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Biography
As Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood—a performance which earned him an Oscar
Barbara Bain, Catherine Schell and Martin Landau in Space: 1999 (1976)
Landau was born to a Jewish family 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. A few years later, after turning down the role of Mr. 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 Bain 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.
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 Best Supporting Actor award in 1994 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.
Selected TV
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)
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)
Sliver (1993)
Eye of the Stranger (1993)
Intersection (1994)
Ed Wood (1994) (Academy Award winner, Best Supporting Actor)
The X Files (1998)
Rounders (1998)
The Joyriders (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Majestic (2001)
Hollywood Homicide (2003)
