Martin Balsam (November 11, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American character actor.

Born in the Bronx, New York, he studied dramatics at the New School in New York City and then served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. In 1947 he was selected by Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg to be a player in the Actors' Studio television program and went on to appear in a number of television plays in the 1950s and returned frequently to television as a guest star on numerous dramas.

Balsam appeared in such films as On the Waterfront, 12 Angry Men (as Juror #1), Psycho, Cape Fear (1962) as the police chief, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Seven Days in May, Catch-22 and Tora! Tora! Tora!.

In 1967 he won a Tony Award for his appearance in the 1967 Broadway production of You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running .

External links

• Martin Balsam as Murray Klein on Archie Bunker's Place