Michael Balfour

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

123

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

  • The Persuaders!

    The Persuaders!

  • Batman

    Batman

  • Moulin Rouge

    Moulin Rouge

  • Dempsey and Makepeace

    Dempsey and Makepeace

  • The Prisoner

    The Prisoner

  • 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

  • Danger Man

    Danger Man

  • Hancock's Half Hour

    Hancock's Half Hour

  • Light Fingers

    Light Fingers

  • Department S

    Department S

  • Macbeth

    Macbeth

  • Obsession

    Obsession

  • Woman Hater

    Woman Hater

  • Sunday Night Theatre

    Sunday Night Theatre

  • Black 13

    Black 13

  • Scarlet Web

    Scarlet Web

  • Interpol Calling

    Interpol Calling

  • Interpol Calling

    Interpol Calling

  • Impulse

    Impulse

  • Recoil

    Recoil

  • Secret Venture

    Secret Venture

  • River Beat

    River Beat

  • The Krays

    The Krays

  • Hoverbug

    Hoverbug

  • The Adventurers

    The Adventurers

  • Genevieve

    Genevieve

  • Surprise Package

    Surprise Package

  • Melody Club

    Melody Club

  • The Larkins

    The Larkins

  • Sink the Bismarck!

    Sink the Bismarck!

  • Look Back in Anger

    Look Back in Anger

  • The Jazz Age

    The Jazz Age

  • Kaleidoscope

    Kaleidoscope

  • Barbados Quest

    Barbados Quest

  • No Orchids for Miss Blandish

    No Orchids for Miss Blandish

  • Too Hot to Handle

    Too Hot to Handle

  • The Sea Shall Not Have Them

    The Sea Shall Not Have Them

  • Fahrenheit 451

    Fahrenheit 451

  • The Fast Lady

    The Fast Lady

  • The Steel Bayonet

    The Steel Bayonet

  • The Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales

  • A Stitch in Time

    A Stitch in Time

  • Carry On Constable

    Carry On Constable

  • Revenge of Billy the Kid

    Revenge of Billy the Kid

  • The Holcroft Covenant

    The Holcroft Covenant

  • The Prisoner of Zenda

    The Prisoner of Zenda

  • The Quiet Woman

    The Quiet Woman

  • The Steel Key

    The Steel Key

  • Venetian Bird

    Venetian Bird

  • Top Secret

    Top Secret

  • Sleeping Car to Trieste

    Sleeping Car to Trieste

  • Park Plaza 605

    Park Plaza 605

  • I Was a Male War Bride

    I Was a Male War Bride

  • The Oblong Box

    The Oblong Box

  • The Small Voice

    The Small Voice

  • 3 Steps to the Gallows

    3 Steps to the Gallows

  • The Cheaters

    The Cheaters

  • The Cheaters

    The Cheaters

  • Albert R.N.

    Albert R.N.

  • The Red Beret

    The Red Beret

  • Resting Rough

    Resting Rough

  • Press for Time

    Press for Time

  • The Flesh and the Fiends

    The Flesh and the Fiends

  • Prelude to Fame

    Prelude to Fame

  • Love in Pawn

    Love in Pawn

  • Her Favourite Husband

    Her Favourite Husband

  • Devil's Point

    Devil's Point

  • Scrapbook for 1933

    Scrapbook for 1933

  • Johnny on the Run

    Johnny on the Run

  • Pit of Darkness

    Pit of Darkness

  • Strangler's Web

    Strangler's Web

  • Meet Mr. Callaghan

    Meet Mr. Callaghan

  • The Monster of Highgate Ponds

    The Monster of Highgate Ponds

  • A Case For P.C. 49

    A Case For P.C. 49

  • Man from Tangier

    Man from Tangier

  • Kelly Monteith

    Kelly Monteith

  • Man of Violence

    Man of Violence

  • Candleshoe

    Candleshoe

  • One Good Turn

    One Good Turn

  • The Big Money

    The Big Money

  • Design for Loving

    Design for Loving

  • All Coppers Are...

    All Coppers Are...

  • The Diamond Wizard

    The Diamond Wizard

  • The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

    The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

  • Helter Skelter

    Helter Skelter

  • The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder

    The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder

  • Stop Press Girl

    Stop Press Girl

  • The Secret of the Forest

    The Secret of the Forest

  • Three's Company

    Three's Company

  • Five Have a Mystery to Solve

    Five Have a Mystery to Solve

  • Quatermass 2

    Quatermass 2

  • Don't Ever Leave Me

    Don't Ever Leave Me

  • The Delavine Affair

    The Delavine Affair

  • Rogues' Gallery

    Rogues' Gallery

  • The Stick Up

    The Stick Up

  • She Always Gets Their Man

    She Always Gets Their Man

  • Fiend Without a Face

    Fiend Without a Face

  • Just William's Luck

    Just William's Luck

  • Joseph Andrews

    Joseph Andrews

  • Sailor of Fortune

    Sailor of Fortune

  • The Ship That Couldn't Stop

    The Ship That Couldn't Stop

  • It's Not Me - It's Them!

    It's Not Me - It's Them!

  • Armchair Theatre

    Armchair Theatre

  • Armchair Theatre

    Armchair Theatre

  • Armchair Theatre

    Armchair Theatre

  • The Reluctant Bride

    The Reluctant Bride

  • Strange Experiences

    Strange Experiences

  • Hot Ice

    Hot Ice

  • Reluctant Bandit

    Reluctant Bandit

  • Breakaway

    Breakaway

  • The Copter Kids

    The Copter Kids

  • It's a Great Day

    It's a Great Day

  • Help Yourself

    Help Yourself

  • William Comes to Town

    William Comes to Town

  • 13 East Street

    13 East Street

  • The Rescue Squad

    The Rescue Squad

  • Delayed Action

    Delayed Action

  • Echo of Diana

    Echo of Diana