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Zimbalist, Efrem Jr.

Born November 30, 1918;

New York City, New York, USA

Died May 2, 2014, 1994;
Solvang, California, USA

Maverick Actor

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is probably best known for his role as Inspector Lewis Erskine of The F.B.I. or Stuart Bailey of 77 Sunset Strip, but his first recurring television role was as the rogue Dandy Jim Buckley in Maverick.[1]

Maverick creator Roy Huggins intended Dandy Jim to be a counterpoint to Bret Maverick's character. Where Maverick was the "gentle grafter," Huggins imagined Buckley as the "all-out grafter." In many ways, Maverick and Buckley were alike. The difference was, Buckley had absolutely no conscience.[2]

Born to the famous violinist Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., Efrem Junior attended Yale University in the late 1930s and worked as a page for NBC Radio in New York City. He served in the U.S. Army for five years during World War II. After the war, he returned to New York as a stage actor and director.[1]

In 1956, he was put on contract with Warner Brothers Studios and moved to Hollywood. That same year, his daughter, Stephanie Zimbalist — best known for her role as Laura Holt on Remington Steele — was born.[1]

Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, he lent his voice as Alfred to the animated Batman, as well as other characters in several other animated DC Comics series.[3]