Martin Landau
Martin Landau (born
June 20,
1931) is an
Academy Award-winning
American film and
television actor. He is perhaps most well known for his roles in the
television series Mission: Impossible (
1966 -
1969) and
Space: 1999 (
1975 -
1977). He received a
Golden Globe award in 1969 for his performance in the former. In 1968 and 1969 he received
Emmy award nominations for best actor in a dramatic series for his
Mission: Impossible work.
Landau was born in
Brooklyn, New York[
1], and at the age of 17 began working as a
cartoonist for the
New York Daily News, but influenced by
Charlie Chaplin and the escapism of the cinema, he pursued becoming an actor. He attended the
Actors Studio in the same class with
Steve McQueen and in
1957, Landau made his Broadway debut in
Middle of the Night. Encouraged by his mentor
Lee Strasberg, Landau also taught acting. Some of the actors he has coached include
Jack Nicholson and
Anjelica Huston.
In 1959, Landau made his first major film appearance in
Alfred Hitchcock's,
North by Northwest. A few years later, after turning down the role of
Spock in
Star Trek, Landau took the role of master of disguise Rollin Hand in
Mission: Impossible, becoming one of that show's best-known stars. He co-starred in the series with his then-wife,
Barbara Bain, and the two left after the third season due to a salary dispute.
In the mid-1970s, Landau and Barbara Bain, teamed with
Barry Morse, returned to television in the
British science fiction series,
Space: 1999. Although it remains a cult classic, the series was critically derided during its run and was cancelled after two seasons; Landau himself became very critical of the show's scripts and storylines near the end, but praised the cast and crew. He wrote the Foreword for
Barry Morse's 2006 theatrical memoir
Remember With Advantages.
After
Space: 1999, Landau appeared in supporting roles in a number of films and TV shows of varying quality, including
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (which again co-starred Bain).
In the late 1980s, Landau staged a major career comeback by winning an
Academy Award nomination for his role in
Tucker: The Man and His Dream. He later received a second nomination for
Crimes and Misdemeanors and won the 1994
Best Supporting Actor award for his uncanny portrayal of
Bela Lugosi in
Ed Wood. Upon accepting the award he was visibly frustrated by the orchestra's attempt to cut short his speech. When the music level raised, he pounded his fist on the podium and yelled "No!"
He has two daughters, Susan and
Juliet, from his marriage to Barbara Bain. Landau and Bain married in
1957 and divorced in
1993.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Martin Landau has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6841 Hollywood Blvd.
The Twilight Zone:"
Mr. Denton on Doomsday" (1959)
The Outer Limits: "
The Man Who Was Never Born" (1963)
The Outer Limits: "
The Bellero Shield" (1964)
Mission: Impossible (1966-69) TV Series
Space: 1999 (1975-77) TV Series
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981)
By Dawn's Early Light (1990)
Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (1999)
The Evidence (2006)
Pork Chop Hill (1959)
North by Northwest (1959)
Cleopatra (1963)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970)
Meteor (1979)
*The Fall of the House of Usher (1982)
*Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
*Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
*Sliver (1993)
*Eye of the Stranger (1993)
*Intersection (1994)
*Ed Wood (1994) (Academy Award winner, Best Supporting Actor)
*Joseph (1995)
BAPS (1997)
The X Files (1998)
Rounders (1998)
Ready to Rumble (1999)
The Joyriders (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Majestic (2001)
Hollywood Homicide (2003)
