Robert Lawrence Balzer (June 25, 1912 – December 2, 2011) was a

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in the United States.

Early life

Balzer was born on June 25, 1912, in

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. At the age of 24, he was put in charge of the wine department of his family’s grocery/gourmet market in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He promoted wine in his customer

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and was asked by Will Rogers, Jr. to write a regular wine column in his local newspaper in 1937.

Career

In 1948, Robert Lawrence Balzer published ''California’s Best Wines'', marking the first of his eleven books. His writing on wine included articles for ''Travel Holiday'' magazine for over twenty years, a weekly column in the ''Los Angeles Times Magazine'' for three decades, and the ''Private Guide to Food and Wine''. He also hosted a daily radio program called ''A Word on Wine'' on Los Angeles’ KFAC station. His final book, ''Hollywood and Wine'', featured personal stories about his interactions with Hollywood celebrities and wine experts. In the 1950s, Balzer worked for

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while also producing propaganda for the US Information Service. After covering the coronation of Norodom Suramarit in March 1955, he was invited to stay for twelve days at the Wat Phrachumsagar temple in Cambodia, where he was ordained by Buddhist monk Bhante Dharmawara. Later, in 1955, Bhante Dharmawara was brought to the U.S. by the USIA. Balzer also worked on a similar assignment in Japan in late 1959, during a time of heightened tensions between Japan and the U.S. after the AMPO riots. He reported on Zen and the 101-year-old abbot of Hōkō-ji (Shizuoka), Shizan, in an effort to present a positive image of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In 1973, Balzer organized the New York Wine Tasting, which helped pave the way for the famous 1976

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, where French and Californian wines were compared. He brought together fourteen prominent wine experts for the event, including winemaker Alexis Lichine and wine merchant Sam Aaron. Balzer also played a role in overseeing the food and wine arrangements for the presidential inaugurations of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in 1981 and 1985, and for

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in 1989. He had friendships with several notable Hollywood figures, including

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

Olivia De Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...

, and

Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...

Selected books

*''California's Best Wines'' (1948) *''The Pleasures of Wine'' (1964) *''Balzer’s Book of Wines and Spirits'' (1973) *''Wines of California'' (1978)

Death

Balzer died on December 2, 2011, in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...

, at the age of 99 from natural causes.Robert Lawrence Balzer's obituary
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Legacy

In 2018, Christine Graham, a contributing editor to ''The Underground Wineletter'', published ''Hollywood and Wine — A Star Studded Life, The Robert Lawrence Balzer Story'' - a completed autobiography of Balzer.

References

External links

Wine Appreciation Guild

Cal Poly Pomona Special Collections on Robert Lawrence Balzer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balzer, Robert Lawrence 1912 births 2011 deaths California State Polytechnic University, Pomona alumni Wine writers American male journalists Writers from Des Moines, Iowa