Article: MARTIN BALSAM, OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR, AT 76.(News)(Obituary)

Byline: The New York Times

Martin Balsam, a heavy-set, baldish character actor whose talents earned him an Oscar, a Tony and roles in scores of films and plays and hundreds of television shows over more than a half-century, died Tuesday in his hotel room in Rome while on vacation there. Balsam, who lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, was 76.

The cause was a stroke, said his son, Adam.

As versatile and ubiquitous as he was, Balsam was philosophical on the subject of character actors. He often told a story about a woman who walked up to one of them and said: "Hey, I saw you. You played the detective who does that bit with the piano.'

...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!