When Bronson Pinchot began auditioning for Broadway roles, he refused
to do accents. Years later, his ability to do accents is what gave him
his first break in film and led to television success as Balki
Bartokomous, the odd cousin from a Mediterranean island who comes to live with
Mark Linn-Baker on the sitcom
Ein Grieche erobert Chicago (1986).
Pinchot was born in New York, raised in Pasadena, and attended Yale on
a full scholarship, first being interested in art. Although he came from a poor family, he was a class valedictorian. It was during his art studies 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
Lockere Geschäfte (1983) and appeared
the next year in
Flamingo Kid (1984). Cast as
Serge, an associate art dealer, in
Beverly Hills Cop - Ich lös' den Fall auf jeden Fall (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
Mein Partner mit dem zweiten Blick (1989) and
Irren ist mörderisch (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
Mut zur Wahrheit (1996) and
took a familiar comedic role in
Der Club der Teufelinnen (1996)
as Duarte Feliz, a flamboyant interior designer.
Television has continued to offer Pinchot opportunities. In 1995, he
appeared in Stephen King's
Langoliers - Die andere Dimension (1995). The
following year, he joined the cast of
Eine starke Familie (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).
