Home. I have no home. Hunted...despised... living like an animal -- the jungle is my home! But I will show the world that I can be its master. I shall perfect my own race of people -- a race of atomic supermen that will conquer the world!
Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi - Ed Wood (1994)
Martin Landau was born June 20th, 1931 in
Brooklyn,
New York. Switching careers from staff
cartoonist, a post he held at the
New York Daily News, the veteran
character actor was one of two people chosen in 1955 to attend the prestigious
Lee Strasberg Actors Studio. Out of the field of 2000 applicants, only fellow actor
Steve McQueen qualified with him.
Landau was a hot commodity in the early days of
live television. Most major networks shot
live from
Manhattan studios, and Landau had little trouble finding work. He had roles on such classic
television series as
Gunsmoke,
Maverick,
Rawhide,
The Twilight Zone,
The Outer Limits,
I Spy, The
Wild Wild West,
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,
Get Smart, and
the Untouchables. Martin landed a role on
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and caught the eye of Hitchcock himself, who cast him in his breakout
cinematic role playing
James Mason's henchman in
North by Northwest. After playing
Rufio in
Cleopatra, Landau landed a recurring role on
Mission: Impossible. From 1966 until leaving the series in 1969, he portrayed
Rollin Hand, a
master of disguise who specialized in impersonation.
Barbra Bain, Landau's wife, also starred along side him in the series as
Cinnamon Carter. In 1975, the couple worked together again as the leads in
Space: 1999, a popular
syndicated sci-fi series. Landau played Commander John Koenig in the series which was short lived but destined for
cult status. During this time, Landau continued his work on the
silver screen. After 35 years of marriage, the pair
divorced in 1987.
Editors Note:
On July 15, 2017, Landau died at the age of 89 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, Los Angeles, California; he had been briefly hospitalized.
Two consecutive
Oscar nominations, the first for
Francis Ford Coppola's
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), and the second for
Woody Allen's
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) marked a decided upswing in Landau's career. He finally won an
Academy Award for his stunningly touching portrayal of an aged
Bela Lugosi in
Tim Burton's 1994
Ed Wood. Since his win, he continues to play varied roles, even voicing the villainous
Scorpion in the recent
Spider-Man animated series. He was given a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in December, 2001 for his work in
The Majestic, and is dabbling in executive producing, as he did in
An Existential Affair, a film in which he also played a role.
Filmography
Walk Two Moons (2004) (pre-production) .... Grandpa
Commission, The (2003) (completed) .... Senator Richard Russell
Hollywood Homicide (2003) .... Jerry Duran
Existential Affair, An (2002) .... Doctor
Wake (2002) .... Older Sebastian
Majestic, The (2001) .... Harry Trimble
Shiner (2000) .... Frank Spedding
Very Mean Men (2000) .... Mr. White
Ready to Rumble (2000/I) .... Sal Bandini
Carlo's Wake (1999) .... Carlo Torello
Sleepy Hollow (1999) (uncredited) .... Peter Van Garrett
New Adventures of Pinocchio, The (1999) .... Geppetto
Joyriders, The (1999) .... Gordon Trout
Edtv (1999) .... Al
Rounders (1998) .... Abe Petrovsky
X Files, The (1998) .... Alvin Kurtzweil, M.D.
Legend of the Spirit Dog (1997) (voice) .... Storyteller
B*A*P*S (1997) .... Mr. Blakemore
Elevator, The (1996)
Adventures of
Pinocchio, The (1996) ....
Gepetto, the Puppet Mason
City Hall (1996) .... Judge Walter Stern
Color of Evening, The (1994) .... Max Loeb
Time Is Money (1994) .... Mac
Ed Wood (1994) .... Bela Lugosi
Intersection (1994) .... Neal
Eye of the Stranger (1993) .... Mayor Howard Bains
Sliver (1993) .... Alex Parsons
No Place to Hide (1993) .... Frank McCoy
Mistress (1992) .... Jack Roth
Firehead (1991) .... Adm. Pendleton
Real Bullets (1990) .... Sallini
Paint It Black (1989) .... Daniel Lambert
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) .... Judah Rosenthal
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) .... Abe Karatz/Voice of Walter Winchell on radio
Cyclone (1987) .... Bosarian
Delta Fever (1987) .... Bud
Empire State (1987) .... Chuck
Run If You Can (1987)
Sweet Revenge (1987) .... Cicero
W.A.R.: Women Against Rape (1987) .... Judge Shaw
Return of the
Six-Million-Dollar Man and the
Bionic Woman, The (1987) (TV) .... Lyle Stenning
Kung Fu: The Movie (1986) (TV) .... John Martin Perkins III
Treasure Island (1985) .... Old Captain
Access Code (1984)
Trial by Terror (1983)
Being, The (1983) .... Garson Jones
Alone in the Dark (1982) .... Byron 'Preacher' Sutcliff
Fall of the House of Usher, The (1982) (TV) .... Roderick Usher
Harlem Globetrotters on
Gilligan's Island, The (1981) (TV) .... J.J. Pierson
Return, The (1980) .... Niles Buchanan
Without Warning (1980) .... Fred 'Sarge' Dobbs
Last Word, The (1979) .... Garrity
Meteor (1979) .... Major Gen. Adlon
.44 Special (1976) .... Dr. George Tracer
Black Gunn (1972) .... Capelli
Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972) (TV) .... Johnny Bristol
Town Called Hell, A (1971) .... The Colonel
Rosolino Paternò: Soldato... (1970) .... Joe Mellone
... aka Operation Snafu (1970)
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) .... Reverend Logan Sharpe
Nevada Smith (1966) .... Jesse Coe
Hallelujah Trail, The (1965) .... Chief Walks-Stooped-Over
Greatest Story Ever Told, The (1965) .... Caiaphas
Decision at Midnight (1963)
Cleopatra (1963) .... Rufio
Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock (1962) .... Dade Coleman
Gazebo, The (1959) .... The Duke
North by Northwest (1959) .... Leonard
Pork Chop Hill (1959) .... Lt. Marshall
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