbogast in Psycho (1960), Hollywood agent O.J. Berman in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Bernard B. Norman in The Carpetbaggers (1964), Lt. Commander Chester Potter, the ship doctor, in The Bedford Incident, Colonel Cathcart in Catch-22 (1970), Admiral Husband E. Kimmel in Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Mr. Green in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Signor Bianchi in Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Howard Simons in All the President's Men (1976). He had a recurring role as Dr. Milton Orloff on the television drama Dr. Kildare (1963–66), and Murray Klein on the sitcom Archie Bunker's Place (1979–83).

In addition to his Oscar and Tony Awards, Balsam was also a BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Emmy Award nominee. With Joyce Van Patten, he was the father of actress Talia Balsam.

Early life and education

Martin Henry Balsam was born November 4, 1919, in the Bronx borough of New York City, to Russian Jewish parents, Lillian (née Weinstein) and Albert Balsam, who was a manufacturer of women's sportswear.^[4][5] He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, where he participated in the drama club.^[4] He studied at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the German director Erwin Piscator and then served in the United States Army Air Forces from 1941 to 1945 during World War II, achieving the rank of Sergeant.^[6] He served as a sergeant radio operator in a B-24 in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations.^[4]

Career

Theatre

Balsam made his professional debut in August 1941 in a production of The Play's the Thing in Locust Valley.^[7] After World War II, he resumed his acting career in New York.

In 1947–1949, Balsam was a resident member of the summer stock company Town Hall Players^[8][9] in West Newbury, Massachusetts, a community-sponsored summer theatre.^[10] In early 1948, he was selected by Elia Kazan to be a member in the recently formed Actors Studio.^[11] He appeared consistently in Broadway and off-Broadway plays, something he would continue to do well into his screen acting career. Columnist Earl Wilson dubbed him "The Bronx Barrymore".^[12]

In 1968, he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in the 1967 Broadway production of You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running.^{[citation needed]}

Television

Balsam performed 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".

He played Dr. Rudy Wells when the Martin Caidin novel Cyborg was adapted as a TV-movie pilot for The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), though he did not reprise the role for the subsequent series. In 1975, he appeared as James Arthur Cummins in the Joe Don Baker police drama Mitchell, a film that was eventually featured in a highly popular episode of the comedy film-riffing series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1993. He appeared as a spokesman/hostage in the TV movie Raid on Entebbe (1976) and as a detective in the TVM Contract on Cherry Street (1977), starring Frank Sinatra. He also appeared on an episode of Quincy, M.E.. Balsam starred as Murray Klein on the All in the Family spin-off Archie Bunker's Place for two seasons (1979–81) and returned for a guest appearance in the show's fourth and final season.

Film

Balsam made his film debut with an uncredited role in On the Waterfront (1954), directed by his Actors Studio colleague Elia Kazan. Balsam played an official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey investigating mob involvement in the city's waterfront unions. His breakthrough role came a few years later, when he played Juror #1 in 12 Angry Men (1957). He would collaborate with the film's director, Sidney Lumet, twice more with The Anderson Tapes (1971) and Murder on the Orient Express (1974).

In 1960, he appeared in one of his best-remembered roles as private investigator Arbogast in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, culminating in a scene in which Mrs. Bates chases him down a flight of stairs to stab him to death. Along with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, Balsam appeared in both the original Cape Fear (1962), and the 1991 Martin Scorsese remake. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Arnold Burns in A Thousand Clowns (1965). Balsam also performed the original voice of the HAL 9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. He told a journalist in August 1966, "I'm not actually seen in the picture at any time, but I sure create a lot of excitement projecting my voice through that machine. And I'm getting an Academy Award winner price for doing it, too."^[13] After his lines were recorded, director Stanley Kubrick decided "Marty just sounded a little bit too colloquially American," and hired Douglas Rain to perform the role for the released film.^[14]

Balsam also appeared in such notable films as Time Limit with Richard Widmark, Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, The Carpetbaggers with George Peppard and Alan Ladd, Seven Days in May with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, The Bedford Incident with Richard Widmark and Sidney Portier, Hombre with Paul Newman and Fredric March, Catch-22 with Alan Arkin and Jon Voight, Tora! Tora! Tora! (as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel), Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, All the President's Men with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, The Delta Force with Lee Marvin, and The Goodbye People. One of his final acting appearances was in the 1994 horror parody The Silence of the Hams, which paid homage to his iconic role in Psycho.

Beyond Hollywood, Balsam was also a popular character actor in Italian films, beginning in 1960 when he starred in the Luigi Comencini film Everybody Go Home. He would star in several poliziottesco films throughout the 1970s, directed by the likes of Fernando Di Leo and Enzo G. Castellari. Balsam's roles in these films would be re-dubbed into Italian, but he would loop his own lines in the English-language export versions. Balsam maintained close ties to Italy even after the end of the poliziottesco trend, traveling there for both professional and personal reasons, and starring in the Italian-produced television series Ocean and La piovra.

Personal life

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) with one daughter, Talia Balsam. He married his third wife, Irene Miller, in 1963. They had two children, Adam and Zoe Balsam, and divorced in 1987.^[4]

Death

On February 13, 1996, Balsam died of a stroke in his hotel room while vacationing in Rome, Italy. He was 76 years old. He is interred at Cedar Park Cemetery, in Emerson, New Jersey.^[15]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949	Suspense	Abramson
1949–1950	Actors Studio	Soldier	4 episodes
1950	Danger		2 episodes
1951	The Living Christ Series	Innkeeper	Miniseries
	The Big Story	Bill Pinney
	Frontiers of Faith
1952	The Living Bible	Nobleman
1953	Man Against Crime	Tony / Jean Pinay
	Valiant Lady	Joey Gordon
1954	On the Waterfront	Gillette, Secondary Investigator for Crime Commission	Uncredited
	The Greatest Gift	Harold Matthews #2
	Inner Sanctum Mystery	Wesley / Hanson / Larkin	3 episodes
1954–1955	Philco Television Playhouse	Charlie Malick / Mike Galloway	3 episodes
1954–1956	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Perkins / Walter Gregg	3 episodes
1955	The United States Steel Hour	Petty Officer
1957	12 Angry Men	Juror #1
	Time Limit	Sergeant Baker
1957–1958	Studio One	Francis Toohey / Ed Coyne	3 episodes
1958	Kraft Television Theatre	Dino
	Marjorie Morningstar	Dr. David Harris
	Father Knows Best	Teacher
	Pursuit	Holden
	Decoy	Nick Santos
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Eldon Marsh	Season 3 Episode 19: "The Equalizer"
1958–59	Playhouse 90	Sam Gordon / Captain Mantell	3 episodes
	Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse	Gambetta / Dr. Gillespie	2 episodes
1958–1960	Have Gun – Will Travel	Marshall Jim Brock / Charles Dawes	2 episodes
1959	Rawhide	Father Fabian
	Al Capone	Mac Keeley
	The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen		2 episodes
	Middle of the Night	Jack
	Brenner	Arnold Joplin
	The DuPont Show of the Month	Charlie Davis
	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre	Sam Butler
	Winterset	Garth
	The Twilight Zone	Danny Weiss	Episode: "The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine"
1959–1962	Naked City	Captain Russell Barris / Joseph Creeley / Caldwell Wyatt / Arnold Fleischman	4 episodes
1960	Five Fingers	Monteverdi
	Goodyear Theater	Joe Lane
	The Robert Herridge Theater
	Sacco-Vanzetti Story	Nicola Sacco	NBC Sunday Showcase (1960), nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards as "program of the year"
	Psycho	Detective Milton Arbogast
	Tutti a casa	Sergeant Quintino Fornaciari
1961	Way Out	Bill Clayton
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Leonard Thompson	Season 6 Episode 36: "Final Arrangements"
	Ada	Steve Jackson
	Breakfast at Tiffany's	O.J. Berman
	The New Breed	Frank Eberhardt
	The Untouchables	Barry Leimer
	Route 66	Corelli
1961–1964	The Defenders	District Attorney / Bernard Maxwell / Floyd Harker	4 episodes
1962	Cain's Hundred	Jack Garsell
	The Untouchables	Arnold Justin
	Cape Fear	Police Chief Mark Dutton
	Target: The Corruptors	Jeffrey Marvin
	La città prigioniera	Joseph Feinberg
1962–1966	Dr. Kildare	Dr. Milton Orliff / Benny Orloff / Ned Lacey	7 episodes
1963	Route 66	Mike
	The Eleventh Hour	Frank Dunlear
	The Twilight Zone	Martin Lombard Senescu	Episode: "The New Exhibit"
	Breaking Point	Rabbi Eli Oringer
	Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?	Sanford Kaufman
1964	Arrest and Trial	Leo Valera
	Espionage	Richard Carey
	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Dave Breslaw
	Seven Days in May	Presidential aide Paul Girard
	Wagon Train	Marcey Jones
	Suspense	Detective Jack Gross
	The Carpetbaggers	Bernard B. Norman
	Youngblood Hawke	Cameo Appearance	Uncredited
	Mr. Broadway	Nate Bannerman
1965	ITV Play of the Week	Doc Delaney
	The Man from U.N.C.L.E	Albert Sully	Episode: "The Odd Man Affair"
	Harlow	Everett Redman
	The Bedford Incident	Lieutenant Commander Chester Potter, USNR, MD
	A Thousand Clowns	Arnold	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
	12 O'Clock High	Army Doctor	Uncredited
1966	Caccia alla volpe	Harry Granoff
	"Anyone Around My Base Is It"	Narrator	Short Documentary
1967	The Fugitive	Andrew Newmark
	Hombre	Mendez
	Among the Paths to Eden	Ivor Belli
1968	The Name of the Game	Angie
	Around the World of Mike Todd	Michael Todd	TV movie / Documentary; Voice
1969	Me, Natalie	Harold Miller
	The Good Guys and the Bad Guys	Mayor Wilker
	Trilogy	Ivor Belli	(segment: "Among the Paths to Eden")
1970	CBS Playhouse	Jesse
	Hunters Are for Killing	Wade Hamilton	TV movie
	Catch-22	Colonel Cathcart	Group Commander, 256th Bomb Group
	Tora! Tora! Tora!	Admiral Husband E. Kimmel
	The Old Man Who Cried Wolf	Stanley Pulska
	The Name of the Game	Herb Witmer
	Little Big Man	Mr. Merriweather
1971	Confessions of a Police Captain	Inspector Bonavia
	The Anderson Tapes	Tommy Haskins
1972	Chronicle of a Homicide	Judge Aldo Sola
	The Hassled Hooker	District Attorney Turrisi
	The Man	Jim Talley
	Night of Terror	Captain Caleb Sark	TV movie
	The Infamous Column
1973	A Brand New Life	Jim Douglas	TV movie
	The Six Million Dollar Man	Dr. Rudy Wells	TV movie: "The Moon and the Desert"
	The Stone Killer	Al Vescari
	Counselor at Crime	Don Antonio Macaluso
	Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams	Harry Walden
	Money to Burn		TV movie
	Police Story	Detective Al Koster
1974	The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Harold "Green" Longman
	Trapped Beneath the Sea	T.C. Hollister	TV movie
	Kojak	Ray Kaufman
	Murder on the Orient Express	Bianchi
1975	Miles to Go Before I Sleep	Ben Montgomery	TV movie
	Smiling Maniacs	Carlo Goja
	Death Among Friends	Ham Russell Buckner	TV movie
	Cry, Onion!	Petrus Lamb
	Mitchell	James Arthur Cummings
	Season for Assassins	Commissioner Katroni
1976	The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case	Edward J. Reilly	TV movie
	All the President's Men	Howard Simons
	Maude	Chester
	Meet Him and Die	Giulianelli
	Death Rage	Commissario
	Two-Minute Warning	Sam McKeever
	Raid on Entebbe	Daniel Cooper	TV movie
1977	The Sentinel	Professor Ruzinsky
	Silver Bears	Joe Fiore
	Contract on Cherry Street	Captain Ernie Weinberg
	The Storyteller	Ira Davidoff	TV movie
	Blood and Diamonds	Rizzo
1978	Eyes Behind the Stars	Inspector Jim Grant
	Siege	Henry Fancher	TV movie
	Rainbow	Louis B. Mayer	TV movie
	The Millionaire	Arthur Haines	TV movie
	The Joe Franklin Show	Himself	Television interview
	A Salute to American Imagination	Himself	TV movie / Documentary
1979	The Seeding of Sarah Burns	Dr. Samuel Melman	TV movie
	Gardenia	Salluzzo
	The House on Garibaldi Street	Isser Harel	TV movie
	Aunt Mary	Harry Strasburg	TV movie
	Cuba	General Bello
1979–1983	Archie Bunker's Place	Murray Klein	series regular / guest star; 46 episodes
1980	The Love Tapes	David Franklin
	There Goes the Bride	Elmer Babcock
	The Warning	Questore Martorana
1981	The Salamander	Captain Steffanelli
	The People vs. Jean Harris	Joel Aurnou	TV movie
1982	Quincy, M.E.	Hyam Sigerski
	Little Gloria... Happy at Last	Nathan Burkan	TV movie
	Night of 100 Stars	Himself	TV special
1983	I Want to Live!	Jack Brady	TV movie
	Cold Storage	Parmigian	TV movie
1984	The Goodbye People	Max Silverman
	Innocent Prey	Sheriff Virgil Baker
1985	Space	Senator Glancey	Miniseries
	St. Elmo's Fire	Mr. Beamish
	Murder in Space	Alexander Rostov	TV movie
	Death Wish 3	Bennett
	Great Performances	Jack
	Glitter	Bo
1986	La piovra, season 2 [it]	Frank Carrisi	Miniseries; 5 episodes
	The Delta Force	Ben Kaplan
	Whatever It Takes	Hap Perchicksky
	Second Serve	Dr. Beck	TV movie
	Murder, She Wrote	Edgar Carmody	Episodes: "Death Stalks The Big Top" Parts 1 & 2
	The Twilight Zone	Rockne O'Bannon	Segment: "Personal Demons"
1987	Hotel	Dr. Gilbert Holt
	Queenie	Marty	TV miniseries
	P.I. Private Investigations	Cliff Dowling
	The Twilight Zone	Professor Donald Knowles	Segment: "Voices in the Earth"
	Brothers in Blood	Major Briggs
	Kids Like These	Grandpa	TV movie
	Once Again		TV movie
1988	The Child Saver	Sidney Rosenberg	TV movie
	The Brother from Space	Father Howard
1989	Ocean	Don Matias Quintero	TV miniseries
1990	Two Evil Eyes	Mr. Pym	(segment "The Black Cat")
	Midnight Caller	Gil Solarski
	La piovra, season 5 [it]	Don Calogero Barretta
1991	Ľultima meta	Lawyer
	Cape Fear	Judge
1992	The Sands of Time		TV movie
1993	"The Black Cat"		Movie Short
1994	The Silence of the Hams	Detective Martin Balsam
1995	Soldato ignoto		English meaning: Unknown Soldier
1997	Legend of the Spirit Dog	Gramps	Released posthumously on August 19, 1997, 9 months after his death (final film role)

Awards and nominations

Award	Wins	Nominations
Academy Awards	1	N/A
Tony Awards	1	N/A
BAFTA Film Awards	N/A	2
Golden Globe Awards	N/A	1
Primetime Emmy Awards	N/A	1

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1966	Best Supporting Actor	A Thousand Clowns	Won

Tony Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1968	Best Actor in a Play	You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running	Won

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1976	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Nominated
1977		All the President's Men	Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1974	Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture	Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams	Nominated

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1977	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Minieries or Movie	Raid on Entebbe	Nominated

National Board of Review Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1964	Best Supporting Actor	The Carpetbaggers	Won

Drama Desk Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1977	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Cold Storage	Nominated

Obie Award

Year	Category	Work	Result
1977	Distinguished Performance by an Actor	Cold Storage	Won

Outer Critics Circle Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
1967	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Cold Storage	Won
1978		The Shock of Recognition	Won

References

External links

• Martin Balsam at IMDb
• Martin Balsam at the Internet Broadway Database
• Martin Balsam at Find a Grave
• Martin Balsam at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Martin Balsam at the TCM Movie Database
• Martin Balsam at AllMovie