Efrem Zimbalist Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Zimbalist in 1956 | |
| Born | (1918-11-30)November 30, 1918 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 2, 2014(2014-05-02) (aged 95) Solvang, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1945–2009 |
| Known for | Lewis Erskine,Stuart Bailey,Dandy Jim Buckley,Alfred Pennyworth |
| Television | 77 Sunset Strip,The F.B.I.,Maverick,Batman: The Animated Series |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingStephanie Zimbalist |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Marcia Davenport (half-sister) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Unit | Company L,60th Infantry Regiment |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Acting Awards Military Awards |
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor best known for his starring roles in the television series77 Sunset Strip andThe F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the seriesMaverick and as the voice ofAlfred Pennyworth in theDC Animated Universe.
Zimbalist was born in 1918 in Brooklyn to Jewish immigrantsEfrem Zimbalist (1889–1985), a famous Russian-born violinist and symphony conductor,[1] andAlma Gluck (1884–1938), an equally famous Romanian-bornoperaticsoprano.[2] He had an older sister, Mary (1915–2008),[3] along with a half-sister from his mother's first marriage, authorMarcia Davenport (1903–1996).[4] His stepmother wasMary Louise Curtis, the founder of theCurtis Institute of Music. Both parents converted to Anglican Christianity and regularly attended the Episcopal Church. Zimbalist Jr. attendedFay School inSouthborough, Massachusetts.[5]
Zimbalist boarded atSt. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, taking part in school plays. He briefly attendedYale University but was expelled, reinstated and expelled a second time on account of low grades.[2] He moved back to New York City in 1936 to work as apage for NBC radio where he had small on-air roles as well as presenting shows. He furthered his acting training atNeighborhood Playhouse[6] before serving in the United States Army during World War II, where he became friends with writer and directorGarson Kanin.[citation needed]
Zimbalist was drafted in 1941.[7] Inducted into theUnited States Army, he completed his initial training atFort Dix,New Jersey.[8] Selected forofficer candidate school, after graduation in 1943 he received his commission as asecond lieutenant ofInfantry.[9] Zimbalist was assigned as aplatoon leader in Company L, 3rd Battalion,60th Infantry Regiment,9th Infantry Division and participated in combat in Europe following theNormandy landings.[9] He was discharged at the end of the war, and his awards and decorations included theBronze Star Medal andCombat Infantryman Badge, in addition to thePurple Heart he received for a shrapnel wound to his leg during thebattle of Hürtgen Forest.[9]
Following the war, Zimbalist returned to New York and made hisBroadway acting debut inThe Rugged Path,[10][11] starringSpencer Tracy. This led to a stage career as both actor and producer. His producing successes included bringing threeGian Carlo Menotti operas to Broadway, one of which,The Consul,[12] won thePulitzer Prize for Music in 1950.
In 1954–1955, he co-starred in his first television series,Concerning Miss Marlowe.[11]
In 1956, Zimbalist was put under contract byWarner Bros. and moved toHollywood.[13]Zimbalist's first recurring role in aWarner Bros. Television series was as roguish gambler "Dandy Jim Buckley" onMaverick, oppositeJames Garner in 1957, and making five appearances as the character. In 1958, Zimbalist played the co-lead Stuart "Stu" Bailey in77 Sunset Strip, a populardetective series running until 1964.
During this period, he made several concurrent appearances in other Warner Bros. television shows, such asHawaiian Eye,The Alaskans, andBronco. He also starred as the lead in several feature films for Warners, such asBombers B-52,The Deep Six,A Fever in the Blood andThe Chapman Report. Zimbalist was in such demand during this time that he was given a vacation byJack L. Warner, owing to exhaustion from his busy schedule.[citation needed]
Jack Warner lent him toColumbia Pictures forBy Love Possessed in exchange for adding several years to his Warners' contract, but he refused to let Zimbalist appear inBUtterfield 8 forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[14]
In 1959, he was awarded theGolden Globe for "Most Promising Newcomer – Male".[citation needed]
Apart from77 Sunset Strip, Zimbalist was most widely known for his starring role as Inspector Lewis Erskine in theQuinn Martin television productionThe F.B.I., which premiered on September 19, 1965, and aired its final episode on April 28, 1974.[15] Zimbalist was generous in his praise of producer Martin and of his own experience starring in the show. Those who worked with him were equally admiring of the star's professionalism and likable personality.[16]
Zimbalist maintained a strong personal relationship with FBI directorJ. Edgar Hoover, who requested that the show be technically accurate and portray his agents in the best possible light, and he insisted actors playingFBI employees undergo a background check.[16] Zimbalist subsequently spent a week in contact with Hoover inWashington, D.C., and at theFBI Academy inQuantico, Virginia. The men remained mutual admirers for the rest of Hoover's life.[16] Hoover held up Zimbalist as a model for FBI employees' personal appearance.[17]
TheSociety of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation[18] honored the character of Lewis Erskine in 1985 with a set of retired credentials,[19] and on June 8, 2009,FBI DirectorRobert Mueller presented Zimbalist with a plaque honoring him for his work on the series.[19][20]
The show was revived in the 1980s asToday's FBI starringMike Connors.
After77 Sunset Strip, he appeared in other series, includingCBS's short-livedThe Reporter starringHarry Guardino as journalist Danny Taylor of the fictitiousNew York Globe. He also appeared inleading andsupporting roles in several feature films, includingHarlow,A Fever in the Blood (a film about a ruthless politician),Wait Until Dark andAirport 1975.
Zimbalist had a recurring role as Daniel Chalmers, a white-collar con man, on his daughterStephanie Zimbalist's 1980s television detective seriesRemington Steele. He also recurred in the television dramatic seriesHotel.
In 1990, he played the father ofZorro in theChristian Broadcasting Network'sThe New Zorro. Zimbalist relinquished the role after the program's first season because of the filming at studios outsideMadrid, Spain, and the role subsequently went toHenry Darrow. He had a small recurring role in the 1990s hitscience fiction television seriesBabylon 5 as William Edgars.
Also in the 1990s, Zimbalist playedAlfred Pennyworth inBatman: The Animated Series. He reprised the role in subsequent media set in theDC Animated Universe, includingSuperman: The Animated Series,The New Batman Adventures,Justice League, andStatic Shock. He said being Alfred had "made me an idol in my little grandchildren’s eyes.”[21] Zimbalist also played villainDoctor Octopus inSpider-Man: The Animated Series. He appeared on theTrinity Broadcasting Network[22] and as himself in the 1998Smithsonian Institution production ofGemstones of America.[23] He performed as the narrator in "Good Morning, America" by Elinor Remick Warren.[24]
Zimbalist wrote an autobiography,My Dinner of Herbs, published byLimelight Editions, New York.[13]
In 2008, he appeared in the short filmThe Delivery, in which he played a professor who helps a young girl in her struggles for literacy. The film won first place in fantasy at the Dragon*Con Film Festival and was an official selection at the Los Angeles International Children's Festival and the Reel Women International Film Festival in 2009.
In December 1941, Zimbalist married Emily Munroe McNair. They had two children, Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist III (b. 1947) and Nancy (1944–2012). In January 1950, Emily died from cancer.[25]
In 1956, Zimbalist married Loranda Stephanie Spalding. They had a daughter, future actressStephanie Zimbalist.
On February 5, 2007, Loranda died from lung cancer, aged 73.[25]
Zimbalist's parents, Alma Gluck and Efrem Zimbalist, were of Jewish descent but, on emigrating to America, had left the religion.[26] Moreover, Efrem Zimbalist stated,[when?] "As far as I am concerned, there has been no Jew in the family for sixty-five years."[26]
Zimbalist was baptized in theEpiscopal Church. He said that when growing up he was taken to church every Sunday. He attendedSt. Paul's School, an Episcopal boarding school inNew Hampshire.[27] Zimbalist said his faith gave him comfort when Emily died.[28]
He had a nine-year association with the practice ofTranscendental Meditation as taught byMaharishi Mahesh Yogi. Zimbalist described theMaharishi Yogi as a "fascinating character", but found the meditation method "... was a total waste of energy for me."[28]
In the late 1970s, he was drawn to theCharismatic Christianity movement. His first association was withJim Bakker andTammy Faye Bakker'sPTL ministry. For several years, he was a member of the PTL board. PTL's principal televangelistic successor, theTrinity Broadcasting Network (TBN),[29] engaged Zimbalist to make its many announcements, including thestation's idents every half hour, which aired between 1992 and 2012. In a five-minute segment called "The Word" aired on TBN at 25 minutes after the hour, Zimbalist would read a verse from the Bible, eventually completing the entire text, verse by verse.[30] In 1989, he said, "for a while I did go overboard in my association with a fundamentalist group".[31]
In later life, Zimbalist joined the congregation of an Episcopal parish near to his home.[28] Afterward he joined the Anglican Church of Our Savior in Santa Barbara; he was an occasional reader there and requested donations be made to them (among others) in his obituary.[32]
In 1963 and 1964, Zimbalist joined fellow actorsWilliam Lundigan,Chill Wills andWalter Brennan in making appearances on behalf ofU.S. SenatorBarry Goldwater, theRepublicancandidate, in hiselection campaign againstU.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson.[33]
Zimbalist died at the age of 95, on May 2, 2014, fromnatural causes.[29]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | House of Strangers | Tony Monetti | Film noir directed byJoseph L. Mankiewicz | [11][34] |
| 1957 | Band of Angels | Lt. Ethan Sears | Romanticdrama film directed byRaoul Walsh. | [11][35] |
| Bombers B-52 | Colonel Jim Herlihy | CinemaScope film directed byGordon Douglas. | [11][36] | |
| 1958 | The Deep Six | Lt. Blanchard | World War II drama film directed byRudolph Maté, loosely based on anovel of the same name by Martin Dibner. | [11][37] |
| Too Much, Too Soon | Vincent Bryant | Biographical film directed byArt Napoleon. | [11][38] | |
| Violent Road | George Lawrence | Remake ofThe Wages of Fear and directed byHoward W. Koch. | [11][39][40] | |
| Girl on the Run | Stuart Bailey | |||
| Home Before Dark | Jacob 'Jake' Diamond | Drama film directed andproduced byMervyn LeRoy. | [11][41] | |
| 1960 | The Crowded Sky | Dale Heath | Drama film directed byJoseph Pevney. | [11][42][Note 1] |
| 1961 | A Fever in the Blood | Judge Leland Hoffman | Drama film directed byVincent Sherman. | [11][44] |
| By Love Possessed | Arthur Winner | Drama film directed byJohn Sturges. | [11][45] | |
| 1962 | The Chapman Report | Paul Radford | Drama film directed byGeorge Cukor. | [11][46] |
| 1965 | Harlow | William Mansfield | Fictionalized drama based on the life of film starJean Harlow directed byAlex Segal. | [11][47] |
| The Reward | Frank Bryant | Western film directed bySerge Bourguignon. | [11][48] | |
| 1967 | Wait Until Dark | Sam Hendrix | Psychological thriller film directed byTerence Young. | [11][49] |
| 1974 | Airport 1975 | Captain Stacy | Airdisaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 filmAirport and directed byJack Smight. | [11][50] |
| 1982 | The Avenging | Jacob Anderson | Drama filmwritten and directed by Lyman Dayton. | [11][51] |
| 1991 | Hot Shots! | Wilson | Comedyspoof film ofTop Gun directed and co-written byJim Abrahams. | [11][52] |
| 1993 | Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul | Narrator | Documentary film directed and written byGregory Orr. | |
| Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) |
| [11] | |
| 1995 | The Street Corner Kids: The Sequel | Makenzie | Family film directed and written by Margaret Raphael. | |
| 1998 | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Direct-to-video superhero animated feature film directed, co-written, and co-produced byBoyd Kirkland. | [11][53][54] |
| 1999 | The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man | Doctor Octopus | Animated short film directed and co-written by Scott Trowbridge. | |
| 2003 | Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Direct-to-video animated film directed byCurt Geda [fr]. | [11][55][54] |
| 2008 | The Delivery | Dr. Engel | Short film directed and written by Gabrielle DeCuir., (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Mr. and Mrs. North | Star | Television film | [56] |
| 1954–1955 | Concerning Miss Marlowe | Jim Gavin | Contract role | [11] |
| 1956 | Star Tonight | Guest | Episode: "The Long View" | [57] |
| The United States Steel Hour | Sean O'Neill | Episode "Stopover at Sublimity" | [11] | |
| 1957 | Conflict | Stuart Bailey | 2 episodes | [58] |
| 1957–1958 | Maverick | Dandy Jim Buckley | Recurring | |
| 1958 | Girl on the Run | Stuart Bailey | Television film | [11][59] |
| Sugarfoot | Kerrigan the Great | Episode: "The Wizard" | ||
| 1958–1964 | 77 Sunset Strip | Stuart Bailey | Contract role; 163 episodes | [60] |
| 1959–1962 | Hawaiian Eye | Stuart Bailey | Recurring | |
| 1960 | The Alaskans | John Conrad | Episode: "The Trial of Reno McKee" | |
| 1961 | Person to Person | Himself | Episode:"August 11, 1961" | |
| Bronco | Edwin Booth | Episode: "The Prince of Darkness" | [61] | |
| What About Linda? | Himself | March of Dimes fund raising program | ||
| 1962 | Here's Hollywood | Himself | November 2, 1962 | |
| 1964 | The Hollywood Palace | Himself | Episode: "Host: Efrem Zimbalist Jr." | |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Paul Radford | Episode: "The Sojourner" | [62] | |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Stranger | Episode: "See the Monkey Dance" | ||
| The Reporter | Charles Durwood | Episode: "Super-Star" | ||
| 1965 | Rawhide | Jeff McKeever | Episode: "The Diehard" | |
| Password | Himself | Episode: "Angie Dickinson vs. Efrem Zimbalist Jr." | ||
| 1965–1974 | The F.B.I. | Inspector Lewis Erskine | Contract role; 241 episodes | [63] |
| 1967 | Cosa Nostra, Arch Enemy of the F.B.I. | Inspector Lewis Erskine (archive footage) | Television film | [64] |
| Insight | Byron | Episode: "Stranger In My Shoes" | ||
| 1969 | Jim | Episode: "The Coffee House" | ||
| 1970 | Bergman | Episode: "The Day God Died" | ||
| Don Ford | Episode: "He Lived With Us, Ate With Us, What Else, Dear?" | |||
| Charles de Foucauld | Episode: "The Hermit" | |||
| 1972 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Himself | February 16, 1972 | |
| 1974 | Insight | Guest | Episode: "When You See Arcturus" | |
| 1975 | Who Is the Black Dahlia? | Sgt. Harry Hansen | Television film | [11] |
| 1978 | A Family Upside Down | Mike Long | Television film | [11] |
| Terror Out of the Sky | David Martin | Television film | [11] | |
| 30th Primetime Emmy Awards | Himself | Presenter | ||
| 1979 | The Best Place to Be | Bill Reardan | Television film | [11] |
| The Gathering, Part II | Victor Wainwright | Television film | [11] | |
| Insight | God | Episode: "Checkmate" | ||
| Guest | Episode: "A Family of Winners" | |||
| 1980 | Scruples | Ellis Ikehorn | Miniseries | [11] |
| The Anita Bryant Spectacular | Himself | [65] | ||
| 1982 | Beyond Witch Mountain | Aristotle Bolt | Television film | [11] |
| Family in Blue | Marty Malone | Television film | [11] | |
| 1983 | Insight | Guest | Episode: "The Hit Man" | |
| Fantasy Island | Mr. Baldwin | Episode: "The Butler's Affair/Roarke's Sacrifice" | ||
| Charley's Aunt | Col. Francis Chesney | Television film | [66] | |
| Baby Sister | Tom Burroughs | Television film | [11] | |
| Shooting Stars | Robert Cluso | Television film | [11] | |
| 1983–87 | Remington Steele | Daniel Chalmers | Recurring | [11] |
| 1984 | The Love Boat | Dan Whitman | Episode: "Polly's Poker Palace" | |
| Hardcastle and McCormick | Emmett Parnell | Episode: "The Georgia Street Motors" | [67] | |
| Partners in Crime | Grant Latham | Episode: "Murder in the Museum" | ||
| Hotel | Alexander Heath | Episode: "Flesh and Blood" | [11] | |
| Cover Up | E.G. Dawson | Episode: "Writer's Block" | ||
| You Are the Jury | Narrator | Episode: "The Case of the People of Florida v Joseph Lamdrum" | [68] | |
| 1985 | Finder of Lost Loves | Judge Alex Hale | Episode: "Mister Wonderful" | |
| 1986 | 38th Primetime Emmy Awards | Himself | Presenter: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | |
| You Are the Jury | Narrator | Episode: "The State of Arizona v Dr. Evan Blake" | [68] | |
| 1986–88 | Hotel | Charles Cabot | Recurring | [11] |
| 1988 | Hunter | Clarence Hyland | Episode: "Murder He Wrote" | |
| Murder, She Wrote | Gen. Havermeyer | Episode: "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel" | ||
| 1990 | Zorro | Don Alejandro de la Vega | Contract role; 25 episodes | [11] |
| Who's the Boss? | Robert Robinson | Episode: "Operation Mona" | ||
| Murder, She Wrote | Richard Thompson Grant | Episode: "Hannigan's Wake" | ||
| 1991 | Hot Shots: The Making of an Important Movie | Himself | ||
| 1992 | Murder, She Wrote | Adam Quatrain | Episode: "Sugar, Spice, Malice and Vice" | |
| 1992–1993 | The Legend of Prince Valiant | King Arthur (voice) | Contract role; 53 episodes | [54] |
| 1992–1995 | Batman: The Animated Series | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Contract role; 57 episodes | [11][54] |
| 1993 | Trade Winds | Christof Philips | Miniseries | [11] |
| 1994 | Vicki! | Himself | ||
| Burke's Law | Sam Gallagher | Episode: "Who Killed the Legal Eagle?" | ||
| Heaven Help Us | Lexy's Dad | Episode: "A Little Left of Heaven" | ||
| The Nanny | Theodore Timmons | Episode: "Material Fran" | ||
| 1995 | Biker Mice from Mars | King Arthur | Episode: "Knights of the Round Table" | |
| One West Waikiki | Walter Mansfield | Episode: "Flowers of Evil" | ||
| Gargoyles | Mace Malone | Episode: "Revelations" | [54] | |
| Iron Man | Justin Hammer (voice) | Recurring | [54] | |
| 1995–1997 | Spider-Man: The Animated Series | Doctor Octopus / Otto Octavius (voice) | Recurring | [54] |
| 1996 | Picket Fences | Hal Klosterman | Episode: "Forget Selma" | |
| Mighty Ducks | Dr. Denton P. Hookerman | Episode: "Zap Attack" | ||
| 1997 | Babylon 5 | William Edgars | Recurring | [69] |
| The Visitor | Wayland Scott | Episode: "Miracles" | ||
| Superman: The Animated Series | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Episode: "World's Finest" | [11][54] | |
| 1997–1998 | The New Batman Adventures | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Recurring | [11][54] |
| 1998 | Gemstones of America | Himself | Host | |
| 1999 | A Year to Remember | Himself | Host | |
| 2001 | The First Day | Benjamin Hart | Television film | [11] |
| 2003 | Static Shock | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Episode: "Hard as Nails" | [11][54] |
| 2003–2004 | Justice League | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | 3 episodes | [11][54] |
| 2004 | Batman: Behind the Mystery | Himself | ||
| TVLand Moguls | Himself | |||
| 2007 | The Brothers Warner | Himself | Historical film directed by Cass Warner (credited as Cass Warner Sperling). | [70] |
| Year | Title | Role | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers | Wolfgang | [54] |
| 2000 | Spider-Man | Doctor Octopus | [54] |
| 2001 | Batman: Vengeance | Alfred Pennyworth | [11][54] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | The Tempest | Prospero | Directed by William Woodman. | [71] |
| Opening date | Closing date | Title | Role | Theatre | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 1945 | Jan 19, 1946 | The Rugged Path | Gil Hartnick | Plymouth | [10][11] |
| Nov 6, 1946 | Feb 21, 1947 | King Henry VIII | Duke of Suffolk | International Theatre | [11][72] |
| Nov 8, 1946 | Feb 15, 1947 | What Every Woman Knows | A Butler, Ensemble | International Theatre | [11][73] |
| Dec 19, 1946 | Feb 22, 1947 | A Pound on Demand Androcles and the Lion | Secutor | International Theatre | [11][74] |
| Feb 27, 1947 | Mar 15, 1947 | Yellow Jack | Aristides Agramonte | International Theatre | [11][75] |
| May 1, 1947 | Nov 1, 1947 | The Telephone The Medium | (producer) | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | [76] |
| Feb 24, 1948 | Mar 6, 1948 | Hedda Gabler | Eilert Lovborg | Cort Theatre | [11][77] |
| Dec 7, 1948 | Jan 9, 1949 | The Telephone | (producer) | City Center | [78] |
| Dec 7, 1948 | Jan 9, 1949 | The Medium | (producer) | City Center | [79] |
| Mar 15, 1950 | Nov 4, 1950 | The Consul | (producer) | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | [12] |
| Jan 17, 1956 | Aug 11, 1956 | Fallen Angels | Maurice Duclos | Playhouse | [11][80] |
| Oct 16, 2004 | Nov 7, 2004 | Night of the Iguana | Nonno | Rubicon Theatre Company | [81] |
| Apr 26, 2007 | May 20, 2007 | Hamlet | The Player King | Rubicon Theatre Company | [82] |
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