Martin Balsam
Highest Rated: 100% The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Lowest Rated: Not Available
Birthday: Nov 4, 1919
Birthplace: Bronx, New York, USA
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).
Photos
Filmography
Movies
| Credit | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Legend of the Spirit Dog | Gramps (Character) | - | 1997 |
| 0% | 44% | The Silence of the Hams | Detective Martin Balsam (Character) | - | 1994 |
| 75% | 77% | Cape Fear | Judge (Character) | $76.4M | 1991 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Brother From Space | Father Howard (Character) | - | 1989 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Child Saver | Sidney Rosenberg (Character) | - | 1988 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Brothers in Blood | Major Briggs (Character) | - | 1987 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | P.I. Private Investigations | Cliff Dowling (Character) | $21.3K | 1987 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Kids Like These | Grandpa (Character) | - | 1987 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Second Serve | Dr. Beck (Character) | - | 1986 |
| 15% | 50% | The Delta Force | Ben Kaplan (Character) | $15.9M | 1986 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Once Again | Unknown (Character) | - | 1986 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Whatever It Takes | Hap Perchicksky (Character) | - | 1986 |
| 11% | 54% | Death Wish 3 | Bennett (Character) | $15.9M | 1985 |
| 42% | 68% | St. Elmo's Fire | Mr. Beamish (Character) | - | 1985 |
| No Score Yet | 20% | Murder in Space | Alexander Rostov (Character) | - | 1985 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Grown Ups | Jack (Character) | - | 1985 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Goodbye People | Max Silverman (Character) | - | 1984 |
| No Score Yet | 60% | I Want to Live | Jack Brady (Character) | - | 1983 |
| No Score Yet | 40% | The Salamander | Captain Steffanelli (Character) | - | 1981 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The People vs. Jean Harris | Joel Aurnou (Character) | - | 1981 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | There Goes the Bride | Elmer Babcock (Character) | - | 1980 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Warning | Questore Martorana (Character) | - | 1980 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Love Tapes | David Franklin (Character) | - | 1980 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Aunt Mary | Harry Strasberg (Character) | - | 1979 |
| 45% | 28% | Cuba | Gen. Bello (Character) | - | 1979 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Seeding of Sarah Burns | Dr. Samuel Melman (Character) | - | 1979 |
| No Score Yet | 70% | The House on Garibaldi Street | Isser Harel (Character) | - | 1979 |
| No Score Yet | 33% | Eyes Behind the Stars | Inspector Jim Grant (Character) | - | 1978 |
| No Score Yet | 33% | Silver Bears | Joe Fiore (Character) | - | 1978 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Millionaire | Arthur Haines (Character) | - | 1978 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Rainbow | Louis B. Mayer (Character) | - | 1978 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Siege | Henry Fancher (Character) | - | 1978 |
| No Score Yet | 64% | Raid on Entebbe | Daniel Cooper (Character) | - | 1977 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Contract on Cherry Street | Capt. Ernie Weinberg (Character) | - | 1977 |
| 45% | 44% | The Sentinel | Prof. Ruzinsky (Character) | - | 1977 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Storyteller | Ira Davidoff (Character) | - | 1977 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Anger in His Eyes | Commissario (Character) | - | 1977 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Meet Him and Die | Giulianelli (Character) | - | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | 20% | Death Rage | Commissario (Character) | - | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | 80% | The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case | Edward J. Reilly (Character) | - | 1976 |
| 94% | 92% | All the President's Men | Howard Simons (Character) | - | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cry Onion | Henry 'Jack' Pullitzer (Character) | - | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mrs. R | Ham Russell Buckner (Character) | - | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | 29% | Mitchell | James Arthur Cummings (Character) | - | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Season for Assassins | Commissioner Katroni (Character) | - | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Smiling Maniacs | Carlo Goja (Character) | - | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Miles to Go Before I Sleep | Ben Montgomery (Character) | - | 1974 |
| 90% | 78% | Murder on the Orient Express | Signor Bianchi (Character) | - | 1974 |
| 100% | 88% | The Taking of Pelham One Two Three | Green (Character) | - | 1974 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Trapped Beneath the Sea | T.C. Hollister (Character) | - | 1974 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Corruzione al palazzo di giustizia | Carlo Goja (Character) | - | 1974 |
| No Score Yet | 41% | The Stone Killer | Al Vescari (Character) | - | 1973 |
| No Score Yet | 17% | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams | Harry Walden (Character) | - | 1973 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Brand New Life | Jim Douglas (Character) | - | 1973 |
| No Score Yet | 33% | Counselor at Crime | Don Antonio Macaluso (Character) | - | 1973 |
| No Score Yet | 80% | The Six Million Dollar Man | Dr. Rudy Wells (Character) | - | 1973 |
| No Score Yet | 71% | Confessions of a Police Captain | Commissario Bonavia (Character) | - | 1972 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Night of Terror | Capt. Caleb Sark (Character) | - | 1972 |
| 74% | 54% | The Anderson Tapes | Haskins (Character) | - | 1971 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Enemy Before Us | Angie (Character) | - | 1971 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Man | Jim Talley (Character) | - | 1971 |
| 55% | 81% | Tora! Tora! Tora! | Adm. Husband E. Kimmel (Character) | - | 1970 |
| 96% | 87% | Little Big Man | Mr. Merriweather (Character) | - | 1970 |
| 81% | 76% | Catch-22 | Col. Cathcart (Character) | - | 1970 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Old Man Who Cried Wolf | Stanley Pulska (Character) | - | 1970 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hunters Are for Killing | Wade Hamilton (Character) | - | 1970 |
| 17% | 30% | The Good Guys and the Bad Guys | Mayor Wilker (Character) | - | 1969 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Trilogy | Ivor Belli (Character) | - | 1969 |
| No Score Yet | 74% | Me, Natalie | Uncle Harold (Character) | - | 1969 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Nightmare | Herb Witmer (Character) | - | 1968 |
| 93% | 80% | Hombre | Henry Mendez (Character) | - | 1967 |
| 78% | 65% | After the Fox | Harry (Character) | - | 1966 |
| No Score Yet | 46% | Harlow | Everett Redman (Character) | - | 1965 |
| 72% | 88% | A Thousand Clowns | Arnold (Character) | - | 1965 |
| 85% | 75% | The Bedford Incident | Lieutenant Commander Chester Potter, M.D., U.S.N. (Character) | - | 1965 |
| 33% | 61% | The Carpetbaggers | Bernard B. Norman (Character) | - | 1964 |
| 92% | 89% | Seven Days in May | Paul Girard (Character) | - | 1964 |
| No Score Yet | 28% | Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? | Sanford Kaufman (Character) | - | 1963 |
| 96% | 86% | Cape Fear | Police Chief Mark Dutton (Character) | - | 1962 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Conquered City | Joseph Feinberg (Character) | - | 1962 |
| No Score Yet | 57% | Ada | Steve Jackson (Character) | - | 1961 |
| 88% | 91% | Breakfast at Tiffany's | O.J. Berman (Character) | - | 1961 |
| 96% | 95% | Psycho | Det. Milton Arbogast (Character) | - | 1960 |
| No Score Yet | 87% | Everybody Go Home | Sergente Quintino Fornaciari (Character) | - | 1960 |
| No Score Yet | 62% | Middle of the Night | Jack (Character) | - | 1959 |
| No Score Yet | 59% | Al Capone | Mac Keeley (Character) | - | 1959 |
| No Score Yet | 53% | Marjorie Morningstar | Dr. David Harris (Character) | - | 1958 |
| 100% | 97% | 12 Angry Men | Juror No. 1 (Character) | - | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | 67% | Time Limit | Sgt. Baker (Character) | - | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Defender | Unknown (Character) | - | 1957 |
| 99% | 95% | On the Waterfront | Gillette (Character) | - | 1954 |
TV
| Credit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hotel | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1987 |
| 66% | No Score Yet | Archie Bunker's Place | Murray Klein (Character) | 1979-1983 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Maude | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Kojak | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1974 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Police Story | Det. Al Koster (Character) | 1973 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Name of the Game | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1968 1970 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Fugitive | Andrew Newmark (Guest Star) | 1967 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Dr. Kildare | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1962 1966 |
| 100% | No Score Yet | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1965 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Wagon Train | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1964 |
| 84% | 95% | The Twilight Zone | Danny Weiss (Character) | 1959 1963 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Route 66 | Evan Corelli (Guest Star) | 1961 1963 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Untouchables | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1961-1962 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cain's Hundred | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1962 |
| No Score Yet | 79% | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Unknown (Character) | 1958 1961 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Have Gun -- Will Travel | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1958 1960 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Zane Grey Theater | Unknown (Character) | 1959 |
| No Score Yet | 100% | Rawhide | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1959 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Studio One | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The United States Steel Hour | Petty Officer (Character) | 1955 |
| No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Suspense | Unknown (Character) | 1949 |