Ralph Bellamy

Bellamy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6542 Hollywood Boulevard. A longtime bachelor (he was romantically linked to such celebrities as Linda Ronstadt and Kathryn Harrold), Brooks married in his late 40s and became a father in his 50s. He died as a result of a lung ailment in Santa Monica, California. He continued his voice over work in Disney and Pixar's Finding Nemo as the voice of Marlin the clown fish. He continued working regularly and gave his final performance in Pretty Woman ( 1990). He also won accolades in Out of Sight (1999) and My First Mister (2001) and has appeared as a guest voice on The Simpsons four times during its run. In 1984 he was presented with a Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild, and in 1987 received an Honorary Academy Award "for his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting.". In James Brooks's Broadcast News (1987), Albert won an Oscar nomination as an insecure, supremely ethical network TV reporter.

An Emmy Award nomination for the mini-series The Winds of War (1983), and a role as a conniving billionaire alongside Don Ameche in Trading Places (also 1983) brought him back into the limelight. Brooks also continued acting in other people's films during the 1980s and 1990s. He appeared in Sunrise at Campobello (1960) and Rosemary's Baby (1968) before turning to television during the seventies. The Muse (1999) presented Brooks as a down-and-out Hollywood screenwriter using the services of an authentic Greek muse (Sharon Stone) for inspiration. Highly regarded within the industry, he served four years as President of Actor's Equity. Mother (1997) starred Brooks as a middle-aged writer moving back home to resolve his tensions with Mom (Debbie Reynolds). He played detective Ellery Queen in a few films during the forties, but as his film career had not progressed, he returned to the stage, where he continued to perform throughout the fifties. Critics responded to the offbeat premise and recognized Brooks and the comedic performance from Meryl Streep as his post-death love interest.

He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Awful Truth (1937) and played a similar role in His Girl Friday (1940). Defending Your Life (1991) placed Brooks's lead character in the afterlife, put on trial to justify his human failings and to determine his cosmic fate. In 1931 he made his film debut and worked constantly throughout the thirties, establishing himself as a capable supporting actor. The movie has several bravura scenes, including Brooks' unsuccessful negotiations with Vegas casino owner Garry Marshall as well as his "nest egg" monologue. He began his acting career on stage, and by 1927 owned his own theatre company. His best-received film, Lost in America (1985), featured Brooks and Julie Hagerty as a couple who ditch their yuppie lifestyle to live in a motor home, only to find the disadvantages of poverty. Bellamy was born in Chicago, Illinois. In Modern Romance Brooks played as a film editor desperate to win back his ex-girlfriend.

Ralph Bellamy (June 17, 1904 - November 29, 1991) was an American actor. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Brooks would co-write (with longtime collaborator Monica Johnson), direct, and star in a series of moderately-successful comedies, playing variants on his standard neurotic and self-obsessed character. Real Life was a witty sendup of PBS's An American Family documentary, in which Brooks obnoxiously films a typical suburban family in an effort to win not just an Oscar, but a Nobel Prize. Brooks directed his first feature film, Real Life, in 1979. Brooks also made a brief cameo in Goldie Hawn's Private Benjamin (1980).

He then directed six short films for the first season of NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1975 and appeared in his first film, opposite Cybill Shepherd in Scorsese's landmark Taxi Driver (Scorcese allowed Brooks to improvise much of his dialogue). After two successful comedy albums, Brooks left the standup circuit to try his hand as a filmmaker; his first film was a satiric short The Famous Comedians School which appeared on PBS and was an early example of the mockumentary comedy sub-genre. Brooks's onstage persona of an egotistical, nervous comic influenced such other comedians as Steve Martin, Martin Mull, and Andy Kaufman. To break into acting Albert attended Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, then changed his surname and began a standup career which quickly made him a staple on variety and talk shows during the late '60s/early '70s.

Albert grew up among showbiz royalty in southern California, attending high school with Carl Reiner's son Rob and Joey Bishop's son Larry. His father, Harry Einstein, was known as Parkyarkarkus, a Greek dialect comedian who performed on Eddie Cantor's radio program. He was born Albert Einstein in Los Angeles, California. Albert Brooks (born July 22, 1947) is an actor, comedian, and director.