Cast
Michael Balfour
Acting
Cast
Michael Balfour
Known for
Acting
Born
1918-02-11
From
Dover, Kent, England, UK
Died
1997-10-24
Also known as Michael S. Creighton-Balfour, Michael Creighton 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
Batman
as Scientist
Fahrenheit 451
as Book Person: Machiavelli's 'The Prince' (uncredited)
The Canterbury Tales
as The Carpenter
Macbeth
as First Murderer
Sink the Bismarck!
as Able Seaman - Lookout on 'Suffolk' (uncredited)
Venetian Bird
as Moretto
Candleshoe
as Mr. McCress
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
as Cabby
Secret Venture
as Stevens
Black 13
as Joe
Surprise Package
as Oscar
The Krays
as Referee
Obsession
as American Sailor Promoting Book
Moulin Rouge
as Dodo (uncredited)
The Adventurers
as Detective
Quatermass 2
as Harry
The Holcroft Covenant
as Hard Hat
Woman Hater
as Reporter (uncredited)
Barbados Quest
as Barney Wilson
I Was a Male War Bride
as Male Billet Sergeant (uncredited)
Kaleidoscope
as Poker Player
Revenge of Billy the Kid
as Gyles MacDonald
Carry On Constable
as Matt
Too Hot to Handle
as Tourist Guide
Helter Skelter
as Barman (uncredited)
Look Back in Anger
as Picky Shopper (uncredited)
Fiend Without a Face
as Sgt. Kasper
Top Secret
as Jersey Sailor
A Stitch in Time
as Workman with Mallet (uncredited)
Press for Time
as Sewerman
Park Plaza 605
as Ted Birston
Genevieve
as Trumpeter (Uncredited)
Impulse
as uncredited
The Red Beret
as American Sergeant
One Good Turn
as Boxing Spectator (uncredited)
Prelude to Fame
as Lucio
Joseph Andrews
as Ruffian
The Oblong Box
as Ruddock
Albert R.N.
as Hank
The Prisoner of Zenda
The Flesh and the Fiends
as Drunken Sailor
The Fast Lady
as Bandit
Design for Loving
as Bernie
The Sea Shall Not Have Them
as Dray
The Big Money
as 'Wilberforce'
The Quiet Woman
as Lefty Brown
3 Steps to the Gallows
as Carter, boxing fan
No Orchids for Miss Blandish
as Barney
River Beat
as Adams
The Reluctant Bride
as Boxer
Delayed Action
as Honey
Breakaway
as Barney
Strangler's Web
as John Vichelski
The Steel Bayonet
as Pte. Thomas
Meet Mr. Callaghan
as Coffee Stallkeeper
Pit of Darkness
as Fisher
Scrapbook for 1933
as (voice)
Man of Violence
as Cafe Owner
The Diamond Wizard
as Hoxie
The Rescue Squad
as Barrow-Boy
The Monster of Highgate Ponds
as Bert
The Stick Up
as Sam
The Steel Key
as 'The Mae McCleod' Captain
The Small Voice
as Frankie
It's a Great Day
as Charlie Mead's Mate
A Case For P.C. 49
as Chubby Price
All Coppers Are...
as Heart Attack Victim (uncredited)
Three's Company
as The Drunk
Man from Tangier
as Spade
Echo of Diana
as Newsagent
Her Favourite Husband
as Pete
Love in Pawn
as Alaric
Sleeping Car to Trieste
as Spiegel
The Ship That Couldn't Stop
as Mr. Bollanger
Light Fingers
as The Major
She Always Gets Their Man
as Runkle
The Delavine Affair
as Sammy
Don't Ever Leave Me
as Jim Kennedy
Resting Rough
Stop Press Girl
as Crook (uncredited)
Scarlet Web
as Barman
William Comes to Town
as Stall-holder
Five Have a Mystery to Solve
as Emilio
Just William's Luck
as Tonks
The Secret of the Forest
as Len
Melody Club
as Max
Help Yourself
as Charlie
Recoil
as Parkes
Johnny on the Run
Hoverbug
as Mr. Gutteridge
13 East Street
as Joey Long
Small Town Story
as Turner
The Copter Kids
as Benny Baker
Hot Ice
as Jacobson
Devil's Point
as Bennett, short henchman