Thanks for sharing his life story with us. [30], Zimbalist died at the age of 95, the same age his father had died at, on May 2, 2014, from natural causes. 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. He changed his name to Menotti shortly after his adoption. I looked forward to seeing those photos at the end of each show each week, if only for morbid idle curiosity. One of the most sophisticated and professional actors of the small screen, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. rose to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of two popular . He graduated from the Conservatory in 1907 after winning a gold medal and the Rubinstein Prize, and by age 21 was considered one of the world's greatest violinists.[9]. They had a daughter, actress Stephanie Zimbalist. [2] He had an older sister, Mary (19152008),[3] along with a half-sister from his mother's first marriage, author Marcia Davenport (19031996). But it was always interesting to see who the names and faces were and what they were wanted for. After serving in World War II, he made his stage debut in "The Rugged Path," starring Spencer Tracy, and appeared in other plays and a soap opera before being called to Hollywood. Zimbalist described the Maharishi Yogi as a "fascinating character", but found the meditation method "was a total waste of energy for me. Even though findagrave.com shows a marker and info that she is buried in the family plot at Town Hill Cemetery in New Hartford, CT, I researched this enough to be sure her body is not there and that she was buried in Monterey, CA. He was apparently watering the lawn and was found lying on the grass by a handyman. [23] Moreover, Efrem Zimbalist stated, "As far as I am concerned, there has been no Jew in the family for sixty-five years. [26], Episode:"Starcrossed, Part 2 and 3' (S 2: Ep 25-26), This article is about the actor. Warner Bros. signed him to a contract and cast him in minor film roles. His father, the Russian-born virtuoso, did much to revive interest in early violin music, and became director of the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. Amadeus Press. The show, one of the first TV series hits from the Warner Brothers studio, ran on ABC from 1958-64. He studied at Fay School in Massachusetts and later boarded at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire. Surprisingly I remember 77 Sunset Strip even though I was only seven years old when the series ended. In 2003, he published his autobiography "My Dinner of Herbs." For some reason, that's where I put him. (S 10: Ep 33), Episode: "When You See Arcturus" (S 14: Ep 21), Episode: "A Family of Winners" (S 20: Ep 12), Episode: "The Butler's Affair/Roarke's Sacrifice" (S 7: Ep 5), Episode: "Polly's Poker Palace, Parts 1 and 2" (S 7: Ep 19 & S 7: Ep 20), Episode: "The Georgia Street Motors" (S 1:Ep 18), Episode: "Murder in the Museum" (S 1: Ep 19), Episode: "The Case of the People of Florida v Joseph Lamdrum", Presenter: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special, Episode: "The State of Arizona v Dr. Evan Blake", Episode: "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel" (S 5: Ep 7), Episode: "Sugar, Spice, Malice and Vice" (S 9: Ep 7), Episode: "Who Killed the Legal Eagle?" In the 1990s he became interested in stem cell therapy, its uses and merits. In the latter, he played the husband of Audrey Hepburn, a blind woman terrorized by thugs in a truly frightening film. In 1958, he starred as Stuart Bailey in the detective series 77 Sunset Strip. He died in 1985, at the age of 95. 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. Zimbalist married twice in his lifetime and had three children. He returned to Hollywood five years later, marrying Loranda Stephanie Spalding in 1956, and she gave birth to their daughter Stephanie. Although he continued to consider himself ethnically Jewish, he found himself attracted, along with his wife Alma, to Anglican Christianity, and they regularly attended the Episcopal Church in New Hartford. In 1963, Dragnet's Jack Webb was hired as consultant to overhaul the show. . Today. Efrem Jr. and Maria were both christened there, and the couple placed Efrem in an Episcopal boarding school in New Hampshire. Getty Images His mother, reasoning. Efrem Jr. was almost 20 years old and had a few regrets after his mother died. Zimbalist was born in New York, grew up on an estate in the Connecticut countryside and received an expensive education in New England. #bravewarrior - hello! In 1985, Chip married Malinda Fitler Murphy, the daughter of Happy Rockefeller (widow of Nelson) and Dr. James Murphy. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Animated Universe. He is best known to the world for being an actor, and one of the most recognizable voice actors of all time. They had two sons and Malinda died in 2005. And it was true too. In 1956, Zimbalist was put under contract by Warner Bros. and moved to Hollywood. If I can live that long, I hope to be as healthy to be able to enjoy it. "I had a horror of being stuck in some series and never being heard from again. UPDATE: He was the embodiment of a federal agent on "The F.B.I." after playing a private eye on another popular ABC series, "77 Sunset Strip." I had no idea he was still alive until this month and that Stephanie was his daughter! He briefly attended Yale University but was expelled, reinstated and expelled a second time on account of low grades. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. dating history Relationships. Less than a year later in 1915, their daughter Maria was born but with manager Althea Jewell taking care of her and Marcia safely in a Pennsylvania boarding school, the couple didn't slow down their performances. When daughter Marcia started at Wellesley College in 1923, she decided to elope, giving birth to a daughter a year later in 1924. He had a small recurring role in the 1990s hit science fiction television series Babylon 5 as William Edgars. [9] He was discharged at the end of the war, and his awards and decorations included the Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge, in addition to the Purple Heart he received for a shrapnel wound to his leg during the battle of Hrtgen Forest.[9]. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. played con man "Dandy Buckley" in the western series Maverick and in 1958 started work on the series 77 Sunset Strip which was to last until 1964. which was written in 1954, was optioned for a movie for many years, but never filmed, possibly because of controversy after the real life connection to the story was learned. ^. [8] Selected for officer candidate school, after graduation in 1943 he received his commission as a second lieutenant of Infantry. Early in his career he owned the "Titian" Stradivarius violin. Marcia Davenport had an interesting life and made her mark in literature with her first book, Mozart, the first published American biography of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Spouse/Ex-: Emily Munroe McNair (m. 19451950), Loranda Stephanie Spaulding (m. 19562007), siblings: Marcia Davenport as half-sister (19031996), Mary (19152008), See the events in life of Efrem Zimbalist Jr in Chronological Order, http://www.prphotos.com/p/LRS-046362/efrem-zimbalist-jr-at-childhelp-usa-2002-charity-event--arrivals.html?&ps=3&x-start=6, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbqFEihvdC8, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Efrem_Zimbalist_Jr.JPG, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eseZ77t5jGM. [8] By the age of nine, Efrem Zimbalist was first violin in his father's orchestra. Do Remington Steele and Laura Holt get married? Six months after Maria's wedding to Ogden Goelet, Alma died on October 27, 1938 at age 54 of liver failure. His mother, reasoning that living amid the musical elite was not the best upbringing for a boy, sent him to boarding schools. With Angela Lansbury, Donna Bullock, Len Cariou, James Handy. In the meantime, Zimbalist continued in a few films, such as Wait Until Dark (1967), as the husband of a blind woman (Audrey Hepburn), who is terrorised in their apartment during his absence. Efrem Jr. was devastated. Her mother's obituary Zara Fiersohn shows she died at age 74 on August 5, 1916. He had nothing but praise for his experience on the show. It was not a happy marriage because Ogden's family controlled his fortune and the couple had to rely on an allowance for support. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. produced several of Gian Carlo Menotti's operas on Broadway and was a lifelong supporter of the Metropolitan Opera where his mother had performed. about they stopped making. During an extremely candid interview with Gentlemans Journal for their Summer 2021 issue, the 68-year-old star reflected on his own childhood and how it defined his approach to parenting. I stopped She is the author of 8 books in total, two of which caught the eyes of Hollywood producers: "The Valley of Decision" starred Greer Garson & Gregory Peck, and. Emily died from cancer in 1950. Efrem Zimbalist Jr, actor, born 30 November 1918; died 2 May 2014, Suave actor known for his starring roles in the TV series 77 Sunset Strip and The FBI, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, right, with William Reynolds, left, in a 1968 episode of The FBI. Voted up. 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. Some of them led to arrests, which helped give the show the complete seal of approval of the agency's real-life director, J. Edgar Hoover. Remington Steele is an American crime drama television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. She died in Reno Nevada in 1981 at the age of 66. [citation needed], Apart from 77 Sunset Strip, 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. Efrem Jr.'s daughter is Stephanie Zimbalist, (best known for the TV series Remington Steele) who also studied music at Julliard, although she didn't take up the opera or the violin. ", Efrem Jr.'s mother was famous opera singer Alma Gluck. 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. By that time, Efrem Jr. and Emily McNair had two children, Nancy and Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist III. What a charmer he was, handsome and sophisticated. All Rights Reserved. [28], In later life, Zimbalist joined the congregation of an Episcopal parish near to his home. While he was in the Army, Efrem Jr. met actor-producer Garson Kanin and theirs was a friendship that would get his start in show business. Active on Broadway in the following productions: Zimbalist died on May 2, 2014 from natural causes at the age of 95, outliving his father's age of 94 by one year. The F.B.I. This is the home her sister and husband raised their family in, and hosted her mother and siblings when she brought them over from Romania. Efrem starred next to Spencer Tracy. As the sly, silver-haired mentor of Pierce Brosnans title character on Remington Steele, he appeared on the 1982-87 NBC series with his daughter on a handful of episodes. what happened to josh's partner bill on moonshiners, does cashew milk cause gas, He died in Reno Nevada in 1981 at the age of 95 faces and... Be as healthy to be able to enjoy it age 74 on 5. 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