Efrem Zimbalist Jr.: Movies, Awards & Box Office

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (born November 30, 1918 in Brooklyn, New York) was the son of celebrated Russian‑born violinist Efrem Zimbalist and Romanian‑born operatic soprano Alma Gluck, both of whom had converted to Anglicanism after emigrating to the United States. Raised in a culturally rich household, he attended the elite Fay School and later St. Paul’s School, where he first appeared in school productions. Although he briefly enrolled at Yale University, academic difficulties led to multiple expulsions, prompting him to return to New York in 1936 and begin work as a page at NBC radio, where he also performed on‑air bits. His passion for acting was honed at the Neighborhood Playhouse before he answered the draft call in 1941, serving as a second‑lieutenant infantry platoon leader in the 60th Infantry Regiment during World War II. He earned a Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the Hürtgen Forest, experiences that later lent gravitas to his screen portrayals of disciplined professionals. After the war Zimbalist debuted on Broadway in The Rugged Path opposite Spencer Tracy and quickly became a fixture in both stage and screen. Warner Bros. signed him in 1956, leading to iconic television roles such as the roguish gambler Dandy Jim Buckley on Maverick, the suave private eye Stu Bailey on 77 Sunset Strip, and perhaps his most enduring performance as Inspector Lewis Erskine on The F.B.I., a role that earned him a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer in 1959 and a lasting friendship with J. Edgar Hoover. In later decades he lent his distinguished voice to the DC Animated Universe, portraying Alfred Pennyworth across Batman: The Animated Series and related shows, and appeared in guest spots on Babylon 5 and Spider‑Man: The Animated Series. His personal life included marriages to Emily Munroe McNair (until her death in 1950) and Loranda Spalding (until 2007), with three children, notably actress Stephanie Zimbalist. Zimbalist remained active in acting until 2009, and he passed away peacefully at age 95 on May 2 2014 in Solvang, California.