ACTOR · BORN 1945
Bob Balaban
- Born
- 16 August 1945, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Known for
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Lady in the Water (2006), 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), The Majestic (2001)
24 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Bob Balaban (born 16 August 1945) is an actor best known for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Lady in the Water and 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
24 Interesting Facts About Bob Balaban
Interesting Facts (6)
- #001
As of 2023, he had appeared in seven films with Bill Murray: Nothing Lasts Forever (1984), Cradle Will Rock (1999), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Monuments Men (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021).
- #002
While working on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), he published a diary of his experiences.
- #003
His uncle Barney Balaban, who served as president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, was one of the film moguls who attended the 1946 Waldorf Conference, where the blacklist against communists was enforced. A deeply religious man, Balaban told his daughter, when she asked him about his complicity in the blacklist: "I don't think that's true. There's something in it that isn't a problem, but there's something that's terrible, and I can't quite understand all of it yet."
- #004
His uncles Barney and A. J. Balaban owned lavish movie palaces through the Balaban and Katz theater chain with Sam Katz. In 1925 it was renamed Publix Theatres and bought by Paramount Pictures. The theater chain became very important to Paramount, Inc. Sam Katz forced co-founder Adolph Zukor's hand to change the company's name to Paramount-Publix in 1930. Paramount-Publix went bankrupt in 1933 and was reorganized as Paramount Pictures, poised to resign, but after Barney Balaban became president of Paramount in 1936 he appointed Zukor as chairman of the board. Barney Balaban was president of Paramount during the turbulent years following the Supreme Court's 1949 decision to separate film production companies from theater chains. Barney, who had been president of Paramount for 28 years, invented "Balaban's Law," which held that a film had to gross three times its negative cost to break even. After the failure of Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), which cost 20 million dollars (about 115 million dollars in 2003 dollars), Balaban was ousted from Paramount.
- #005
He studied drama at Herbert Berghof's HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.
- #006
As of 2023, he had appeared in five films directed by Wes Anderson: Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021).
Behind the Scenes (9)
- #007
He played the head of NBC both in Seinfeld (1989) and in The Late Shift (1995).
- #008
For his role in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Balaban auditioned in French.
- #009
His mother, Elenore (Pottasch), went by the surname Barry. His father, Elmer Balaban (1909-2001), was the last surviving of seven Balaban brothers who dominated the movie theater business in Chicago and much of the Midwest. The Balaban children built the city's first "supercolossal" theaters, the 700-seat Circle and the 2,000-seat Central Park. Bob's uncle Barney Balaban became president of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood and wanted to pass the torch to Elmer, but he refused. Elmer was known for designing an early version of pay TV, based on a set-top box that would show first-run movies at home for a quarter.
- #010
His uncle Barney Balaban, who served as president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, was one of the movie moguls who attended the 1946 Waldorf Conference, where the blacklist against communists was implemented. Balaban, an extremely religious man, told his daughter, when she asked him about his complicity in the blacklist: "I don't think that's true. There's something about it that's not a problem, but there's something that's terrible, and I can't quite understand it all yet."
- #011
His uncles Barney and A. J. Balaban owned lavish movie palaces with the Balaban and Katz theater chain, along with Sam Katz. In 1925 it was renamed Publix Theaters and was bought by Paramount Pictures. The theater chain became very important to Paramount, Inc. Sam Katz forced founding partner Adolph Zukor's hand to have the company's name changed to Paramount-Publix in 1930. Paramount-Publix went bankrupt in 1933 and was reorganized as Paramount Pictures, set to resign, but after Barney Balaban became president of Paramount in 1936, he appointed Zukor as chairman of the board. Barney Balaban was president of Paramount during the turbulent years that followed the Supreme Court's 1949 decision to separate film production companies from theater chains. Barney, who served as president of Paramount for 28 years, invented "Balaban's Law," which held that for a film to break even, it had to gross three times its negative cost. After the failure of Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), which cost $20 million (about $115 million in 2003 dollars), Balaban was ousted from Paramount.
- #012
He appeared in the cast alongside Warren Littlefield in the fourth-season Seinfeld episode "The Pilot," and three years later he played Warren Littlefield in the film The Late Shift.
- #013
In A Star Is Born (2003), he is described as a "mega-hunk."
- #014
As of 2023, he had appeared in six films directed by Christopher Guest: Girlfriends (1978), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006) and Mascots (2016).
- #015
He appeared in four films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Girlfriends (1978) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
Characters & Cast (3)
- #016
Bob Balaban played the head of NBC in both Seinfeld (1989) and The Late Shift (1995).
- #017
Balaban auditioned in French for his role in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
- #018
He appeared in the cast alongside Warren Littlefield in "The Pilot," the fourth-season episode of Seinfeld, and three years later played Warren Littlefield in the film The Late Shift.
Career & Awards (4)
- #019
He was nominated for Broadway's 1979 Tony Award for Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for "The Inspector General."
- #020
He made his Broadway debut in Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite," with the support of George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton.
- #021
He appeared in four films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Gosford Park (2001), Capote (2005) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Midnight Cowboy won in the category.
- #022
Bob Balaban appeared in four films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Girlfriends (1978) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
Life & Family (2)
- #023
His mother, Elenore (Pottasch), went by the surname Barry. His father, Elmer Balaban (1909-2001), was the last surviving of the seven Balaban brothers who dominated the movie theater business in Chicago and much of the Midwest. The Balaban children built the city's first "supercolossal" theaters, the 700-seat Circle and the 2,000-seat Central Park. Bob's uncle Barney Balaban became president of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood and wanted to pass the torch to Elmer, but he refused. Elmer was known for designing an early version of pay TV, based on a set-top box that would show first-run films at home for a quarter.
- #024
His first cousin Judith Balaban Quine is the author of "The Bridesmaids," a book about her friend Grace Kelly.
Related pages
- Little Man Tate — Bob Balaban comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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