Efrem Aleksandrovich Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 - May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series and associated spin-offs. He also voiced Doctor Octopus in the 1990s Spider-Man animated series and the 2000 PC, Dreamcast and PlayStation Spider-Man action-adventure video game, and Justin Hammer from the second season of the 1994 Iron Man animated series.

Zimbalist was born in 1918 in New York City to Jewish immigrants Efrem Zimbalist Sr. (1889-1985), a Russian-born violinist,[2] and Alma Gluck (1884-1938), a Romanian-born operatic soprano.[3] He had an older sister, Mary (1915-2008),[4] along with a half-sister from his mother's first marriage, author Marcia Davenport (1903-1996).[5] His stepmother was Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist, the founder of the Curtis Institute of Music. Both parents converted to Anglican Christianity. He attended Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts.[6]

Zimbalist boarded at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, taking part in school plays. He briefly attended Yale University but was expelled, reinstated and expelled a second time on account of low grades.[3] He moved back to New York City in 1936 to work as a page for NBC radio where he had small on-air roles as well as presenting shows. He furthered his acting training at Neighborhood Playhouse[7] before serving in the United States Army during World War II, where he became friends with writer and director Garson Kanin. After five years of service, he was awarded the Purple Heart for a leg wound received during the battle of Hürtgen Forest.

Career

Early career

Following the war, Zimbalist returned to New York and made his Broadway acting debut in The Rugged Path,[8][9] starring Spencer Tracy. This led to a stage career as both actor and producer. His producing successes included bringing three Gian Carlo Menotti operas to Broadway, one of which, The Consul,[10] won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1950.

In 1954-1955, he co-starred in his first television series, Concerning Miss Marlowe.[9]

Warner Bros. star

In 1956, Zimbalist was put under contract by Warner Bros. and moved to Hollywood.[11] Zimbalist's first recurring role in a Warner Bros. Television series was as roguish gambler "Dandy Jim Buckley" on Maverick, opposite James Garner in 1957, and making five appearances as the character. In 1958, Zimbalist played the co-lead Stuart "Stu" Bailey in 77 Sunset Strip, a popular detective series running until 1964. During this period, he made several concurrent appearances in other Warner Bros. television shows, such as Hawaiian Eye, The Alaskans, and Bronco. He also starred as the lead in several feature films for Warners, such as Bombers B-52, The Deep Six, A Fever in the Blood and The Chapman Report. Zimbalist was in such demand that he was given leave by Jack L. Warner due to exhaustion from his busy schedule.

Jack Warner lent him to Columbia Pictures for By Love Possessed in exchange for adding several years to his Warners' contract, but refused to let him make BUtterfield 8 for MGM.[12]

In 1959, he was awarded the Golden Globe for "Most Promising Newcomer - Male".

The F.B.I. television series

The F.B.I., first episode

Zimbalist was most widely known for his starring role as Inspector Lewis Erskine in the Quinn Martin television production The F.B.I., which premiered on September 19, 1965 and aired its final episode on September 8, 1974. 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.[13]

Zimbalist maintained a strong personal relationship with F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover, who requested that the show be technically accurate and portray his agents in the best possible light, and he insisted actors playing F.B.I. employees undergo a background check.[13] Zimbalist subsequently spent a week in contact with Hoover in Washington, D.C. and at the F.B.I. Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The men remained mutual admirers for the rest of Hoover's life.[13] Hoover held up Zimbalist as a model for F.B.I. employees' personal appearance.[14]

The Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation[15] honored the character of Lewis Erskine in 1985 with a set of retired credentials,[16] and on June 8, 2009 FBI Director Robert Mueller presented Zimbalist with a plaque honoring him for his work on the series.[16][17]

The show was revived in the 1980's as Today's FBI starring Mike Connors.

Other television work

After 77 Sunset Strip he appeared in other series, including CBS's short-lived The Reporter starring Harry Guardino as journalist Danny Taylor of the fictitious New York Globe. He also appeared in leading and supporting roles in several feature films, including Harlow, A Fever in the Blood (a film about a ruthless politician), Wait Until Dark and Airport 1975.

Zimbalist had a recurring role as Daniel Chalmers, a white-collar con man, on his daughter Stephanie Zimbalist's 1980s television detective series Remington Steele, and in the television dramatic series Hotel.

In 1990, he played the father of Zorro in the Christian Broadcasting Network's remake, The New Zorro. Zimbalist relinquished the role after the program's first season due to the filming at studios outside Madrid, Spain, and the role subsequently went to Henry Darrow. He had a small recurring role in the 1990s hit science fiction television series Babylon 5 as William Edgars.

Also in the 1990s, Zimbalist played Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series as well as in Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Justice League, Static Shock, and the animated films Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman; he also played villain Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network[18] and as himself in the 1998 Smithsonian Institution production of Gemstones of America.[19] He performed as the narrator in "Good Morning, America" by Elinor Remick Warren—Cambria CD #1042 (1993).

Zimbalist wrote an autobiography, My Dinner of Herbs, published by Limelight Editions, New York.[11]

In 2008, he appeared in the short film The Delivery, where 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.

Personal life

Zimbalist in 1972

In December 1941, Zimbalist married his first wife, Emily Munroe McNair. They had two children, Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist III (b. 1947) and Nancy (1944 - 2012). In January 1950, Emily died from cancer.[20]

In 1956, Zimbalist married Loranda Stephanie Spalding (Stephanie). Their daughter is the actress Stephanie Zimbalist. On February 5, 2007, aged 73, Loranda Stephanie Zimbalist née Spalding died from lung cancer.[20]

Before joining the congregation of an Episcopal church, he appeared in a number of evangelical Christian media productions. Zimbalist's parents, Alma Gluck and Efrem Zimbalist, were of Jewish descent but on emigrating to America, had left the religion.[21] Moreover, Efrem Zimbalist stated, "As far as I am concerned, there has been no Jew in the family for sixty-five years."[21]

Religion

Zimbalist was baptized in the Episcopal Church. He said that when growing up he was taken to church every Sunday. He attended St. Paul's School, an Episcopal boarding school in New Hampshire.[22] Zimbalist said his faith gave him comfort when Emily died.[23]

He had a nine-year association with the practice of Transcendental Meditation as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Zimbalist described the Maharishi Yogi as a "fascinating character", but found the meditation method "... was a total waste of energy for me."[23]

In the late 1970s, he was drawn to the Charismatic Christianity movement. His first association was with Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker's PTL Club. For several years, he was a member of the PTL board.

The PTL's principal televangelistic successor, the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).[24] engaged Zimbalist to make its many announcements including the station's identification at the top of every hour. In a five-minute segment called "The Word" aired on TBN at 25 minutes after the hour, Zimbalist read a bible verse, eventually completing the entire Bible, verse by verse.[25] In 1989, he said, "for a while I did go overboard in my association with a fundamentalist group".[26]

In later life, Zimbalist joined the congregation of an Episcopal parish near to his home.[23]

Politics

In 1963 and 1964, Zimbalist joined fellow actors William Lundigan, Chill Wills and Walter Brennan in making appearances on behalf of U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate, in his election campaign against U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson."The Impact of the Draft Goldwater Committee on the Republican Party". ashbrook.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2001. Retrieved 2013-08-24.

Death

Zimbalist died at the age of 95 on May 2, 2014, from natural causes.[24]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs
1949	House of Strangers	Tony Monetti	Film noir directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz	[9][27]
1957	Band of Angels	Lt. Ethan Sears	Romantic drama film directed by Raoul Walsh.	[9][28]
	Bombers B-52	Colonel Jim Herlihy	CinemaScope film directed by Gordon Douglas.	[9][29]
1958	The Deep Six	Lt. Blanchard	World War II drama film directed by Rudolph Maté, loosely based on a novel of the same name by Martin Dibner.	[9][30]
	Too Much, Too Soon	Vincent Bryant	Biographical film directed by Art Napoleon.	[9][31]
	Violent Road	George Lawrence	Remake of The Wages of Fear and directed by Howard W. Koch.	[9][32][33]
	Girl on the Run	Stuart Bailey
	Home Before Dark	Jacob 'Jake' Diamond	Drama film directed and produced by Mervyn LeRoy.	[9][34]
1960	The Crowded Sky	Dale Heath	Drama film directed by Joseph Pevney.	[9][35][Note 1]
1961	A Fever in the Blood	Judge Leland Hoffman	Drama film directed by Vincent Sherman.	[9][37]
	By Love Possessed	Arthur Winner	Drama film directed by John Sturges.	[9][38]
1962	The Chapman Report	Paul Radford	Drama film directed by George Cukor.	[9][39]
1965	Harlow	William Mansfield	Fictionalized drama based on the life of film star Jean Harlow directed by Alex Segal.	[9][40]
	The Reward	Frank Bryant	Western film directed by Serge Bourguignon.	[9][41]
1967	Wait Until Dark	Sam Hendrix	Psychological thriller film directed by Terence Young.	[9][42]
1974	Airport 1975	Captain Stacy	Air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film Airport and directed by Jack Smight.	[9][43]
1982	The Avenging	Jacob Anderson	Drama film written and directed by Lyman Dayton.	[9][44]
1991	Hot Shots!	Wilson	Comedy spoof film of Top Gun directed and co-written by Jim Abrahams.	[9][45]
1993	Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul	Narrator	Documentary film directed and written by Gregory Orr.
	Batman: Mask of the Phantasm	Alfred Pennyworth	Voice, Animated superhero mystery film directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm(co-written). Also known as Batman: The Animated Movie	[9]
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 by Boyd Kirkland.	[9][46]
1999	The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man	Dr. 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 by Curt Geda.	[9][47]
2008	The Delivery	Dr. Engel	Short film directed and written by Gabrielle DeCuir., (final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs
1946	Mr. and Mrs. North	Star	Made-for-TV-Movie	[48]
1954-1955	Concerning Miss Marlowe	Jim Gavin	Contract role	[9]
1956	Star Tonight	Guest	Episode: "The Long View" (S 2:Ep 42)	[49]
	The United States Steel Hour	Sean O'Neill	Episode "Stopover at Sublimity" (S 3:Ep 30)	[9]
1957	Conflict	Stuart Bailey	Episodes: "Anything For Money" (S 1:Ep 16) "Execution Night" (S 1:Ep 19)	[50]
1957-1958	Maverick	Dandy Jim Buckley	Recurring
1958	Girl on the Run	Stuart Bailey	Made-for-TV-Movie (Pilot for TV series 77 Sunset Strip) airing on ABC and directed by Richard L. Bare.	[9][51]
	Sugarfoot	Kerrigan the Great	Episode: "The Wizard" (S 2: Ep 3)
1958-1964	77 Sunset Strip	Stuart Bailey	Contract role; 163 episodes	[52]
1959-1962	Hawaiian Eye	Stuart Bailey	Recurring
1960	The Alaskans	John Conrad	Episode: "The Trial of Reno McKee" (S 1: Ep 14)
1961	Person to Person	Himself	Episode:"August 11, 1961" (S 8:Ep 19)
	Bronco	Edwin Booth	Episode: "The Prince of Darkness" (S 4: Ep 2)	[53]
	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." (S 1: Ep 9)
	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Paul Radford	Episode: "The Sojourner" (S 1: Ep 26)	[54]
	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Stranger	Episode: "See the Monkey Dance" (S 3: Ep 5)
	The Reporter	Charles Durwood	Episode: "Super-Star" (S 1: Ep 9)
1965	Rawhide	Jeff McKeever	Episode: "The Diehard" (S 7: Ep 25)
	Password All-Stars	Himself	Episode: "Angie Dickinson vs. Efrem Zimbalist Jr."
1965-1974	The F.B.I.	Inspector Lewis Erskine	Contract role; 241 episodes	[55]
1967	Cosa Nostra, Arch Enemy of the F.B.I.	Inspector Lewis Erskine (archive footage)	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Don Medford.	[56]
	Insight	Byron	Episode: "Stranger In My Shoes" (S 7:Ep 37)
1969		Jim	Episode: "The Coffee House" (S 9: Ep 38)
1970		Bergman	Episode: "The Day God Died" (S 10: Ep 25)
		Don Ford	Episode: "He Lived With Us, Ate With Us, What Else, Dear?" (S 10: Ep 33)
		Charles de Foucauld	Episode: "The Hermit" (S 10: Ep 43)
1972	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	Himself	February 16, 1972
1974	Insight	Guest	Episode: "When You See Arcturus" (S 14: Ep 21)
1975	Who Is the Black Dahlia?	Sgt. Harry Hansen	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
1978	A Family Upside Down	Mike Long	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
	Terror Out of the Sky	David Martin	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
	30th Primetime Emmy Awards	Himself	Presenter
1979	The Best Place to Be	Bill Reardan	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
	The Gathering, Part II	Victor Wainwright	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
	Insight	God	Episode: "Checkmate" (S 20: Ep 11)
		Guest	Episode: "A Family of Winners" (S 20: Ep 12)
1980	Scruples	Ellis Ikehorn	Miniseries	[9]
	The Anita Bryant Spectacular	Himself		[57]
1982	Beyond Witch Mountain	Aristotle Bolt	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
	Family in Blue	Marty Malone	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
1983	Insight	Guest	Episode: "The Hit Man" (S 24: Ep 5)
	Fantasy Island	Mr. Baldwin	Episode: "The Butler's Affair/Roarke's Sacrifice" (S 7: Ep 5)
	Charley's Aunt	Col. Francis Chesney	Made-for-TV-Movie	[58]
	Baby Sister	Tom Burroughs	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
	Shooting Stars	Robert Cluso	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
1983-87	Remington Steele	Daniel Chalmers	Recurring	[9]
1984	The Love Boat	Dan Whitman	Episode: "Polly's Poker Palace, Parts 1 and 2" (S 7: Ep 19 & S 7: Ep 20)
	Hardcastle and McCormick	Emmett Parnell	Episode: "The Georgia Street Motors" (S 1:Ep 18)	[59]
	Partners in Crime	Grant Latham	Episode: "Murder in the Museum" (S 1: Ep 19)
	Hotel	Alexander Heath	Episode: "Flesh and Blood" (S 2: Ep 2)	[9]
	Cover Up	E.G. Dawson	Episode: "Writer's Block" (S 1: Ep 9)
	You Are the Jury	Narrator	Episode: "The Case of the People of Florida v Joseph Lamdrum"	[60]
1985	Finder of Lost Loves	Judge Alex Hale	Episode: "Mister Wonderful" (S 1: Ep 19)
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"	[60]
1986-88	Hotel	Charles Cabot	Recurring	[9]
1988	Hunter	Clarence Hyland	Episode: "Murder He Wrote" (S 4: Ep 21)
	Murder, She Wrote	Gen. Havermeyer	Episode: "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel" (S 5: Ep 7)
1990	Zorro	Don Alejandro de la Vega	Contract role; 25 episodes	[9]
	Who's the Boss?	Robert Robinson	Episode: "Operation Mona" (S 6: Ep 22)
	Murder, She Wrote	Richard Thompson Grant	Episode: "Hannigan's Wake" (S 7: Ep 4)
1991	Hot Shots: The Making of an Important Movie	Himself
1992	Murder, She Wrote	Adam Quatrain	Episode: "Sugar, Spice, Malice and Vice" (S 9: Ep 7)
1992-1993	The Legend of Prince Valiant	King Arthur (voice)	Contract role; 53 episodes
1992-1995	Batman: The Animated Series	Alfred	Contract role; 57 episodes	[9]
1993	Trade Winds	Christof Philips	Miniseries	[9]
1994	Vicki!	Himself
	Burke's Law	Sam Gallagher	Episode: "Who Killed the Legal Eagle?" (S 1: Ep 9)
	Heaven Help Us	Lexy's Dad	Episode: "A Little Left of Heaven (Pilot) (S 1:Ep 1)
	The Nanny	Theodore Timmons	Episode: "Material Fran" (S 2: Ep 4)
1995	Biker Mice from Mars	King Arthur	Episode: "Knights of the Round Table, Parts 1 and 2" (S 3: Ep 1 & S 3: Ep 2)
	One West Waikiki	Walter Mansfield	Episode: "Flowers of Evil" (S 2: Ep 1)
	Gargoyles	Mace Malone	Episode: "Revelations" (S 2: Ep 16)
	Iron Man	Justin Hammer	Recurring
1995-1997	Spider-Man	Dr. Octopus/Dr. Otto Octavius	Recurring
1996	Picket Fences	Hal Klosterman	Episode: "Forget Selma" (S 4: Ep 18)
	Mighty Ducks	Dr. Denton P. Hookerman	Episode: "Zap Attack" (S 1: Ep 4)
1997	Babylon 5	William Edgars	Recurring	[61]
	The Visitor	Wayland Scott	Episode: "Miracles" (S 1: Ep 11)
	Superman: The Animated Series	Alfred Pennyworth	Episode: "World's Finest, part 3" (S 2: Ep 18)	[9]
1997-1998	The New Batman Adventures	Alfred Pennyworth	Recurring	[9]
1998	Gemstones of America	Himself	Host
	The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest	Alfred Pennyworth	Animated Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Toshihiko Masuda.	[9]
1999	A Year to Remember	Himself	Host
2001	The First Day	Benjamin Hart	Made-for-TV-Movie	[9]
2003	Static Shock	Alfred Pennyworth	Episode: "Hard as Nails" (S 3: Ep 1)	[9]
	Justice League	Alfred Pennyworth	Episode: "Hereafter, Part 1" (S 2: Ep 19)	[9]
	Batman: Behind the Mystery	Himself
2004	TVLand Moguls	Himself
	Justice League	Alfred Pennyworth	Episodes: Starcrossed, Part 2" (S 2: Ep 25) Starcrossed, Part 3" (S 2: Ep 26)	[9]
2007	The Brothers Warner	Himself	Historical film directed by Cass Warner (credited as Cass Warner Sperling).	[62]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs
1993	Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers	Wolfgang	Video game
2000	Spider-Man	Dr. Octopus	Video game
2001	Batman: Vengeance	Alfred Pennyworth	Video game	[9]

Video

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs
1983	The Tempest	Prospero	Directed by William Woodman.	[63]

Theatre

Opening date	Closing date	Title	Role	Theatre	Refs
Nov 10, 1945	Jan 19, 1946	The Rugged Path	Gil Hartnick	Plymouth	[8][9]
Nov 6, 1946	Feb 21, 1947	King Henry VIII	Duke of Suffolk	International Theatre	[9][64]
Nov 8, 1946	Feb 15, 1947	What Every Woman Knows	A Butler, Ensemble	International Theatre	[9][65]
Dec 19, 1946	Feb 22, 1947	A Pound on Demand Androcles and the Lion	Secutor	International Theatre	[9][66]
Feb 27, 1947	Mar 15, 1947	Yellow Jack	Aristides Agramonte	International Theatre	[9][67]
May 1, 1947	Nov 1, 1947	The Telephone The Medium	(producer)	Ethel Barrymore Theatre	[68]
Feb 24, 1948	Mar 6, 1948	Hedda Gabler	Eilert Lovborg	Cort Theatre	[9][69]
Dec 7, 1948	Jan 9, 1949	The Telephone	(producer)	City Center	[70]
Dec 7, 1948	Jan 9, 1949	The Medium	(producer)	City Center	[71]
Mar 15, 1950	Nov 4, 1950	The Consul	(producer)	Ethel Barrymore Theatre	[10]
Jan 17, 1956	Aug 11, 1956	Fallen Angels	Maurice Duclos	Playhouse	[9][72]
Oct 16, 2004	Nov 7, 2004	Night of the Iguana	Nonno	Rubicon Theatre Company
Apr 26, 2007	May 20, 2007	Hamlet	The Player King	Rubicon Theatre Company

[ Source: Wikipedia ]