 ProductLink |
|
 Bob Balaban was born on August 16, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Gosford Park (2001), A Mighty Wind (2003) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He has been married to Lynn Grossman since April 1, 1977. They have two children.
Bio:
Bob Balaban was born on August 16, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Gosford Park (2001), A Mighty Wind (2003) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He has been married to Lynn Grossman since April 1, 1977. They have two children.
Tivia:
Played the head of NBC in both Seinfeld (1989) and The Late Shift (1996).For his part in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Balaban auditioned in French.His mother, Elenore (Pottasch), acted under the surname Barry. His father, Elmer Balaban (1909-2001), was the last surviving of seven Balaban brothers, who dominated the movie theater business in Chicago and in much of the Midwest. The Balaban boys built the city's first "supercolossal" theaters, the 700-seat Circle and the 2,000-seat Central Park. Bob's uncle, Barney Balaban, became chairman of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood and wanted to pass the torch to Elmer, but he declined. Elmer has been credited with devising an early version of pay-TV, based on a set-top box that would show first-run movies at home by accepting quarters.Was nominated for Broadway's 1979 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for "The Inspector General."His paternal grandparents were immigrant Russian Jewish grocery store owners in Chicago, while his mother's family were Jewish emigrants from Germany, Russia, and Romania.Published a diary of his experiences working on the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).Uncles Barney and A.J. Balaban owned ornate movie theaters with Sam Katz, the Balaban & Katz theater chain. Renamed Publix Theaters in 1925, it was acquired by Paramount Pictures. The theater chain became so important to Paramount'Inc. Sam Katz forced co-founder Adolph Zukor s fortunes that the company name was changed to Paramount-Publix in 1930. Paramount-Publix went bankrupt in 1933, and was reorganized as Paramount Pictures' to resign, but after Barney Balaban became Paramount president in 1936, he appointed Zukor chairman of the board. Barney Balaban was president of Paramount through the tumultuous years following the 1949 Supreme Court-mandated divestiture of movie production companies from their theater chains. President of Paramount for 28 years, Barney coined "Balaban's Law," which held that a film had to gross three times its negative cost to break even. After the failure of Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), which cost $20 million (approximately $115 million in 2003 dollars), Balaban was eased out of Paramount.Made his Broadway debut in Neil Simons "Plaza Suite" in support of George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton.Father of Mariah Balaban (born 1977) and Hazel Balaban (born Februay 25, 1987).Uncle Barney Balaban, president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, was one of the movie magnates who attended the Waldorf Conference in 1946, in which the blacklist against communists was implemented. A deeply religious man, when asked by his daughter about his complicity with the blacklist, Balaban told her, "I don't think it's okay. There's something about it that's okay, but there's something about it that's terrible, and I don't quite understand it all yet".As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Gosford Park (2001) - which he produced and he was nominated himself - and Capote (2005). Midnight Cowboy (1969) won in the category.As of 2023, he has appeared in 7 films along with Bill Murray: Nothing Lasts Forever (1984), Cradle Will Rock (1999), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Monuments Men (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021).His first cousin, Judith Balaban Quine, is author of "The Bridemaids", a book about her friend, Grace Kelly.Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2007 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his performance in the film Lady in the Water (2006), he failed to receive a nomination however.He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.He is described as a "mega-hunk" in A Star Is Born Again (2003).Cousin of director Burt Balaban and Judy Balaban. Nephew of Barney Balaban.Studied drama at Herbert Berghof HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.Acted in the cast with Warren Littlefield in the Seinfeld season four episode "The Pilot," then went on to portray Warren Littlefield in the film The Late Shift three years later.As of 2023, he has appeared in six films directed by Christopher Guest: Girlfriends (1978), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006) and Mascots (2016).As of 2023, he has appeared in five films directed by Wes Anderson: Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021). |
| Name: |
Bob Balaban |
Type: |
Actor,Director,Producer (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
|
Business scope: |
Actor,Director,Producer |
| Products for sale: |
Actor,Director,Producer |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 05:06:30 |
| Height: |
5' 5' (1.65 m) |
| Biography: |
Bob Balaban was born on August 16, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Gosford Park (2001), A Mighty Wind (2003) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He has been married to Lynn Grossman since April 1, 197 |
| Trivia: |
Played the head of NBC in both Seinfeld (1989) and The Late Shift (1996).For his part in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Balaban auditioned in French.His mother, Elenore (Pottasch), acted under the surname Barry. His father, Elmer Balaban (1909-2001), was the last surviving of seven Balaban brothers, who dominated the movie theater business in Chicago and in much of the Midwest. The Balaban boys built the city's first "supercolossal" theaters, the 700-seat Circle and the 2,000-seat Central Park. Bob's uncle, Barney Balaban, became chairman of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood and wanted to pass the torch to Elmer, but he declined. Elmer has been credited with devising an early version of pay-TV, based on a set-top box that would show first-run movies at home by accepting quarters.Was nominated for Broadway's 1979 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for "The Inspector General."His paternal grandparents were immigrant Russian Jewish grocery store owners in Chicago, while his mother's family were Jewish emigrants from Germany, Russia, and Romania.Published a diary of his experiences working on the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).Uncles Barney and A.J. Balaban owned ornate movie theaters with Sam Katz, the Balaban & Katz theater chain. Renamed Publix Theaters in 1925, it was acquired by Paramount Pictures. The theater chain became so important to Paramount'Inc. Sam Katz forced co-founder Adolph Zukor s fortunes that the company name was changed to Paramount-Publix in 1930. Paramount-Publix went bankrupt in 1933, and was reorganized as Paramount Pictures' to resign, but after Barney Balaban became Paramount president in 1936, he appointed Zukor chairman of the board. Barney Balaban was president of Paramount through the tumultuous years following the 1949 Supreme Court-mandated divestiture of movie production companies from their theater chains. President of Paramount for 28 years, Barney coined "Balaban's Law," which held that a film had to gross three times its negative cost to break even. After the failure of Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), which cost $20 million (approximately $115 million in 2003 dollars), Balaban was eased out of Paramount.Made his Broadway debut in Neil Simons "Plaza Suite" in support of George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton.Father of Mariah Balaban (born 1977) and Hazel Balaban (born Februay 25, 1987).Uncle Barney Balaban, president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, was one of the movie magnates who attended the Waldorf Conference in 1946, in which the blacklist against communists was implemented. A deeply religious man, when asked by his daughter about his complicity with the blacklist, Balaban told her, "I don't think it's okay. There's something about it that's okay, but there's something about it that's terrible, and I don't quite understand it all yet".As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Gosford Park (2001) - which he produced and he was nominated himself - and Capote (2005). Midnight Cowboy (1969) won in the category.As of 2023, he has appeared in 7 films along with Bill Murray: Nothing Lasts Forever (1984), Cradle Will Rock (1999), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Monuments Men (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021).His first cousin, Judith Balaban Quine, is author of "The Bridemaids", a book about her friend, Grace Kelly.Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2007 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his performance in the film Lady in the Water (2006), he failed to receive a nomination however.He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.He is described as a "mega-hunk" in A Star Is Born Again (2003).Cousin of director Burt Balaban and Judy Balaban. Nephew of Barney Balaban.Studied drama at Herbert Berghof HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.Acted in the cast with Warren Littlefield in the Seinfeld season four episode "The Pilot," then went on to portray Warren Littlefield in the film The Late Shift three years later.As of 2023, he has appeared in six films directed by Christopher Guest: Girlfriends (1978), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006) and Mascots (2016).As of 2023, he has appeared in five films directed by Wes Anderson: Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021). |
| Trademarks: |
Frequently cast by Wes Anderson
Frequently cast in Christopher Guest films
Glasses
Frequently appears in films with Bill Murray |
| Quotes: |
God, I'd love to do a big commercial movie that made a lot of money and whose plot was interesting, too.
<br />
<hr>
Yes, I try to do everything I can not to fail hideously.
<br />
<hr>
When I felt unsure of my abilities and terrified of the whole enterprise, I said to myself, 'You're an actor, right? So act like a director.'
<br />
<hr>
There is an aphorism, well regarded by Freudian analysts and talent agents alike, that all people are half-actors. We can only expand that wisdom a bit and posit the following: all actors are half-directors.
<br />
<hr>
[describing his Chicago youth] I was one of those kids who'd put on neighborhood puppet shows. I was a puppet fanatic. I was always putting on plays and enlisting my friends to help. |
| Job title: |
Actor,Director,Producer |
| Others works: |
(1967) Stage: Appeared (as "Linus") in the original off-Broadway production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". He is also on the original cast album
(April 2002) Stage: Supervising director for "The Exonerated" by & |
| Spouse: |
Lynn Grossman (April 1, 1977 - present) (2 children) |
| Parents: |
Elmer Balaban
Eleanor Balaban |
|
