Martin Balsam
Birthday: 1919-11-04 Place of Birth: Bronx, New York, USA
Synopsis
Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American character actor. He is best known for a number of film roles, including detective Milton Arbogast in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Arnold Burns in A Thousand Clowns (1965), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Juror #1 in 12 Angry Men (1957), and Mr. Green in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), as well as for his role as Murray Klein in the television sitcom Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983).
Acting
The Silence of the Hams
The federal agent Joe Dee Foster is currently investigating a serial killer, helped by doctor Animal who is isolated in a maximum security jail.
Two Evil Eyes
A duo of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations about a greedy wife's attempt to embezzle her dying husband's fortune, and a sleazy reporter's adoption of a strange black cat.
The Last Match
The daughter of a star quarterback is falsely accused of drug smuggling while visiting a small Caribbean island. After his attempts to get her out of jail fail, his coach and teammates show up in full football gear and armed to the teeth, ready to free her by any means necessary.
P.I. Private Investigations
A young architect finds himself being stalked by a gang of criminals who believe he knows something that could expose their activities.
The Delta Force
A 707 aircraft jetliner, en route from Athens to Rome and then to New York City, is hijacked by Lebanese terrorists, who demand that the pilot take them to Beirut. What the terrorists don't realize is that an elite team of commandos have been called in to eliminate all terrorists on the jetliner.
Death Wish 3
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
St. Elmo's Fire
A group of friends graduates from the halls of Georgetown University into lives that revolve around sex and career aspirations. Kirby waits tables to pay for law school. His roommate Kevin struggles at a D.C. newspaper as he searches for the meaning of love. Jules may be an object of adoration and envy, but secretly she has problems of her own. Demure Wendy is in love with Billy—a loveable sax player and an irresponsible drunk. Alec wants it all: a career in politics and the appearance of a traditional home life. Alec’s girlfriend, Leslie, is an ambitious architect who doesn't know about his infidelity, but his new allegiance to the Republican Party is already enough to put her off marriage.
Space
A 13-hour mini-series detailing James A. Michner's fictional account of the American space program from the years after World War II to the Apollo landings on the moon in the early 1970's.
The Salamander
An Italian policeman investigates a series of murders involving people in prominent positions. Left behind at each murder scene is a drawing of a salamander. The policeman begins to suspect these murders are linked to a plot to seize control of the government.
Little Gloria... Happy at Last
The story deals with Gloria Vanderbilt's difficult coming-of-age when, at eleven, she was a pawn in a custody battle between her sybaritic mother and her aunt.
People vs. Jean Harris
This dramatic re-enactment premiered a mere nine weeks after the actual headline-making trial of the refined private school headmistress who was convicted of the murder of her unfaithful lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower, the famed "Scarsdale Diet" author.
The Warning
It is a law police officials obey out of fear. A rule chilling in its simplicity. Accept corruption...or die! They have sealed an unholy alliance. The great banks of Europe. And the blackhearted underworld empire. Together, with their matchless wealth, there is no stopping their almighty, corrosive power. Even the police force's investigation into the diabolical link has been polluted by corruption and terror! When key police officials of the inquiry are viciously assassinated, only two honest men remain--a commissioner and police chief--to carry out the suicidal investigation. And they must fight a deepening mistrust of each other. For they too, know the only rule of the game. They too, have been warned!
Cuba
A British mercenary arrives in pre-Revolution Cuba to help train the corrupt General Batista's army against Castro's guerrillas while he also romances a former lover now married to an unscrupulous plantation owner.
Aunt Mary
The true-life drama about a handicapped Baltimore woman living on welfare who organized a sandlot baseball team and ended up coaching more than 50,000 boys and girls over nearly 40 years.
Siege
A drama about a community of senior citizens who are terrorized by a ruthless neighborhood gang. After learning that the police are stymied because the victims are too scared to testify against the bullying leader, a semi-retired toolmaker decides to take a stand.
Eyes Behind the Stars
A photographer and his model are on a photo shoot in a forest when they get the feeling they are being watched. The feeling becomes so strong that they decide to cut their session short and leave. Later, when they develop the photos they took, they discover what looks like alien creatures in the background.
Silver Bears
Financial wizard "Doc" Fletcher is sent by crime boss Joe Fiore to buy a bank in Switzerland in order to more easily launder their profits. When he arrives, Fletcher finds that the bank, acquired by his associate Prince di Siracusa, consists of some shabby offices above a restaurant. To make up for this, the Prince suggests that Fletcher invests in a silver mine owned by Shireen and Agha Firdausi. This solves one problem, but the mine also attracts the attention of some of the most powerful people in the silver business. Fletcher must pull out all his wheeler-dealing skills in order to keep hold of everything he's worked for, in the process romancing a banker's discontented wife.
Contract on Cherry Street
A policeman devises an unorthodox plan for bringing criminals to justice after his partner is brutally gunned down.
The Sentinel
When a beautiful model, Alison Parker, rents an apartment in a gloomy New York brownstone, little does she realize that an unspeakable horror awaits her behind its doors... a mysterious gateway to hell.
Death Rage
A professional killer is lured into a deadly double-cross when he agrees to assassinate a Mafia kingpin.
Raid on Entebbe
Based on a true Military operation by Israeli commandos. An Air France flight is hijacked by the PFLP. The plane has about 100 Jewish passengers. The plane is grounded in Uganda. Israelis would not negotiate. The movie then shows how less than 500 soldiers actually flew so far and rescued the passengers in one of the most successful Military operations in history. The only casualty for Israeli soldiers was Lt. Col. Jonathan "Yoni" Netanyahu..
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
Fact-based story of the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., son and namesake of the famed pilot, and ensuing trial of accused and convicted killer, Bruno Hauptmann.
All the President's Men
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
Two-Minute Warning
A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly and the SWAT commander, learn of the plot and rush to the scene.
Miles To Go Before I Sleep
A lonely old man (Martin Balsam) finds his life beginning to have some meaning when he helps a teenager living in a rehab center.
"Mitchell"!
A tough-guy cop pursues two drug runners across the city to bust a large syndicate. Very much an anti-hero, Mitchell often ignores the orders of his superiors and demonstrates disdain for by-the-book development work as well as normal social graces.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?
Murder on the Orient Express
In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
Trapped Beneath the Sea
Based on an incident that occurred off the coast of Florida in 1973, this film tells the story of four men who find themselves trapped in a mini-submarine in the ocean depths.
The Six Million Dollar Man
Colonel Steve Austin, astronaut and test pilot, is badly injured when he crashes while testing an experimental aircraft. A covert government agency (OSI) is willing to pay for special prosthetics to replace the eye, arm and both legs he lost in the crash. Highly advanced technology (bionics) built into them will make him faster, stronger and more resilient than normal. In return they want him to become a covert agent for the OSI. It will cost $6,000,000 to rebuild Steve Austin.
