Martin Balsam

Actor

About

Also Known As

Martin Henry Balsam

Birth Place

Bronx, New York, USA

Born

November 04, 1919

Died

February 13, 1996

Cause of Death

Stroke

Biography

Filmography

Legend of the Spirit Dog (1997)

The Silence Of The Hams (1994)

Two For the Job (1992)

Cape Fear (1991)

Two Evil Eyes (1991)

The Child Saver (1988)

Photos & Videos

View All

All The President's Men (1976) -- (Movie Clip) Possible Burglary

Anderson Tapes, The (1971) -- (Movie Clip) Did I Scare You?

Family & Companions

Pearl L Somner

Wife

Actor. Married in 1952; divorced in 1954.

Joyce Van Patten

Wife

Actor. Married in 1959; divorced in 1962; mother of actor Talia Balsam.

Irene Miller

Wife

Production assistant. Married 1963; divorced; mother of Balsam's two younger children.

Notes

Charter member of the Actors Studio.

Biography

The heavyset, balding Balsam was a familiar face as a character actor since his career began on Broadway in the early 1940s. After a hiatus to serve in the US Army during WWII, he found work on stage in a number of Broadway productions including "Lamp at Midnight," "Macbeth" and "The Closing Door" and on TV in such varied shows as "Philco Television Playhouse" (NBC), "The Goldbergs" (CBS) and "Captain Video" (ABC). In the 50s and 60s, Balsam continued to appear on stage including appearances on Broadway in two of Tennessee Williams' plays: with Maureen Stapleton and Eli Wallach in "The Rose Tattoo" (1951) and "Camino Real" (1952) as well as a Tony Award-winning turn as three characters in Robert Anderson's comic one-acts "You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running" (1967). Other credits include Bernie Dodd in Clifford Odets' "The Country Girl" (in Easthampton, New York, 1954), Hickey in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" (in Los Angeles, 1961) and Willie Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" (in Philadelphia, 1974).

On TV, Balsam was a constant presence, making numerous guest appearances on series from "Father Knows Best" to "The Untouchables" to "The Six Million Dollar Man." His TV-movies include supporting Frank Sinatra in "Contract on Cherry Street" (NBC, 1977), appearing opposite powerhouse actresses ranging from Jean Stapleton ("Aunt Mary" CBS, 1979) to Ellen Burstyn ("The People vs. Jean Harris" NBC, 1981) to Vanessa Redgrave ("Second Serve" CBS, 1986). On "Archie Bunker's Place" (CBS, 1979-81), he portrayed Bunker's liberal Jewish business partner Murray Klein.

Balsam entered films with Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront" (1954) and was particularly memorable as the jury foreman in Sidney Lumet's "Twelve Angry Men" (1957), as the doomed private dick Arbogast in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960), as the police chief in "Cape Fear" (1962) and as the studio chief in Edward Dmytryk's "The Carpetbaggers" (1964). He received the 1965 Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Jason Robards Jr.'s agent brother in "A Thousand Clowns." Additional credits include Mike Nichols' "Catch 22" (1970), Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) and Alan J Pakula's "All the President's Men" (1976). Balsam appeared as a judge in Martin Scorsese's remake of "Cape Fear" (1991) and made his final screen appearance as a detective in "The Silence of the Hams" (1994). Balsam died from a stroke in Rome, Italy in February 1996.

Filmography

Life Events

1935

Stage debut, "Pot Boiler"

1941

Broadway debut in "Ghost for Sale"

1941

Served in US Army

1954

First regular role on TV series, "The Greatest Gift"

1994

Final film performance, "The Silence of the Hams"

Photo Collections

12 Angry Men - Lobby Card Set

Here is a set of Lobby Cards from 12 Angry Men (1957), starring Henry Fonda. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.