Efrem Zimbalist Jr.(1918-2014)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
It's hardly surprising that the son of renowned Russian-born concert
violinist Efrem Zimbalist Sr.
(1889-1985) and Romanian-born opera singer Alma Gluck (1884-1938) would
desire a performing career of some kind. Born in New York City on
November 30, 1918, surrounded by people of wealth and privilege
throughout his childhood, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. received a boarding
school education. Acting in school plays, he later trained briefly at
the Yale School of Drama but didn't apply himself enough and quit. As
an NBC network radio page, he auditioned when he could and found minor
TV and stock theatre parts while joining up with the Neighborhood
Playhouse.
Following WWII war service with the Army infantry in which he was
awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded, a director and friend of
the family, Garson Kanin, gave the aspiring
actor his first professional role in his Broadway production of "The
Rugged Path" (1945) which starred
Spencer Tracy. With his dark,
friendly, clean-scrubbed good looks and a deep, rich voice that could
cut butter, Zimbalist found little trouble finding work. He continued
with the American Repertory Theatre performing in such classics as
"Henry VIII" and "Androcles and the Lion" while appearing opposite the
legendary Eva Le Gallienne in "Hedda
Gabler".
Zimbalist then tried his hand as a stage producer, successfully
bringing opera to Broadway audiences for the first time with memorable
presentations of "The Medium" and "The Telephone". As producer of
Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Consul", he
won the New York Drama Critic's Award and the Pulitzer Prize for best
musical in 1950. An auspicious film debut opposite
Edward G. Robinson in
House of Strangers (1949)
brought little career momentum due to the untimely death of his wife
Emily (a onetime actress who appeared with him in "Hedda Gabler" and
bore him two children, Nancy and Efrem III) to cancer in 1950. Making
an abrupt decision to abandon acting, he served as assistant
director/researcher at the Curtis School of Music for his father and
buried himself with studies and music composition.
In 1954, Efrem returned to acting and copped a daytime television soap
lead
(Concerning Miss Marlowe (1954)).
It was famed director Joshua Logan
who proved instrumental in helping Zimbalist secure a Warner Bros.
contract. Despite forthright second leads in decent films such as
Band of Angels (1957) with
Clark Gable and
Yvonne De Carlo;
Too Much, Too Soon (1958)
starring Dorothy Malone and
Errol Flynn;
Home Before Dark (1958) with
Jean Simmons and
Rhonda Fleming;
The Crowded Sky (1960) with
Dana Andrews,
Rhonda Fleming,
Troy Donahue and
Anne Francis;
A Fever in the Blood (1961)
opposite Angie Dickinson and (his best)
Wait Until Dark (1967) with
Audrey Hepburn, it was television
that made the better use of his refined, unshowy acting style. His
roles as smooth private investigator Stu Bailey on
77 Sunset Strip (1958) and
dogged inspector Lewis Erskine on
The F.B.I. (1965) would be his
ultimate claims to fame.
A perfect gentleman on and off camera, Zimbalist's severest critics
tend to deem his performances bland and undernourished. Managing to
override such criticisms, he maintained a sturdy career for nearly six
decades. In 1991, he made fun of his all-serious reputation and pulled
off a Leslie Nielsen-like role in the
comedy parody Hot Shots! (1991). In
addition to theater projects over the years, he has made fine use of
his mellifluous baritone performing narrations and cartoon voiceovers,
including that of Alfred the butler on a "Batman" animated series.
In 2003, he completed his memoirs, entitled "My Dinner of Herbs". The
father of three, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of three, he
settled in Santa Barbara and later in Solvang, California with longtime
second wife Stephanie until her death in 2007 of cancer. Their
daughter, also named Stephanie
(Stephanie Zimbalist), is the
well-known actress who appeared with
Pierce Brosnan in the
Remington Steele (1982)
television series, in which Zimbalist had a recurring role. He and his
daughter also appeared on stage together in his later years, their
first being "The Night of the Iguana". His eldest daughter Nancy died
in 2012.
Zimbalist died peacefully at his Solvang home of natural causes at the age of 95 on May 2, 2014; he had been outside watering his lawn at his Solvang, Calif., ranch when a handyman found him lying dead in the grass. "He was healthy, playing golf three days a week, and always in his garden," Zimbalist's son said.
violinist Efrem Zimbalist Sr.
(1889-1985) and Romanian-born opera singer Alma Gluck (1884-1938) would
desire a performing career of some kind. Born in New York City on
November 30, 1918, surrounded by people of wealth and privilege
throughout his childhood, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. received a boarding
school education. Acting in school plays, he later trained briefly at
the Yale School of Drama but didn't apply himself enough and quit. As
an NBC network radio page, he auditioned when he could and found minor
TV and stock theatre parts while joining up with the Neighborhood
Playhouse.
Following WWII war service with the Army infantry in which he was
awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded, a director and friend of
the family, Garson Kanin, gave the aspiring
actor his first professional role in his Broadway production of "The
Rugged Path" (1945) which starred
Spencer Tracy. With his dark,
friendly, clean-scrubbed good looks and a deep, rich voice that could
cut butter, Zimbalist found little trouble finding work. He continued
with the American Repertory Theatre performing in such classics as
"Henry VIII" and "Androcles and the Lion" while appearing opposite the
legendary Eva Le Gallienne in "Hedda
Gabler".
Zimbalist then tried his hand as a stage producer, successfully
bringing opera to Broadway audiences for the first time with memorable
presentations of "The Medium" and "The Telephone". As producer of
Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Consul", he
won the New York Drama Critic's Award and the Pulitzer Prize for best
musical in 1950. An auspicious film debut opposite
Edward G. Robinson in
House of Strangers (1949)
brought little career momentum due to the untimely death of his wife
Emily (a onetime actress who appeared with him in "Hedda Gabler" and
bore him two children, Nancy and Efrem III) to cancer in 1950. Making
an abrupt decision to abandon acting, he served as assistant
director/researcher at the Curtis School of Music for his father and
buried himself with studies and music composition.
In 1954, Efrem returned to acting and copped a daytime television soap
lead
(Concerning Miss Marlowe (1954)).
It was famed director Joshua Logan
who proved instrumental in helping Zimbalist secure a Warner Bros.
contract. Despite forthright second leads in decent films such as
Band of Angels (1957) with
Clark Gable and
Yvonne De Carlo;
Too Much, Too Soon (1958)
starring Dorothy Malone and
Errol Flynn;
Home Before Dark (1958) with
Jean Simmons and
Rhonda Fleming;
The Crowded Sky (1960) with
Dana Andrews,
Rhonda Fleming,
Troy Donahue and
Anne Francis;
A Fever in the Blood (1961)
opposite Angie Dickinson and (his best)
Wait Until Dark (1967) with
Audrey Hepburn, it was television
that made the better use of his refined, unshowy acting style. His
roles as smooth private investigator Stu Bailey on
77 Sunset Strip (1958) and
dogged inspector Lewis Erskine on
The F.B.I. (1965) would be his
ultimate claims to fame.
A perfect gentleman on and off camera, Zimbalist's severest critics
tend to deem his performances bland and undernourished. Managing to
override such criticisms, he maintained a sturdy career for nearly six
decades. In 1991, he made fun of his all-serious reputation and pulled
off a Leslie Nielsen-like role in the
comedy parody Hot Shots! (1991). In
addition to theater projects over the years, he has made fine use of
his mellifluous baritone performing narrations and cartoon voiceovers,
including that of Alfred the butler on a "Batman" animated series.
In 2003, he completed his memoirs, entitled "My Dinner of Herbs". The
father of three, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of three, he
settled in Santa Barbara and later in Solvang, California with longtime
second wife Stephanie until her death in 2007 of cancer. Their
daughter, also named Stephanie
(Stephanie Zimbalist), is the
well-known actress who appeared with
Pierce Brosnan in the
Remington Steele (1982)
television series, in which Zimbalist had a recurring role. He and his
daughter also appeared on stage together in his later years, their
first being "The Night of the Iguana". His eldest daughter Nancy died
in 2012.
Zimbalist died peacefully at his Solvang home of natural causes at the age of 95 on May 2, 2014; he had been outside watering his lawn at his Solvang, Calif., ranch when a handyman found him lying dead in the grass. "He was healthy, playing golf three days a week, and always in his garden," Zimbalist's son said.