About Martin Balsam (1919 - 1996)
Martin Balsam was born in the Bronx of New York in
1914. During his youth he had a brief marriage with
actress Joyce Van Patten. Their daughter, Talia Balsam,
would later go on to be a rather successful actress
for film and TV.
After serving in World War II, he was selected to attend
the prestigious New York’s Actors Studio in 1947. His
involvement with the Studio helped him make his film
debut in 1954’s On The Waterfront, as Father Beery,
starring opposite Marlon Brando. Balsam stormed the
scene, appearing in at least one play or film a year
thereafter. His notable appearance as Juror #1 in “Twelve
Angry Men” and Detective Arbogast in Hitchcock’s 1960’s
“Psycho” continued to proliferate Balsam’s notoriety.
Having appeared in many Broadway shows, Balsam won
a Tony for his role in the 1967 production of "You Know
I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running".
In 1965 Balsam starred in his Oscar-winning role of
Jason Robard's sympathetic brother in “A Thousand Clowns”.
Balsam also starred as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel in
the World War II drama “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970).
Martin Balsam was married three times and the father
of three children. His daughter from the first marriage,
Talia Balsam, was married to actor George Clooney in
the early nineties. Balsam died in Rome, Italy of a
heart attack in 1996.
Martin Balsam's other films include:
ON
THE WATERFRONT (1954)
Al Capone (1959)
Breakfast
at Tiffanys (1961)
Seven Days in May (1964)
The Beford Incident (1965)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
CATCH 22 (1970)
LITTLE
BIG MAN (1970)
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974)
ALL
THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)
The Sentinel (1977)
ST. ELMO'S FIRE (1985)
The Delta Force (1986)
CAPE FEAR (1991)
The Black Cat (1993)
Legend of Spirit Dog (1997)
Balsam's television credits include:
TRILOGY
SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN
MONEY TO BURN
TRAPPED BENEATH THE SEA
DEATH AMONG FRIENDS
RAID ON ENTEBBE
RAINBOW
AUNT MARY
SPACE (Mini-Series)
QUEENIE
THE CHILD SAVER
ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE: (TV series:81-82) |
Martin Balsam, Award Winner - MovieActors.com
