Martin Balsam

Martin Balsam
Born: Nov 4, 1919
Bronx, New York City, NY
Career: 1954-1994
Countries: USA
Genre/Type: Drama
Thriller
Biography by Hal Erickson
Bronx-raised actor Martin Balsam was the oldest of three children of a ladies' sportswear salesman. "Actors are bums" was dad's reaction when Balsam announced his intention of going into show business; still, young Martin took full advantage of lunch breaks from his "real" jobs to rehearse for amateur theatricals. After World War II, Balsam joined New York's Actors Studio, supporting himself by waiting on tables and ushering at Radio City Music Hall. During his formative years he was briefly married to actress Joyce Van Patten; their daughter Talia Balsam would later become a successful film and TV performer. Working steadily if not profitably in nightclubs and TV, Balsam made his first film, the Actors Studio-dominated On the Waterfront, in 1954. Averaging a movie and/or a play a year starting in 1957 (among his best-known film roles were Juror #1 in Twelve Angry Men [1957] and the unfortunate detective Arbogast in Psycho [1960]), Balsam went on to win a Tony for the Broadway play I Know You Can't Hear Me When the Water's Running, an Obie for the off-Broadway production Cold Storage, and an Academy Award for his performance as Jason Robards' older brother in the 1965 film version of A Thousand Clowns. Unfortunately for Balsam, the Oscar was as much a curse as a blessing on his career, and soon he was playing little more than variations on his Thousand Clowns role. In 1979, he was engaged by Norman Lear to play "lovable bigot" Archie Bunker's acerbic Jewish business partner Murray Klein on the CBS sitcom Archie Bunker's Place; he remained with the series until 1981. In 1991, Balsam appeared in Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear, the remake of a film in which Balsam had co-starred (in an entirely different role) in 1962.
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Filmography

Movie/Film Released Rating Role Buy
The Silence of the Hams 1994 Actor [Starring]
The Black Cat 1993 Actor [Starring]
The Sands of Time 1992 Actor [Starring]
Cape Fear 1991 Actor [Starring]
Two Evil Eyes 1990 Actor [Starring]
The Child Saver 1988 Actor [Starring]
Kids Like These 1987 Actor [Starring]
P.I. Private Investigations 1987 Actor [Starring]
Queenie 1987 Actor [Starring]
Grown Ups 1986 Actor [Starring]
Murder, She Wrote: Death Stalks the Big Top, Part 1 1986 Actor [Starring]
Murder, She Wrote: Death Stalks the Big Top, Part 2 1986 Actor [Starring]
Once Again 1986 Actor [Starring]
Second Serve 1986 Actor [Starring]
The Delta Force 1986 Actor [Starring]
Whatever It Takes 1986 Actor [Starring]
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Videos of Martin Balsam

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Based On Novel | Murder | Beautiful Woman | Independent Film more
He goes to Norman Bates' house to look for his mother. Just then, Norman, dressed up in his mother's clothes, stabs him as he fall to the stairs. Norman continues to stab him.
Martin Balsam was born on November 4, 1919

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Awards

Year Movie/Film Role
1973 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Nom)
1965 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences A Thousand Clowns Best Supporting Actor (Won)
1964 National Board of Review The Carpetbaggers Best Supporting Actor (Won)
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