Birth Name: Robert Elmer Balaban
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois
Date of Birth: August 16, 1945
Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish
Bob Balaban is an American actor. He is the son of Eleonore Ruth (Pottasch), an actress under the name Eleanor Barry, and of Elmer Balaban, a cable television pioneer. His uncles founded the Balaban and Katz Theatre circuit and one of them, Barney Balaban, was the head of Paramount Pictures.
Bob’s paternal grandparents were Israel “Isy” Balaban and Augusta “Goldie” Manderbursky/Bursky. Israel and Augusta were Russian Jewish immigrants.
Bob’s maternal grandparents were Ludwig Pottasch and Belle Blumenfeld (the daughter of David Blumenfeld and Mattie/Meta Sonnenshein). Ludwig was a Jewish immigrant from Leipzig, Germany. Belle was born in Illinois, to a Russian Jewish father and a Romanian Jewish mother.
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