Bob Balaban

At 79 years old, Bob Balaban has this physical status:

Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, writer, editor, and producer.

He was one of the five finalists for the Academy Award for Best Picture in Gosford Park (2001), in which he also appeared.

Balaban's other film appearances include the drama Midnight Cowboy (1969), the science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1980), and Now, Yesterday (2005); and the Wes Anderson films Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014); and Isle of Dogs (2018). In comparison to numerous television shows and films, Balaban has made three feature films.

He is also a writer of children's books.

Early life and education

Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 16, 1945, the son of Eleanor (née Pottasch) and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theaters and later was a pioneer in cable television. Eleanor Barry, his mother's name, appeared on his pages. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Russia to Chicago, while his mother's family was from Germany, Russia, and Romania.

His uncles were the key figures in Chicago's theatre industry; they founded the Balaban and Katz Theatre circuit, a Chicago restaurant that also included the Chicago and Uptown Theatres. Elmer Balaban's father, Elmer, and his uncle, Harry, founded the H & E Balaban Corporation in Chicago, which operated its own movie palaces, including the Esquire Theatre in Chicago. They later acquired a substantial number of television stations and cable television franchises. Barney Balaban, his uncle, was president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964. Sam Katz, his maternal grandmother's second cousin, was a vice president at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer beginning in 1936. In establishing Balaban and Katz, Sam had been an early collaborator of Bob's uncles Abe, Barney, John, and Max. Sam was president of Paramount Pictures' Publix theatre group.

Balaban began his college years at Colgate University, where he became a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and later enrolled in New York University. He studied acting at Uta Hagen's HB Studio.

Personal life

Balaban is married to Lynn Grossman; the two children are two years old. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York.

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Acting career

Balaban's first appearance was on stage; he starred Linus in the original off-Broadway production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown in 1967.

In Midnight Cowboy (1969), one of his first film appearances was (1969). Grady Garrett appeared on an episode of Room 222, Orr in Catch-22, Elliot the Organizer in The Strawberry Statement, and interpreter David Laughlin in the 1977 Steven Spielberg science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He received a Tony Award nomination in 1979 for his work in The Inspector General. He appeared in films including Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) and A Space Odyssey sequel 2010 (as Dr. Chandra, the developer of HAL 9000). He also produced Parents, the Randy Quaid horror film Including Parents, and the Armin Mueller-Stahl drama film The Last Good Time (1994).

Balaban appeared in films including Absence of Malice, Bob Roberts, Deconstructing Harry, The Majestic, Lady in the Water, and Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.

Ira Stone, a reporter from Miami, appeared in Vice as reporter Ira Stone. Balaban appeared on Seinfeld's fourth season as Russell Dalrymple, the fictional president of NBC. In The Late Shift, Warren Littlefield, a real-world NBC executive, also appeared in The Late Shift, about Jay Leno and David Letterman's fight for NBC's The Tonight Show. In 2012, his devotion to Littlefield began when he listened to Littlefield's autobiography on tape, a highlight from his debut and fall in Must See TV. Balaban appeared in "The One With Joey's Bag" as Phoebe Buffay's father Frank in 1999. Balaban appeared in 2010 as Judge Clayton Horn, the real-life judge who presided over Lawrence Ferlinghetti's obscenity appeal and City Lights Bookstore's obscenity trial.

Balaban made Gosford Park in 2001, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Morris Weissman, a Hollywood producer, appeared in the film as a Hollywood producer. He appeared in an episode of Entourage as a doctor known for writing prescriptions for medical marijuana. Susan Sarandon appeared in Bernard and Doris (2006), as well as the biographical Georgia O'Keeffe (2009), starring Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. Multiple episodes of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie have been directed by Jack.

In September 2011, he appeared with Morgan Freeman and John Lithgow in the Broadway debut of the play, 8—a staged reenactment of California's Pro 8 ban on same-sex marriages, according to Judge Vaughn Walker. The production was held at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre to raise funds for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Balaban appeared in Peter Sagal's short play Milton Bradley, a non-profit group that "records short plays [for public radio and podcast] written by top playwrights and performed by outstanding actors" in January 2016.

Balaban appeared in the Simpsons episode "The Father-Feelings Limited" in early 2021.

Writing career

Balaban wrote a book about a bionic dog named McGrowl. He also co-authored Spielberg, Truffaut & Me: An Actor's Diary with Steven Spielberg, and The Creature from the Seventh Grade, #2) which Andy Rash illustrated.

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