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
Bernie
Design for Loving
American Sailor Promoting Book
Obsession
Barney
No Orchids for Miss Blandish
Emilio
Five Have a Mystery to Solve
Coffee Stallkeeper
Meet Mr. Callaghan
Sewerman
Press for Time
Cafe Owner
Man of Violence
Spade
Man from Tangier
Len
The Secret of the Forest
Parkes
Recoil
(voice)
Scrapbook for 1933
Gyles MacDonald
Revenge of Billy the Kid
Stevens
Secret Venture
Barney Wilson
Barbados Quest
Carter, boxing fan
3 Steps to the Gallows
Ted Birston
Park Plaza 605
Honey
Delayed Action
Sam
The Stick Up
Barney
Breakaway
Chubby Price
A Case For P.C. 49
Frankie
The Small Voice
Sammy
The Delavine Affair
Hoxie
The Diamond Wizard
The Carpenter
I racconti di Canterbury
Jersey Sailor
Top Secret
The Major
Light Fingers
Pte. Thomas
The Steel Bayonet
Joe
Black 13
Ruddock
The Oblong Box
uncredited
Impulse
Tonks
Just William's Luck
Charlie
Help Yourself
Barman
Scarlet Web
The Prisoner of Zenda
The Drunk
Three's Company
Picky Shopper (uncredited)
Look Back in Anger
Adams
River Beat
Dodo (uncredited)
Moulin Rouge
Max
Melody Club
Male Billet Sergeant (uncredited)
I Was a Male War Bride
First Murderer
Macbeth
Matt
Carry On Constable
Resting Rough
Mr. Gutteridge
Hoverbug
Sgt. Kasper
Fiend Without a Face
Johnny on the Run
Benny Baker
The Copter Kids
John Vichelski
Strangler's Web
Stall-holder
William Comes to Town
Mr. McCress
Candleshoe
Lefty Brown
The Quiet Woman
Pete
Quel bandito sono io
Joey Long
13 East Street
Bert
The Monster of Highgate Ponds
Harry
Quatermass 2
Heart Attack Victim (uncredited)
All Coppers Are...
Cabby
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
American Sergeant
The Red Beret
Bennett, short henchman
Devil's Point
Spiegel
Sleeping Car to Trieste
Scientist
Batman
Hank
Albert R.N.
Tourist Guide
Too Hot to Handle
Able Seaman - Lookout on 'Suffolk' (uncredited)
Sink the Bismarck!
Fisher
Pit of Darkness
Jim Kennedy
Don't Ever Leave Me
Alaric
Love in Pawn
Detective
The Adventurers
Trumpeter (Uncredited)
Genevieve
'Wilberforce'
The Big Money
Moretto
Venetian Bird
Newsagent
Echo of Diana
Barman (uncredited)
Helter Skelter
Bandit
The Fast Lady
Boxer
The Reluctant Bride
Charlie Mead's Mate
It's a Great Day
'The Mae McCleod' Captain
The Steel Key
Book Person: Machiavelli's 'The Prince' (uncredited)
Fahrenheit 451
Hard Hat
The Holcroft Covenant
Crook (uncredited)
Stop Press Girl
Dray
The Sea Shall Not Have Them
Reporter (uncredited)
Woman Hater
Drunken Sailor
The Flesh and the Fiends
Poker Player
Kaleidoscope
Referee
The Krays
Oscar
Surprise Package
Runkle
She Always Gets Their Man
Barrow-Boy
The Rescue Squad
Ruffian
Joseph Andrews
Mr. Bollanger
The Ship That Couldn't Stop
Boxing Spectator (uncredited)
One Good Turn
Workman with Mallet (uncredited)
A Stitch in Time
Lucio
Prelude to Fame
Jacobson
Hot Ice
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
94
Gender
Male
Birthday
1918-02-11
Place of Birth
Dover, Kent, England, UK
Also Known As
Michael S. Creighton-Balfour