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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, playing the role of mission specialist Rollin Hand. In 1968 and 1969 he received Emmy award nominations for best actor in a dramatic series for his Mission: Impossible work. In 1994 he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the critically acclaimed movie Ed Wood, having already received two previous Oscar nominations.

Biography

Landau was born in Brooklyn, New York, 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 at the age of 28. 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 the 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 due to its high production design values, 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, especially during its second season, but praised the cast and crew. He wrote forewords for Barry Morse's 2006 theatrical memoir Remember With Advantages and for Jim Smith's critical biography of Tim Burton.

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 later stated that he had intended to thank Lugosi and dedicate the award to him and his frustration was that he didn't get to mention the man whom he had been honoured for playing.)

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.

In 2006, Landau made a guest appearance on the TV series Entourage, playing a washed-up, but determined and sympathetic, Hollywood producer attempting to relive his glory days.

In 1998, news reports surfaced that claimed Martin Landau had died. These reports turned out not to be true. In 2002, news reports again claimed that Landau had died. These reports also turned out to be false.

Selected TV

• 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)
• 12:01 (1993)
• Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (1999)
• Without a Trace (2002?)
• The Evidence (2006)
• Entourage (2006)

Selected films

• 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)
• Empire State (1992)
• Sliver (1993)
• Eye of the Stranger (1993)
• Intersection (1994)
• Ed Wood (1994) (Academy Award winner, Best Supporting Actor)
• Joseph (1995)
• B*A*P*S (1997)
• The X Files (1998)
• Rounders (1998)
• Ready to Rumble (1999)
• The Joyriders (1999)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• The Majestic (2001)
• Hollywood Homicide (2003)
• Love Made Easy (2006)
• Harrison Montgomery (2007)

External links

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