Biography for
Bronson Pinchot More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

20 May 1959, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Bronson Alcott Pinchot

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

When Bronson Pinchot began auditioning for Broadway roles, he refused to do accents. Years later, his ability to do an accent is what gave him his first break in film and led to television success as Balki Bartokomous, the odd cousin from a Balkan nation who comes to live with Mark Linn-Baker on the sitcom "Perfect Strangers" (1986).

Pinchot was born in New York, raised in Pasadena, and attended Yale on a full scholarship, first being interested in art. It was there that he began to pursue acting. Cast in an off-Broadway play soon after his 1981 graduation, Pinchot was seen by a casting director and gained the role of one of Joel's poker playing friends in Risky Business (1983) and appeared the next year in The Flamingo Kid (1984). Cast as Serge, an associate art dealer, in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Pinchot stole his one real scene from Eddie Murphy. This role led to Balki with his odd accent and eccentric style. The series continued for seven seasons. He didn't fare as well in "The Trouble with Larry" (1993), where he again played a visitor who comes to stay.

His small screen success did not translate as easily to the big screen. The box office flops Second Sight (1989) and Blame It on the Bellboy (1992) didn't repeat his earlier successes. It wasn't until his role in True Romance (1993) and his reprisal of Serge in Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) that audiences took note of his talent again. He appeared in Courage Under Fire (1996) and took a familiar comedic role in The First Wives Club (1996) as Duarte Feliz, a flamboyant interior designer.

Television has continued to offer Pinchot opportunities. In 1995, he appeared in Stephen King's The Langoliers (1995) (TV). The following year, he joined the cast of "Step by Step" (1991) as the owner of a hair salon. Unlike the manic bizarrely-turned characters Pinchot often played, on TV talk shows he has proven to be witty and erudite.

He first appeared on Broadway in 1990 in 'Zoya's Apartment,' a comedic play at the Circle in the Square theater. In 1999, He appeared with Carol Burnett and John Barrowman in _Putting It Together' (1999) and in 2004's revival 'Sly Fox,' with Richard Dreyfuss and Eric Stoltz. More recently, he appeared on the 5th season of "The Surreal Life" (2003).

IMDb Mini Biography By: wildhartlivie

Trade Mark

Often plays characters who have a French accent

Trivia

Organized the 1975 International Wizard of Oz Club, Inc. Winkie Convention.

Studied drama at Yale University.

Graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1977, where he excelled in French, theater and choir.

He received a scholarship to Yale.

His hobby is Greek sculpture (460 BC-31 BC).

Became a member of the Harford, PA Masonic Lodge #445 in December, 2002.

He claimed on "The Surreal Life" (2003) that he grew up in a very dysfunctional family.

Where Are They Now

(December 2001) Appearing in 'Stones in Their Pockets' on the London West End

(March 2004) Appearing with Richard Dreyfuss and Eric Stoltz on Broadway in Arthur Penn's production of Larry Gelbart's play, "Sly Fox."

(May 2008) Currently the voice of Max, the refurbished bug, on the VW commercials.

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