Bob Balaban
{{short description|American actor (born 1945)}}
{{Infobox person
| image = File:Bob Balaban Berlinale 2014.jpg
| caption = Balaban in 2014
| birth_name = Robert Elmer Balaban
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|8|16}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| education = Colgate University,
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Actor
- director
- producer
- author}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Lynn Grossman|1977}}
| children = 2
| parents = {{ubl|Eleanor Pottasch Balaban|Elmer Balaban}}
| years_active = 1965–present
| family = {{ubl|Barney Balaban (uncle)|A. J. Balaban (uncle)|Burt Balaban (cousin)|Red Balaban (cousin)|Judy Balaban (cousin)}}
}}
Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer and writer.{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/80466/Bob-Balaban/biography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328232116/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/80466/Bob-Balaban/biography|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 28, 2013|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|author=Derek Armstrong|date=2013|title=Bob Balaban profile|access-date=August 15, 2013}} Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Gosford Park (2001), in which he also appeared. He is also an author of children's novels.
Balaban has appeared in the Christopher Guest comedies Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006) and in the Wes Anderson films Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021). Balaban's other film roles include the drama Midnight Cowboy (1969); the science fiction films Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), 2010 (1984), the comedy Deconstructing Harry (1997), and the historical drama Capote (2005).
Early life and education
Balaban was born to a Jewish family{{cite web| url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/being-bob-balaban-from-downton-abbey-to-the-monuments-men-is-the-actor-the-best-connected-person-in-9112215.html |first= Tim | last= Walker |title=Being Bob Balaban: From Downton Abbey to The Monuments Men – is the actor the best-connected person in Hollywood?|date=8 February 2014| website= independent.co.uk}} on August 16, 1945, in Chicago, the son of Eleanor (née Pottasch) and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television.{{cite web| url= http://www.filmreference.com/film/84/Bob-Balaban.html|title=Bob Balaban profile |website= filmreference.com|access-date=2013-08-15}}{{cite web |url= http://movies.ign.com/articles/387/387771p1.html| title=An Interview with Bob Balaban| last= P. |first= Ken| website= IGN.com |date=March 3, 2003 |access-date=August 15, 2013}} His mother acted under the name Eleanor Barry.{{cite book| chapter= Bob Balaban profile |title= Films in Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aB5CAQAAIAAJ&q=Eleanor+Pottasch+Balaban| volume= 40| year= 1989 |publisher=National Board of Review of Motion Pictures|page=92|access-date=2013-08-15}} His paternal grandparents emigrated from Moldova and Ukraine to Chicago, while his mother's family was from Germany, Russia, and Romania.
His uncles were dominant forces in the theatre business; they founded the Balaban and Katz Theatre circuit in Chicago, a chain which included the Chicago and Uptown Theatres.Uptown: Portrait of a Palace, 2006 documentary film Balaban's father, Elmer, and uncle, Harry, founded the H & E Balaban Corporation in Chicago, which operated its own movie palaces, including the Esquire Theatre in Chicago. They later owned a powerful group of television stations and cable television franchises. His uncle Barney Balaban was president of Paramount Pictures for nearly 30 years from 1936 to 1964.{{cite web|url=http://asitecalledfred.com/interviews/30.html |title=Bob Balaban Gets "Exonerated" |publisher=Fred Entertainment |date=December 3, 2003 |access-date=August 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131005015311/http://asitecalledfred.com/interviews/30.html |archive-date=October 5, 2013 }} His maternal grandmother's second husband, Sam Katz, was a vice president at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer beginning in 1936. Sam had been an early partner of Bob's uncles Abe, Barney, John, and Max in forming Balaban and Katz. Sam served as president of the Publix theatre division of Paramount Pictures.{{cite web|title=Paramount Studios – History|url=http://www.thestudiotour.com/wp/studios/paramount-studios/paramount-studios-history/ |website= theStudioTour.com |access-date=23 January 2018}}
Balaban began his college career at Colgate University where he joined Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and then transferred to New York University. He studied acting at HB Studio under Uta Hagen.{{cite web| url= https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/ | publisher= HB Studio |title= Alumni| website= hbstudio.org}}
Career
Balaban's first notable role was on stage; he originated the role of Linus in the original off-Broadway production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown in 1967.{{cite web|url=http://www.bestcareanywhere.net/garyburghoff/CharlieBrown.htm|title=Original Cast: "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown"|publisher=Bestcareanywhere.net|access-date=August 15, 2013}} One of his earliest appearances in film was a small role in Midnight Cowboy (1969).
In the 1970s, he appeared as Grady Garrett on an episode of Room 222, Orr in Catch-22, Elliot the Organizer in The Strawberry Statement,{{cite web|title=The Strawberry Statement (1970)|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1349768|author=Sterritt, David|publisher=Turner Classic Movies (TCM)|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=8 December 2018}} and the interpreter David Laughlin in the 1977 Steven Spielberg science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In 1979, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role in The Inspector General. During the 1980s he appeared in films including Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) and the 1984 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel 2010 (as Dr. Chandra, the creator of HAL 9000). He also directed the Randy Quaid horror comedy film Parents, and the Armin Mueller-Stahl drama film The Last Good Time (1994).
Balaban had supporting roles in films such as Absence of Malice, Bob Roberts, Deconstructing Harry, Ghost World, The Majestic, Lady in the Water, and Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.
He appeared on television in Miami Vice as reporter Ira Stone. In the 1990s, he had a recurring role on the fourth season of Seinfeld as Russell Dalrymple, the fictional president of NBC. He played Warren Littlefield, a real-world NBC executive, in The Late Shift, a 1996 television movie about the battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman for NBC's The Tonight Show. In 1999, Balaban made a guest appearance in the sitcom Friends as Phoebe Buffay's father Frank in "The One with Joey's Bag".
Balaban co-produced Gosford Park (2001), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He also appeared in the movie as Morris Weissman, a Hollywood producer. In 2006, he directed the film Bernard and Doris, starring Susan Sarandon. The following year, he made a guest appearance in an episode of Entourage as a doctor known for writing prescriptions for medical marijuana. Balaban directed the 2009 biopic Georgia O'Keeffe, starring Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. In 2010, he appeared as Judge Clayton Horn, the real-life judge who presided over the obscenity trial of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights Bookstore in the movie Howl.
Alongside Morgan Freeman and John Lithgow, Balaban appeared onstage in September 2011 as Judge Vaughn Walker in the Broadway debut of the play 8, which depicts the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage.{{cite press release|title=AFER Announces New Additions to All-Star Cast of "8"|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/afer-announces-new-additions-to-all-star-cast-of-8-129494628.html|publisher=American Foundation for Equal Rights|date=September 8, 2011|access-date=August 15, 2013}} The production was held at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.{{cite web|title=8: A Play about the Fight for Marriage Equality| date=3 March 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUG8F9uVgM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/qlUG8F9uVgM| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live| publisher=YouTube|access-date=March 18, 2012}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news|title=YouTube to broadcast Proposition 8 play live|url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/03/01/youtube-to-broadcast-proposition-8-play-live|last=Gray|first=Stephen|date=March 1, 2012|publisher=pinknews.co.uk|access-date=August 15, 2013}}
In 2012, Balaban directed four episodes of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie,{{cite web|title=Bob Balaban Credits|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/bob-balaban/credits/142300|publisher=TV Guide|access-date=August 15, 2013}} and voiced the audiobook version of Warren Littlefield's autobiography, Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV.{{cite book|title=Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV|pages=220–21|last=Littlefield|first=Warren|date=12 February 2013|publisher=Anchor Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-307-73976-6}}
Balaban performed in the short radio play Milton Bradley by Peter Sagal in January 2016, for Playing on Air, a non-profit organization that "records short plays [for public radio and podcast] written by top playwrights and performed by outstanding actors."{{Cite web|url=http://broadwaydirect.com/feature/playing-on-air-top-talent|title=Broadway Direct|last=Mogol|first=Allen|date=2015-02-23|website=broadwaydirect.com|access-date=2016-08-04|archive-date=2017-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711053025/http://broadwaydirect.com/feature/playing-on-air-top-talent|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://playingonair.org/2016/01/24/new-podcast-milton-bradley-by-peter-sagal1/|title=New Podcast! MILTON BRADLEY by Peter Sagal|last=PlayingOnAir|date=2016-01-24|website=Playing On Air|access-date=2016-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808193410/https://playingonair.org/2016/01/24/new-podcast-milton-bradley-by-peter-sagal1/|archive-date=2016-08-08|url-status=dead}}
In early 2021, Balaban provided the voice of the narrator in The Simpsons episode "The Dad-Feelings Limited".
= Writing =
Balaban wrote a series of six children's novels featuring a bionic dog named McGrowl.{{cite book|author=Bob Balaban|title=Beware of Dog (McGrowl #1)|isbn=0439401372|publisher=Scholastic, Inc.|date=August 1, 2002|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bewareofdog00bala}} He also co-authored Spielberg, Truffaut & Me: An Actor's Diary with Steven Spielberg, originally published as Close Encounters of the Third Kind Diary{{cite web|last1=O Malley|first1=Sheila|title=The Sheila Variations|url=https://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=46746|publisher=Sheila O Malley|access-date=23 January 2018}} and The Creature from the Seventh Grade: Sink or Swim (Creature from the Seventh Grade, #2) which Andy Rash illustrated.{{cite web|title=Sink or Swim|url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/bob-balaban/-sink-or-swim.htm|publisher=FantasticFiction|access-date=23 January 2018}}
Personal life
Balaban is married to Lynn Grossman; they have two daughters.{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/fashion/sundaystyles/realistic-idealists.html |work= The New York Times| title= Realistic Idealists| first= Alex | last= Williams| date= September 11, 1995 }} He resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.{{cite news |last1=Dana |first1=Rebecca |title=Bridgehampton Bob Balaban Does Special Thing With Hoe |url=https://observer.com/2006/07/bridgehampton-bob-balaban-does-special-thing-with-hoe/ |access-date=21 September 2020 |publisher=Observer |date=July 31, 2006}} He is a member of the board of the Exoneration Initiative, a charity dedicated to exonerating wrongfully-convicted people in New York.{{Cite web |date= |title=Our Mission |url=https://www.exonerationinitiative.org/our-mission |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015074804/https://www.exonerationinitiative.org/our-mission |archive-date=October 15, 2020 |access-date=October 21, 2024 |website=The Exoneration Initiative}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" | 1969
| The Young Student – New York | |
| Me, Natalie
| Morris | |
| rowspan="2" | 1970
| Elliot | |
| Catch-22
| |
| 1971
| Wilkie | |
| 1974
| Victor Karp | rowspan="2" | credited as Robert Balaban |
| 1975
| Joey Egan |
| 1977
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind | David Laughlin | |
| 1978
| Martin | |
| 1980
| Arthur Rosenberg | |
| rowspan="3" | 1981
| Santimassino | |
| Absence of Malice
| Elliott Rosen | |
| Whose Life Is It Anyway?
| Carter Hill | |
| 1984
|2010: The Year We Make Contact | |
| 1987
| Warren Gerber | |
| 1989
| Elliot Webly | |
| 1990
| Sid Moscowitz | |
| 1991
| Quizmaster | Uncredited |
| 1992
| Michael Janes | |
| rowspan="2" | 1993
| Dr. R.A. 'Roy' Fink | |
| For Love or Money
| Ed Drinkwater | |
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| Greedy | Edward "Eddie" Ault | |
| City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
| Dr. Jeffrey Sanborn | Uncredited |
| 1995
| Paul Entamen | |
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| Lloyd Miller | |
| Conversation with the Beast
| Webster | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Milton Lasky | |
| Deconstructing Harry
| Richard | |
| rowspan="3" | 1999
| |
| Jakob the Liar
| Kowalsky | |
| Three to Tango
| Decker | |
| 2000
| Dr. Theodore W. Millbank, III | |
| rowspan="4" | 2001
| Bernie Nayman | |
| Ghost World
| Mr. Coleslaw | |
| Gosford Park
| Morris Weissman | Also producer/writer |
| The Majestic
| Elvin Clyde | |
| 2002
| Winton Chalmers | Uncredited |
| 2003
| Jonathan Steinbloom | |
| 2004
| Roger | |
| rowspan="2" | 2005
| Capote | |
| Trust the Man
| Tobey's Therapist | Uncredited |
| rowspan="2" | 2006
| Harry Farber | |
| For Your Consideration
| Philip Koontz | |
| rowspan="3" | 2007
| Arthur Planck | |
| License to Wed
| Jewelry Store Clerk | Uncredited |
| No Reservations
| Therapist | |
| 2009
| Rage | Mr. White | |
| 2010
| Howl | Judge Clayton Horn | |
| rowspan="2" | 2011
| Thin Ice | Leonard Dahl | |
| A Monster in Paris
| Inspector Pâté | Voice only |
| rowspan="2" | 2012
| Narrator | |
| Girl Most Likely
| Mr. Duncan | |
| 2013
| Sol | |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Pvt. Preston Savitz | |
| The Grand Budapest Hotel
| M. Martin | |
| 2015
| Narrator | |
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| Mascots | Sol Lumpkin | |
| I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
| Mr. Waxcap | |
| rowspan="2" | 2018
| King | Voice only |
| An L.A. Minute
| Shelly | |
| 2021
| Uncle Nick | |
| rowspan="2" | 2023
| Mark | |
| Asteroid City
| Larkings Executive | |
| 2025
| Lenny | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1965
| Hank | Harvey | Episode: "Will The Real Harvey Wheatley Please Stand Up?" |
| 1969
| Room 222 | Grady Garrett | Episode: "Father & Sons" |
| 1971–1972
| Walter / Tony | 2 episodes |
| 1971
| Nick | Episode: "Love and the Fuzz" |
| 1976
| Maude | Ambrose Riley | Episode: "Maude's Ex-Convict" |
| 1985–1986
| Ira Stone | 2 episodes |
| 1987
| Jo-Jo Gillespie | Episode: "Gershwin's Trunk" |
| 1990
| Ira Preduski | Television movie |
| 1992–1993
| Seinfeld | Russell Dalrymple | 5 episodes |
| 1995
| Legend | Harry Parver | 2 episodes |
| 1996
| Television movie |
| 1998
| Friends | Frank Buffay Sr. | Episode: "The One with Joey's Bag" |
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| Justice Eli MacCorckle | Television movie |
| Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
| Himself (voice) | Episode: "Expert Witness" |
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Ted Marcus | Episode: "20 Hours in L.A." |
| Now and Again
| Frederick Lizzard | Episode: "Lizzard's Tale" |
| 2002
| The Education of Max Bickford | Dr. Lowell Sherman | Episode: "I Never Schlunged My Father" |
| 2006
| Walt Pickle (voice) | Episode: "The Layover" |
| 2007
| Doctor | Episode: "The Dream Team" |
| 2008
| Recount | Television movie |
| 2011
| Ted Mitchell | Episode: "Shrink Rap" |
| 2011–2012
| Gordon Higgs | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight | Lawyer | Television movie |
| Family Tree
| Melvin Schmelff / Tumbleweed Tim | Episode: "Cowboys" |
| 2013–2015
| Girls | Mr. Rice | 3 episodes |
| 2014
| Senator Elliot Robeson | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2019
| Arthur Wexler | 3 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Himself (as mascot of the ATF) | Episode: "Paid Family Leave" |
| Show Me a Hero
| Judge Leonard Burke Sand |
| rowspan="3" | 2016
| Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Crazy Walter | Episode: "Auto Lending" |
| Pitch
| Frank Reid | 3 episodes |
| Graves
| Secretary Burns | Episode: "Nothing Can Come From Nothing" |
| 2017
| Wormwood | 4 episodes |
| 2018–2020
| Condor | Reuel Abbott{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/04/condor-william-hurt-bob-balaban-audience-network-series-cast-1202068252/|title='Condor': William Hurt & Bob Balaban To Topline Audience Network Series; Full Cast Set|work=Deadline|author=Denise Petski|date=April 12, 2017|access-date=March 1, 2018}} | Main cast, 20 episodes |
| 2018
| Animals | Himself (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2019
| Keaton Hobart | Main role |
| rowspan="4" | 2021
| Narrator (voice) | Episode: "The Dad-Feelings Limited" |
| Summer Camp Island
| Gerald (voice) | Episode: "Hark the Gerald Sings" |
| The Chair
| Elliot Rentz |6 episodes |
| The Harper House
| Buck Mastiff / Frederick (voice) | Episode: "Destination Funeral/Making the Lie Real" |
| 2022
| Ron (voice) | Episode: "Mad (Buff) Confidence" |
| 2025
|Mark W. | Season 2 |
=Director=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1983
| Episode: "Trick or Treat (Pilot)" |
| 1983
| The Brass Ring | Television movie |
| 1985
| Episode: "Fine Tuning" |
| 1987
| Invisible Thread | Television movie |
| 1989
| Parents | |
| 1991–1992
| 3 episodes |
| 1993
| rowspan="2" | |
| 1994 |
| 1995
| Legend | Episode: "Revenge of the Herd" |
| 1997
| Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground | Television movie; segment: "The 5:24" |
| 1998
| Oz | Episode: "Great Men" |
| 1999
| Episode: "Jerri Is Only Skin Deep" |
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Episode: "Lizzard's Tale" |
| Deadline
| Episode: "Perception" |
| 2001
| 2 episodes |
| 2002–2003
| 2 episodes |
| 2005
| rowspan="2" | Television movie |
| rowspan="2" | 2008 |
| Swingtown
| Episode: "Go Your Own Way" |
| 2009
| Television movie |
| 2011–2012
| 4 episodes |
| 2013–2014
| 3 episodes |
| 2016
| Graves | 2 episodes |
=Theatre=
=Podcasts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2018
| Joseph Langrock | |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Project ! Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Academy Awards | Best Picture | rowspan=2|Gosford Park | {{nom}} |
| 2001 | British Academy Film Awards | Outstanding British Film | {{won}} | |
| 2009 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | Bernard and Doris | {{nom}} |
| rowspan=3|2008 | rowspan=4|Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | Recount | {{nom}} |
| Outstanding Television Movie | rowspan=2|Bernard and Doris | {{nom}} | ||
| rowspan=2|Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie | {{nom}} | |||
| 2010 | Georgia O'Keeffe | {{nom}} | ||
| 1979 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Play | The Inspector General | {{nom}} |
| 2001 | rowspan=2|Screen Actors Guild Awards | rowspan=2|Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | Gosford Park | {{won}} |
| 2005 | Capote | {{nom}} |
Further reading
- Balaban, David. The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz, Arcadia Publishing, 2006
- Balaban, Bob. Spielberg, Truffaut & Me: An Actor's Diary, Titan Books, 1978 (revised 2002)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0000837}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{iobdb name|2331}}
- [https://archive.today/20070505093332/http://blogs.amctv.com/scifiscanner/2007/12/scifi-dept-clos.html Bob Balaban interview] on AMC-TV's Sci-Fi Department web show
- {{LCAuth|n89609282|Bob Balaban|12}}
{{Bob Balaban}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balaban, Bob}}
Category:Male actors from Chicago
Category:American male film actors
Category:American people of German-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Category:American male television actors
Category:American television directors
Category:American comedy film directors
Category:American horror film directors
Category:Colgate University alumni
Category:Jewish American male actors
Category:Latin School of Chicago alumni
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:Film directors from Illinois
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:People from the Upper West Side
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:American male comedians
Category:Comedians from Chicago