Profile of Ina Balin on Famous Like Me

Ina Balin (November 12, 1937 - June 20, 1990) was an American actress on Broadway and in film.

Born Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City, Balin first appeared on television in the 1950s Perry Como Show. She also did summer stock, which led to roles on Broadway and in 1959 she won the "Theatre World Award" for her performance in the Broadway comedy, "A Majority of One." That same year, she landed her first film role in The Black Orchid, starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn. A year later, Balin was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for her performance in From The Terrace.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she starred alongside many Hollywood notables, including Jerry Lewis, Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Lee Marvin, Paul Newman, Elvis Presley, Max von Sydow, John Wayne, Orson Welles, and Joanne Woodward. She had a secondary but major role in the 1965 film, In 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told and she co-starred with Elvis Presley in his 1969 film, Charro!. Balin also guest starred on dozens of television shows, including Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica, and Magnum, P.I..

In 1970, Balin toured Vietnam with the USO on the first of many trips to the war-torn region. In 1975, she aided in the evacuation of orphans during the fall of Saigon; eventually, she adopted three of these orphaned children. In 1980, she played herself in a made-for-television movie based on these experiences titled The Children of An Lac.

Ina Balin passed away in New Haven, Connecticut, from pulmonary hypertension brought on by coronary heart disease at the age of 52.

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