BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Description: Actor, USA
Known For: Known for the TV series – “77 Suset Strip”
Location: NY, United States of America
Date Born: 30th November 1923
Location Born: New York City, New York, United States of America
Died: May 2, 2014
New Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
(aged 95)
CONTACT DETAILS
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YOUTUBE VIDEO
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Efrem Zimbalist Jr
Efrem 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 from the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, and Justin Hammer from the second season of 1994 Iron Man animated series.
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 the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series and its numerous spin-offs
Zimbalist is the father of actress Stephanie Zimbalist and of Efrem Zimbalist III and Nancy Zimbalist.
A 1940 graduate of Yale University, Zimbalist had a stage career as both actor and producer. Zimbalist’s first recurring role in a television series was as roguish gambler “Dandy Jim Buckley” on Maverick opposite James Garner in 1957; after five appearances, Zimbalist left in 1958 to play the lead, Stuart “Stu” Bailey, in 77 Sunset Strip, a popular detective series running until 1964.
In 1959 he was awarded the Golden Globe for “Most Promising Newcomer – Male”. After 77 Sunset Strip, he appeared in other series, including CBS’s short-lived The Reporter starring Harry Guardino as a journalist, Danny Taylor of the fictitious New York Globe.
He had a recurring role on his daughter’s 1980s mystery series, Remington Steele.
Zimbalist has written an autobiography My Dinner of Herbs, published by Limelight Editions, New York.
Zimbalist was arguably most widely known for his starring role as Inspector Lewis Erskine in the Quinn Martin television production, The F.B.I., premiering on September 19, 1965 and closing with the last episode on September 8, 1974.
Efrem Zimbalist married his first wife, Emily Munroe McNair, in 1945. She died of cancer five years later in 1950. Zimbalist’s second marriage was to Loranda Stephanie Spaulding in 1956. She died of lung cancer on February 5, 2007, at the age of 73. Zimbalist was the father of Efrem Zimbalist III and Nancy Zimbalist by Emily McNair, and actress Stephanie Zimbalist by Stephanie Spaulding.
Zimbalist considered himself to be a man of abiding faith and was involved in a number of Christian media productions. His parents, Alma Gluck and Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., were assimilated non-practicing Jews who rejected their Jewish heritage. Efrem Sr. was raised in a non-practicing household and later stated, “As far as I am concerned, there has been no Jew in the family for sixty-five years.” Alma and Efrem Sr. had their children baptized Christians in the Episcopal Church and raised them in that church. Efrem Jr. stated that he was taken to church every Sunday and attended St. Paul’s School, an Episcopal boarding school in New Hampshire. He also attended church every Sunday with his first wife, and it was his faith which allowed him peace when she succumbed to cancer.
A spiritual pilgrim, Zimbalist was an early practitioner and proponent of Transcendental Meditation, as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He described the Maharishi Yogi as a “fascinating character”, but found that his nine-year association with the meditation method “… was a total waste of energy for me.” He returned to the Episcopal Church for a time. In the late 1970s, Zimbalist was drawn to the Charismatic Christianity that he found on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Efrem’s face and voice have appeared on scores of TBN announcements, including the station identification at the top of every hour. In a five-minute segment called “The Word” which aired on TBN at 25 after the hour, Zimbalist read through the entire Bible, verse by verse; later these segments appeared in interludes and station breaks on TBN. He told a reporter in 1989, “for a while I did go overboard in my association with a fundamentalist group”, but never made a verbal association with any ministry. As of July 2014, his voice is still used as a TBN network identification.[20] Eventually, he resumed active participation in the Episcopal Church, feeling comfortable with that denominational style.
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.
Death
Zimbalist died on May 2, 2014 from natural causes at the age of 95. His daughter Stephanie announced the news, saying, “He was 95 years old, a devout Christian. He actively enjoyed his life to the last day, showering love on his extended family, playing golf and visiting with close friends.” His interment was at Town Hill Cemetery in New Hartford, Connecticut, near his parents.
TELEVISION
Maverick Jim Buckley (1957-58)
77 Sunset Strip Stuart Bailey (1958-64)
The F.B.I. Inspector Lewis Erskine
Hotel Charles Cabot (1986)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (19-Nov-2003) [VOICE]
Cab to Canada (29-Nov-1998)
The Batman/Superman Movie (18-Aug-1998) [VOICE]
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (11-Feb-1998) [VOICE]
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (25-Dec-1993) [VOICE]
Hot Shots! (31-Jul-1991)
Charley’s Aunt (6-Feb-1983)
Scruples (25-Feb-1980)
Airport 1975 (18-Oct-1974)
Wait Until Dark (26-Oct-1967) · Sam Hendrix
The Reward (15-Sep-1965)
Harlow (14-May-1965)
The Chapman Report (5-Oct-1962)
By Love Possessed (19-Jul-1961)
A Fever in the Blood (28-Jan-1961)
The Crowded Sky (2-Sep-1960)
Home Before Dark (16-Nov-1958) · Jake Diamond
Violent Road (10-May-1958)
Too Much, Too Soon (17-Apr-1958) · Vincent Bryant
The Deep Six (15-Jan-1958)
Bombers B-52 (22-Nov-1957) · Col. Jim Herlihy
Band of Angels (3-Aug-1957)
House of Strangers (1-Jul-1949)