Anybody know?

http://www.nndb.com/people/111/000063919/balsam-color.jpg

I've wondered that myself. Have no idea.

I think the show was better with him in it, as it gave Archie a strong character to play off of. He really didn't have that afterwards, as the other characters were supporting characters who really didn't challenge Archie all that much.

i read somewhere he got tired of playing 2nd fiddle to archie bunker and believed he deserved better and he left.

i liked his charactor on there he and Archie had great chemistry

That's odd, because Carroll O' Connor had been the star of his show for almost 10 years when Balsam came on board. It was O' Connor's show, so it doesn't make sense that he would think that he would be on a par with the star of a long-running show.

That's odd, because Carroll O' Connor had been the star of his show for almost 10 years when Balsam came on board. It was O' Connor's show, so it doesn't make sense that he would think that he would be on a par with the star of a long-running show.
Exactly! I really don't want to believe Martin Balsam thought like that. I hope not. He was great in the role. I loved his interaction with Edith.

Yeah I thought I heard he and O'Connor didn't see eye to eye, but that may have just been a rumor.

I'd heard that he wanted to leave an do more movies. But, I also heard he was jealous of Allan Melvin of all people and felt he was poisoning the show with all the goofy lines he got. Wanted that airtime more for himself just to make it more worthwhile since he wasn't doing movies. O'Connor wanted to keep Melvin and Balsam couldn't get out of his contract during the second season, so he just rode it out after basically being told, "Allan's staying and you can leave". Btw, Jason Wingreen said in an interview that Melvin was actually a bigot in real life.
Again, this is all just rumor material...

I heard O'Connor and Balsam didn't get along. Balsam was a wonderful actor, just not a sitcom actor.

I'd heard that he wanted to leave an do more movies. But, I also heard he was jealous of Allan Melvin of all people and felt he was poisoning the show with all the goofy lines he got. Wanted that airtime more for himself just to make it more worthwhile since he wasn't doing movies. O'Connor wanted to keep Melvin and Balsam couldn't get out of his contract during the second season, so he just rode it out after basically being told, "Allan's staying and you can leave". Btw, Jason Wingreen said in an interview that Melvin was actually a bigot in real life.
Again, this is all just rumor material...
Jason Wingreen thought everyone was a bigot. He even accused Andy Griffith of being a bigot of all people. Wingreen was a known as being a bitter stooge.

it was not the same without murrey on there he and archie got along great did not know they did not get along in real life,

Jason Wingreen thought everyone was a bigot.


Well, then he was certainly on the right show.

Norman Lear was a liberal propagandist yet he rode bigots all the way to the bank.

I like Murray! He seems like such a nice man !:) On screen and in real life !;)

I thought that the last 2 seasons of the series were its best. Martin Balsam...for as much experience as he'd had...kept gulping his lines. Throwing them away. Archie and Murray never really established the rhythm that Archie & Mike did...a tough thing to do, I know. And Anne Meara contributed nothing other than the episode about her admitting her alcoholism. That was All In The Family level work on all sides. Once those two left the show, the show really came back together. (Although there were many ATIF quality episodes in Season 2.) And, though Barney, in essence, was supposed to replace Edith, in terms of having someone dumb that Archie could play off of, I think they went too far. Made him too much of a clown. (One other thing about the Murray character. I didn't ever feel connected enough with him to be interested in shows about his family. With the three other principles from the first 10 years of the series gone, the show was at it absolute funniest when Archie was on screen. Stories about the other characters...except Barney, oddly enough...probably because Archie could be there egging him on or criticizing him...didn't work...and, of course, with all of the 'family' gone, there wasn't a lot you could do with Archie concerning his life...though the shows with him trying to get custody of Stephanie tore your heart out. BTW, as everyone on the board probably well knows, the only reason the show wasn't called "All In The Family" for its entire 14 year run is that Norman Lear wouldn't allow it as part of the deal to let the show continue after Jean Stapleton left as a regular. And the Billie/Gary relationship was important. It could re-create the vibe that Archie had with Mike & Gloria, Billie was a character in both centers of story material in the series...home and bar...meaning we could go back to 704 Hauser Street more...and we did. And Gary was a softer version of Mike. Very good in its own way. CBS should have given the series one more year. There were plenty of other story lines left and with Rob Reiner offering to come back for a few episodes, the show would have given us another 22 episodes of very good TV...especially considering the other sitcoms on the air at the time. After doing so much...in terms of the quality of its work and its popularity, CBS did, indeed, owe that show a proper send off. Let's see if they do anything for the show's 50th anniversary...and, I wonder if they do, if they'll include clips from APB in it. (You can't profile the series whole run and ignore the "Archie Alone" episode. It won a Peabody award for heaven's sake!)

His last appearance was in episode 20 of season 4. it dont look like he left the show since it was only 4 eps left in the series

I see he did leave the show in season 2 and returned for that last appearance in season 4. The real question is why did he come back for that one episode

The guy who played Barney should have left the show

The guy who played Barney should have left the show

Why?

It was a gig with a steady paycheck.

Why?

It was a gig with a steady paycheck.

His character was too pathetic, wimpy and goofy. Murray was normal

His character was too pathetic, wimpy and goofy. Murray was normal

Well, it wasn't like Allan Melvin was in great demand. He was smart to stay on the show and take the money.

Well, it wasn't like Allan Melvin was in great demand. He was smart to stay on the show and take the money.

I know, I was just saying since someone on the show left I would have preferred it be Barney instead of Murray.

Balsam was brought in for a big time salary, $32.5k episode. The rest of the supporting cast made $7500/episode. The idea was for CoC and him to be 1 and 1A.

But it just never worked out. They could never come up with a story for Murray where he was more than 2nd or 3rd banana. Even CoC lamented the Murray character remained underdeveloped. When you throw in Balsam still lived in NY and commuted every week, he only made it two seasons.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn660ojxLaihIQ6t8vsJ_JiOWz_UftvkiKGyM-xdzoLpp-Ak6p1zz_KW4eT4K_1EL2vtKd-2YEtKg_oAm6ORp73TknfUTqUVVQjVAgVpjnSHQAGbVu2nuv3L9o61-nADs4lGHp1-kWas1VJRGqgbJmUfQp23UMwl7N-CRlm9W4P6qnbDhGcDsF3K62/s1800/Aug.%208,%201981%20b.jpg

show was so much better with him

show was so much better with him

I think the first two seasons were the best. Seasons three and four seemed a bit watered down in content and kind of dry.

I see he did leave the show in season 2 and returned for that last appearance in season 4. The real question is why did he come back for that one episode

Just my personal guess....he was signed for 5 years so to get out of his contract after two, maybe he agreed to come back periodically for guest shots.

Just my personal guess....he was signed for 5 years so to get out of his contract after two, maybe he agreed to come back periodically for guest shots.

His character was how I got into the show and then had no idea he was leaving

I think the first two seasons were the best. Seasons three and four seemed a bit watered down in content and kind of dry.


Billie and Gary keep it watchable

Martin Balsam just seemed kind of weird to me. I remember an episode where he was serving a ginger ale to Edith. The way he was holding the glass, it just seemed so unsanitary. May be a weird thing to focus on, but I would hope these days people are a little more germ-conscious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGtH4KPi1sM

Murray wouldnt be loving San Fran in 2022:lol:

It seemed like except for Danielle Brisebois, nobody wanted to stay on this show for too long. Besides Martin Balsam bailing out after two years (the same time producer Mort Lachman left to partner with Alan Landsburg for Gimme A Break! and Kate & Allie), Anne Meara left right before the final season, and a bunch of people came and went.

Balsam was brought in for a big time salary, $32.5k episode. The rest of the supporting cast made $7500/episode. The idea was for CoC and him to be 1 and 1A.

But it just never worked out. They could never come up with a story for Murray where he was more than 2nd or 3rd banana. Even CoC lamented the Murray character remained underdeveloped. When you throw in Balsam still lived in NY and commuted every week, he only made it two seasons.

Flying back and forth had to be a drag. All those long days on the set and then you spend a large part of your weekend on an airplane. Then again, Alan Alda did the same thing on M*A*S*H for eleven years and it worked out okay for him.

Murray was the highlight of the show

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn660ojxLaihIQ6t8vsJ_JiOWz_UftvkiKGyM-xdzoLpp-Ak6p1zz_KW4eT4K_1EL2vtKd-2YEtKg_oAm6ORp73TknfUTqUVVQjVAgVpjnSHQAGbVu2nuv3L9o61-nADs4lGHp1-kWas1VJRGqgbJmUfQp23UMwl7N-CRlm9W4P6qnbDhGcDsF3K62/s1800/Aug.%208,%201981%20b.jpg

It seemed like except for Danielle Brisebois, nobody wanted to stay on this show for too long. Besides Martin Balsam bailing out after two years (the same time producer Mort Lachman left to partner with Alan Landsburg for Gimme A Break! and Kate & Allie), Anne Meara left right before the final season, and a bunch of people came and went.

Danielle was definitely committed. In this interview from June 1982 she talks about latching on with Gloria if ABP ever went off the air. Then maybe a spin off series focused on Stephanie.

Of course it was all a pipe dream. Danielle was hardly used the next season and CoC would soon have a falling out over Gloria so I doubt he would have permitted any crossover. And in a year, it wouldn't matter anyway as CBS pulled the plug on everything Archie.


https://books.google.com/books?id=kMMdAAAAIBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false