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Martin Balsam, 67, Dies In Rome

( Newsday ) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS; 02-14-1996

Rome - Martin Balsam, the character actor who died in "Psycho" and won an Oscar for "A Thousand Clowns," was found dead yesterday in a Rome hotel room. He was 76.

The balding, heavy-set Mr. Balsam won an Academy Award as best supporting actor in the 1965 movie "A Thousand Clowns," playing the stuffy brother to nonconformist Jason Robards. He also won a Tony for the lead in "You Know I Can't Hear When the Water's Running."

The Bronx-born actor was especially remembered for his role as the ill-fated detective in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" who reels backward down a staircase as he is repeatedly stabbed. Called "The Bronx Barrymore" by Broadway columnist Earl Wilson, Mr. Balsam once said, "I think the average guy has always identified with me." In 1967, during the Broadway run of "You Know I Can't Hear When the Water's Running," Mr. Balsam said, "I'll tell you, I still don't feel whatever change you're supposed to feel when your name goes up above the title. I think that's because this star thing has never been the first consideration with me. Never. The work has always come first."

Mr. Balsam's film credits included "Marjorie Morningstar," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Tora! Tora! Tora!" "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three," "All the President's Men" and "Little Big Man." He played the jury foreman in "Twelve Angry Men." Later in his career he played criminal figures or police in Italian films, including a role as a Sicilian mafioso in one of the most-watched Italian TV movie series, "La Piovra" (The Octopus), a thriller about the Mafia.

Mr. Balsam died, apparently of natural causes, while vacationing in Rome, said his Italian agent. Martin Henry Balsam was the son of a ladies' sportswear manufacturer, but the drama club at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx attracted him more than his father's business, and he made his Broadway debut in 1941 in "Ghost for Sale." He served in the Army during World War II, and later appeared frequently on stage and television during TV's golden age of live drama. Then came a film break in Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront" and the start of nearly five decades in movies.

His hundreds of TV appearances included a regular role as Archie Bunker's Jewish business partner in the 1979-1981 series "Archie Bunker's Place." Mr. Balsam was one of the first to join the Actors Studio, where Lee Strasberg taught "method" acting to a generation of stars including Marlon Brando, Paul Newman and Rod Steiger.

Mr. Balsam, married and divorced three times, is survived by three children: actress Talia Balsam by his second wife, actress Joyce Van Patten; and Zoe and Adam Balsam by his third wife, Irene Miller. Actress Pearl Sommer was his first wife.
Funeral arrangements were pending.