Michael Balfour

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

124

Gender

Male

Birthday

1918-02-11

Day of death

1997-10-24 (79 years old)

Place of Birth

Dover, Kent, England, UK

Michael Balfour

Biography

Michael Creighton Balfour (11 February 1918 – 24 October 1997) was an English actor, working mainly in British films and TV, following his TV debut in the BBC's The Marvellous History of St Bernard, in 1938. He was a recognisable face, often in small character parts and supporting roles, in nearly two hundred films and TV shows, from the 1940s to the 1990s, often playing comical heavies or otherwise shady characters notable for their "loud" clothes, sometimes convincingly cast as an American. He worked for a roll call of film directors, including Tony Richardson, Pete Walker, Billy Wilder, Lewis Gilbert, Roman Polanski, Leslie Norman, Tim Burton, John Frankenheimer, François Truffaut, John Gilling, Stanley Donen, Ken Annakin, Cavalcanti, Lance Comfort, Terence Young, Gerald Thomas, Pasolini, John Paddy Carstairs, Terence Fisher, Val Guest, Frank Launder, John Huston, Basil Dearden and Howard Hawks. Balfour had parts in many popular TV shows of the era including Educated Evans, Mess Mates, Danger Man, The Avengers, Hancock's Half Hour, Dixon of Dock Green, Rogue's Gallery, Z-Cars, The Onedin Line, and the detective drama The Vise, playing Saber's assistant Barney O'Keefe. Balfour was also known as the passenger in a Jaguar XK120 car driven by actor Bonar Colleano when it crashed, killing Colleano. Balfour's injuries required him to have 98 stitches, but he was released from hospital in time to attend Colleano's funeral. As his screen career began to slow down in the late 1970s, Michael Balfour went on tour with European circuses, as a clown. He founded Circus Hazzard, and created his own clown character. His son later became a circus manager. As well as performing, Balfour was a dedicated painter and sculptor, and in later years turned increasingly to sculpture and the arts, even running his own gallery for a while. For his subjects, he frequently drew on his own family career as a circus clown

Known For

  • The Avengers

    The Avengers

  • Recoil

    Recoil

  • Batman

    Batman

  • Light Fingers

    Light Fingers

  • The Persuaders!

    The Persuaders!

  • Macbeth

    Macbeth

  • The Adventurers

    The Adventurers

  • Pit of Darkness

    Pit of Darkness

  • Sunday Night Theatre

    Sunday Night Theatre

  • The Prisoner

    The Prisoner

  • Resting Rough

    Resting Rough

  • Dempsey and Makepeace

    Dempsey and Makepeace

  • Kaleidoscope

    Kaleidoscope

  • Danger Man

    Danger Man

  • Venetian Bird

    Venetian Bird

  • Melody Club

    Melody Club

  • Surprise Package

    Surprise Package

  • Barbados Quest

    Barbados Quest

  • Genevieve

    Genevieve

  • Prelude to Fame

    Prelude to Fame

  • Helter Skelter

    Helter Skelter

  • Moulin Rouge

    Moulin Rouge

  • Three's Company

    Three's Company

  • Interpol Calling

    Interpol Calling

  • Interpol Calling

    Interpol Calling

  • Obsession

    Obsession

  • Hoverbug

    Hoverbug

  • Impulse

    Impulse

  • One Good Turn

    One Good Turn

  • Dixon of Dock Green

    Dixon of Dock Green

  • Dixon of Dock Green

    Dixon of Dock Green

  • Dixon of Dock Green

    Dixon of Dock Green

  • Dixon of Dock Green

    Dixon of Dock Green

  • Dixon of Dock Green

    Dixon of Dock Green

  • The Delavine Affair

    The Delavine Affair

  • Department S

    Department S

  • Just William's Luck

    Just William's Luck

  • Hancock's Half Hour

    Hancock's Half Hour

  • Fahrenheit 451

    Fahrenheit 451

  • The Larkins

    The Larkins

  • The Holcroft Covenant

    The Holcroft Covenant

  • Meet Mr. Callaghan

    Meet Mr. Callaghan

  • The Jazz Age

    The Jazz Age

  • The Krays

    The Krays

  • Sink the Bismarck!

    Sink the Bismarck!

  • The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

    The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

  • Sailor of Fortune

    Sailor of Fortune

  • Love in Pawn

    Love in Pawn

  • The Cheaters

    The Cheaters

  • The Cheaters

    The Cheaters

  • Strange Experiences

    Strange Experiences

  • The Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales

  • I Was a Male War Bride

    I Was a Male War Bride

  • The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder

    The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder

  • Candleshoe

    Candleshoe

  • Look Back in Anger

    Look Back in Anger

  • The Flesh and the Fiends

    The Flesh and the Fiends

  • Strangler's Web

    Strangler's Web

  • The Secret of the Forest

    The Secret of the Forest

  • Carry On Constable

    Carry On Constable

  • The Oblong Box

    The Oblong Box

  • Kelly Monteith

    Kelly Monteith

  • Rogues' Gallery

    Rogues' Gallery

  • It's Not Me - It's Them!

    It's Not Me - It's Them!

  • The Ship That Couldn't Stop

    The Ship That Couldn't Stop

  • Woman Hater

    Woman Hater

  • Armchair Theatre

    Armchair Theatre

  • Armchair Theatre

    Armchair Theatre

  • Armchair Theatre

    Armchair Theatre

  • No Orchids for Miss Blandish

    No Orchids for Miss Blandish

  • River Beat

    River Beat

  • The Prisoner of Zenda

    The Prisoner of Zenda

  • Top Secret

    Top Secret

  • The Red Beret

    The Red Beret

  • Joseph Andrews

    Joseph Andrews

  • Quatermass 2

    Quatermass 2

  • It's a Great Day

    It's a Great Day

  • Albert R.N.

    Albert R.N.

  • Press for Time

    Press for Time

  • 3 Steps to the Gallows

    3 Steps to the Gallows

  • The Fast Lady

    The Fast Lady

  • Devil's Point

    Devil's Point

  • Too Hot to Handle

    Too Hot to Handle

  • Her Favourite Husband

    Her Favourite Husband

  • Stop Press Girl

    Stop Press Girl

  • Fiend Without a Face

    Fiend Without a Face

  • The Sea Shall Not Have Them

    The Sea Shall Not Have Them

  • Secret Venture

    Secret Venture

  • Black 13

    Black 13

  • A Stitch in Time

    A Stitch in Time

  • All Coppers Are...

    All Coppers Are...

  • William Comes to Town

    William Comes to Town

  • Reluctant Bandit

    Reluctant Bandit

  • The Small Voice

    The Small Voice

  • Park Plaza 605

    Park Plaza 605

  • Man from Tangier

    Man from Tangier

  • The Reluctant Bride

    The Reluctant Bride

  • Sleeping Car to Trieste

    Sleeping Car to Trieste

  • Man of Violence

    Man of Violence

  • The Stick Up

    The Stick Up

  • Don't Ever Leave Me

    Don't Ever Leave Me

  • The Rescue Squad

    The Rescue Squad

  • Revenge of Billy the Kid

    Revenge of Billy the Kid

  • Scrapbook for 1933

    Scrapbook for 1933

  • Echo of Diana

    Echo of Diana

  • The Monster of Highgate Ponds

    The Monster of Highgate Ponds

  • The Steel Bayonet

    The Steel Bayonet

  • A Case For P.C. 49

    A Case For P.C. 49

  • Small Town Story

    Small Town Story

  • Scarlet Web

    Scarlet Web

  • The Quiet Woman

    The Quiet Woman

  • The Diamond Wizard

    The Diamond Wizard

  • Hot Ice

    Hot Ice

  • The Steel Key

    The Steel Key

  • Breakaway

    Breakaway

  • The Big Money

    The Big Money

  • Five Have a Mystery to Solve

    Five Have a Mystery to Solve

  • Johnny on the Run

    Johnny on the Run

  • Delayed Action

    Delayed Action

  • She Always Gets Their Man

    She Always Gets Their Man

  • Help Yourself

    Help Yourself

  • The Copter Kids

    The Copter Kids

  • Design for Loving

    Design for Loving

  • 13 East Street

    13 East Street