Acting

Ina Balin

Born 1937-11-12 · Brooklyn, New York, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ina Balin (November 12, 1937 – June 20, 1990) was an American actress on Broadway and in film. Born as Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, she first appeared on television on The Perry Como Show. She also did summer stock, which led to roles on Broadway, and in 1959, she won the "Theatre World Award" for her performance in the Broadway comedy, A Majority of One, starring Gertrude Berg and Sir Cedric Hardwicke. That same year, she landed her first film role in The Black Orchid, starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn. A year later, Balin was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress — Motion Picture for her performance opposite Paul Newman in From the Terrace. She also appeared in The Young Doctors. In 1961, she appeared as Pilar Graile in The Comancheros with John Wayne and Stuart Whitman. Co-starring with Jerry Lewis in the 1964 hit comedy The Patsy, Balin also had a secondary, but important part in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. She co-starred with Elvis Presley in his 1969 film Charro! Balin guest-starred on dozens of television shows, including Bonanza, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Battlestar Galactica, Get Smart, Ironside, Quincy, M.E. and Magnum, P.I. She appeared with Joseph Cotten, Fernando Lamas and Dean Jagger in the 1969 made-for-television movie The Lonely Profession. In 1970, Balin toured Vietnam with the USO on the first of many trips to the war-torn region. She co-starred in the 1971 film The Projectionist, which marked the screen debut of Rodney Dangerfield. In 1975, she aided in the evacuation of orphans during the fall of Saigon; eventually, she adopted three of these orphaned children. In 1980, she played herself in a made-for-television movie based on these experiences, The Children of An Lac. While working on The Children of An Lac, she became acquainted with Christy Marx, who at the time worked as a producer's liaison for various television programs. According to Marx, she used Balin's story as a basis for a character in the animated show Jem when she later became a writer. The character of Ba Nee is based on Balin's adopted daughter, Ba-Nhi. Ba Nee's obsession with and struggle to find her birth father are the focus of several episodes of Jem. She co-starred in the comedy The Comeback Trail with the lead actor and director from The Projectionist. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ina Balin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

6.4

From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.

The Greatest Story Ever Told

1965

6.7

Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves known as Comancheros.

The Comancheros

1961

7.0

The theft of a fortune in diamonds and the attempt by soldier of fortune Johnny Dent to outwit his pursuers who would stop at nothing to get their hands on the treasure forms the story-line. The chase reaches across the continent as Dent eludes the diamond syndicate police, a ruthless gangster, and a scheming girl in his attempt to escape.

Run Like a Thief

1967

5.9

A projectionist bored with his everyday life begins fantasizing about his being one of the superheroes he sees in the movies he shows.

The Projectionist

1970

6.2

Eccentric bellhop Stanley Belt is recruited unexpectedly by the comedy team of a recently deceased entertainer. Stanley struggles to become a song-and-dance man as the team grooms him to become a star. But as the date of a high-stakes appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show grows near, they begin to fear that the only astonishing thing about Stanley is his utter lack of talent.

The Patsy

1964

5.9

After his mistress is murdered, a Mafia leader goes after the killer with a bloody vengeance. Soon after the hunt begins, a gang war ensues.

The Don Is Dead

1973

4.1

This mockumentary about fictional movie studio Adequate Pictures boasts an interesting cast. Tony Randall hosts, and James CoCo (practically on his deathbed) stars as head of the studio. Includes parodies of everything from silent comedies to porn, including an ultra violent "three stooges" style comedy team who put a new spin on the eye poking gag.

That's Adequate

1989

5.4

Vince Hackett's gang steals a prized victory canon from Mexico and blames the deed on ex-member Jess Wade, who wants to go straight.

Charro!

1969

6.6

Alfred Eaton, an ambitious young executive, climbs to the top of New York's financial world as his marriage crumbles. At the brink of attaining his career goals, he is forced to choose between business success, married to the beautiful, but unfaithful Mary and starting over with his true love, the much younger Natalie.

From the Terrace

1960

6.1

A plane is hijacked and bound for London. Once the terrorists begin killing hostages, the passengers take matters into their own hands.

Hostage Flight

1985

6.3

An aging widower fights family disapproval when he falls in love with a gangster's widow.

The Black Orchid

1959

4.6

A man who has lost everything joins others paid to convey a wealthy man's wife - and a mysterious treasure - to safety in San Francisco.

The Desperate Mission

1969

9.0

A federal agent recruits a computer whiz to try to free a Mafia witness who has been kidnapped and held in a heavily fortified compound.

Call to Danger

1973

5.8

An aging doctor's resentment of his young assistant could lead to tragedy.

The Young Doctors

1961

6.4

Based on the true story of film actress Ina Balin and her efforts with American Red Cross volunteer Betty Tisdale, as well as a compassionate Vietnamese woman running a Saigon orphanage, to rescue as many children as possible and fly them out of the country before South Vietnam's fall in the spring of 1975 through the An Lac baby-lift.

The Children of An Lac

1980

6.0

An oil tycoon hires Galyon, a jungle survival expert and soldier of fortune, to rescue his daughter and her husband from South American terrorists.

Galyon

1980

No artwork available

8.0

Love story set against the backdrop of Cyprus' struggle for independence from the British in the 1950s.

Act of Reprisal

1964

5.0

Gino, a bank executive is not having a good day. After giving birth to their eighth child, his wife insists that he have a vasectomy, something he doesn't even want to think about. On top of that, he discovers that other family members are stealing money from his bank.

Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter

1986

7.0

Private investigator Leo Gordon is hired to trail Karen Mendaros, the mistress of a reclusive billionaire. When they meet, Gordon and Mendaros hit it off and check in at a motel. Gordon wakes up the next morning and discovers that Mendaros had been murdered during the night. Gordon opens his own investigation of Mendaros' past in an attempt to determine who killed Mendaros and why he's been set up as the fall guy.