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Aug 16, 1945 (78 years old)
Chicago
Male
5 ft 4 in (1.65 m)
United States of America
Actor , Film director , Film Producer , Screenwriter , Television Director , Writer , Voice Actor
Bob Balaban is an accomplished American actor, author, producer, and director. With a net worth of $25 million, his career has flourished over four decades, featuring in over sixty films and TV series. Bob is well-known for his role as 'Russell Dalrymple' on Seinfeld and his roles in iconic films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Moonrise Kingdom, and Ghost World. He also starred in several Christopher Guest films including A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show.
Robert Elmer Balaban was born on August 16, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois. His family had a rich history in the entertainment industry, owning numerous movie theaters and pioneering cable television. Bob's uncle, Barney Balaban, served as the president of Paramount Pictures for nearly 30 years, from 1936 to 1964. His family's movie palaces were some of the most beautiful in the United States, dating back to the 1920s.
Bob began his college education at Colgate University before transferring to New York University. He made one of his earliest film appearances in the 1969 movie Midnight Cowboy. During the 1970s, he performed in Catch-22 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, even receiving a Tony Award nomination for his role in The Inspector General. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Balaban had numerous supporting and recurring roles in television series and a handful of films.
In 2001, Bob transitioned to production and received a nomination for Best Picture for producing Gosford Park. He directed several episodes of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie and authored six children's novels featuring a bionic dog named McGrown. In 2011, he starred with Morgan Freeman and John Lithgow in the Broadway play 8, which reenacted the federal trial to overturn California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage.
Bob Balaban has been married to Lynn Grossman since 1977, and they have two children together. The couple's primary residence for many years has been a 6,000-square-foot estate in Bridgehampton, New York. Public records reveal that the Balabans purchased the 2-acre property in 1996 for $640,000 and built an impressive multi-structure home a decade later. Today, this estate is estimated to be worth $8-10 million.
