Bob Balaban

Infobox actor
caption =
birthname = Robert Elmer Balaban
birthdate = Birth date and age|1945|8|16|mf=y
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois
occupation = Film, television actor
baftaawards = Best Film
2001 "Gosford Park"'
sagawards = Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture
2001 "Gosford Park"

Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author and director, best known for his collaborations with Christopher Guest.

Biography

Personal life

Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor (née Pottasch) and Elmer Balaban, a local hat salesman. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/84/Bob-Balaban.html Bob Balaban Biography (1945-) ] ] His family was a dominant force in the theatre business; his uncles founded the Balaban and Katz Theatre circuit in Chicago, a chain which included the Chicago and Uptown theatres (a 2006 documentary, "", features one of these theatres). Balaban and Katz operated some of the most beautiful movie palaces in the United States beginning the 1920s. Bob Balaban's father and his uncle Harry founded the H & E Balaban Corporation in Chicago. H & E Balaban Corporation operated their 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 [ [http://moviepoopshoot.com/interviews/30.html Bob Balaban Gets "Exonerated" ] ] for nearly 30 years from 1936 to 1964. His grandmother's second husband, Sam Katz, was a vice president at MGM beginning in 1936. Sam had early partnered with Bob's uncles Abe, Barney, John and Max to form Balaban and Katz. Sam also served as President of the Publix theatre division of Paramount Pictures.

Balaban is an alumnus of Colgate University and New York University and lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his family. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity. He is Jewish,cite news | last =Pine| first =Dan| coauthors=| title =Hooked on ‘Addicted’| pages =| publisher =The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California| date =2004-09-24 | url =http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/23656/edition_id/469/format/html/displaystory.html| accessdate =2006-12-13 ] with his paternal grandparents having immigrated from Russia to Chicago. [ [http://movies.ign.com/articles/387/387771p1.html IGN: An Interview with Bob Balaban ] ]

Career

One of his earliest appearances in film was in 1969's "Midnight Cowboy". Prior to that, he created the role of "Linus" in the original New York off broadway production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" in 1967. [http://www.bestcareanywhere.net/garyburghoff/CharlieBrown.htm] Among his early roles in the 1970s were those of Orr in "Catch-22", 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 such as "2010," and directed the Randy Quaid picture "Parents".

Balaban had a recurring role during the fourth season of Seinfeld when he played NBC president Russell Dalrymple.

Balaban has had supporting roles in films such as "Absence of Malice," "Bob Roberts", "Deconstructing Harry", "The Majestic", "Lady in the Water" and all of Christopher Guest's films: "Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", "A Mighty Wind" and recently "For Your Consideration".

Balaban appeared in Miami Vice as reporter Ira Stone, a nemesis of G. Gordon Liddy's character. In the 1990s, Balaban had a recurring role as Russell Dalrymple, the fictional president of NBC and eventually Elaine's love interest on "Seinfeld". He also played Warren Littlefield, another NBC executive, in "The Late Shift", 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's Dad Frank Buffay in "The One With Joey's Bag".

In 2001 Balaban produced the Robert Altman picture "Gosford Park", for which he received a nomination for Best Picture. He recently appeared in an episode of "Entourage" as a doctor known for writing prescriptions for medical marijuana.

Balaban is the author of a series of six children's novels featuring a bionic dog named "McGrowl".

Further reading

*Balaban, David. "The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz", Arcadia Publishing, 2006

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0000837|name=Bob Balaban
*amg name|2:80466
* [http://www.balabanandkatzfoundation.com Balaban and Katz Foundation ]
* [http://www.compassrose.org/balaban-and-katz/balaban-and-katz-theatres.html Histories and Photos of Balaban and Katz Theatres.]
* [http://blogs.amctv.com/scifiscanner/2007/12/scifi-dept-clos.html Bob Balaban interview] on AMC-TV's Sci-Fi Department webshow
* [http://www.RecountMovie.com Recount Movie]