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8 unusual facts about Efrem Zimbalist


Active Interest Media

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer is Efrem Zimbalist III (the son of Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.), formerly of Times Mirror Magazines, a subsidiary of Times Mirror.

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1960s

As a more friendly face presented to the public, in 1965 Warner Bros. Television presented the series The F.B.I., showing dramatizations taken from actual historical FBI cases, starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as fictional agent Louis Erskine.

Jewish art music

Many of the great violinists of the last century — Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman, to name a few — were Jewish students of Leopold Auer, who taught at the conservatory.

Martin W. Kellogg

He painted a portrait of Stephanie Zimbalist (the sister of Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) when she was a young woman, but would not sell it to her parents as he didn't want the picture "out there".

Montgomery Pittman

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., lead star of 77 Sunset Strip, a detective series which aired from 1958 to 1964, recalls that his friend Pittman at forty-five became ill with "a tumor on the side of his neck that grew rapidly to grapefruit-size. He had it excised, but it left a gaping hole, which he covered with a kerchief".

Philip Abbott

Abbott is best remembered as Assistant Director Arthur Ward on the ABC series, The F.B.I., with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in the starring role as Inspector Lewis Erskine.

Philip Carey

He portrayed four different characters on as many episodes of ABC's mystery series 77 Sunset Strip starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. He was among the guest stars in the CBS anthology series, GE True, hosted by Jack Webb.

Tam Spiva

In addition to The Brady Bunch and Gentle Ben, Spiva garnered credits for two other ABC series, The FBI starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., and Dan August starring Burt Reynolds.


Geoffrey Michaels

At the age of 16 he went to the United States to attend the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied violin with Efrem Zimbalist, and violin and viola with Oscar Shumsky.

Georg Kulenkampff

He then received lessons and encouragement from Leopold Auer (teacher of Mischa Elman, Efrem Zimbalist, Nathan Milstein and others) in Dresden, and made a concert debut in 1912 as solo violinist.

Giora Schmidt

In between his lessons in New York, Schmidt worked intensely with violinist Geoffrey Michaels on scales, etudes and the Sonatas and Partitas of Johann Sebastian Bach – in the tradition of Efrem Zimbalist and Oscar Shumsky.

Josef Hofmann

He was instrumental in recruiting illustrious musicians such as Efrem Zimbalist, Fritz Reiner, Marcella Sembrich, and Leopold Auer as Curtis faculty.

Richard Rust

He twice guest starred on ABC/Warner Brothers series, Bourbon Street Beat with Andrew Duggan, and 77 Sunset Strip with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Rust guest starred on other ABC/WB programs too, including Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins, Bronco with Ty Hardin, Lawman with John Russell, and The Roaring 20s.


see also

Malihini Holiday

This debut episode of Hawaiian Eye was tied to the successful parent series 77 Sunset Strip by having guest star Efrem Zimbalist Jr reprise his "Stuart Bailey" character, and by having Connie Stevens use the line "as a friend of mine says, its the ginchiest", a reference to the character of Kookie, as played by Edd Byrnes.

Nicolas Chumachenco

Nicolas left Argentina to study in the United States at the University of Southern California with Jascha Heifetz and later at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Efrem Zimbalist and won awards at the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.