Martin Landau (born June 20, 1931
[Martin Landau biography. Space1999.net]) is an
American film and television
actor. He is perhaps best 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 several awards, including the Best Supporting Actor
Oscar for his performance as actor
Bela Lugosi in
Ed Wood. He had already received two previous Oscar nominations.
Early life
Landau was born into a Jewish family in
Brooklyn,
New York, the son of Selma (
née Buchanan) and Morris Landau, an
Austrian-born
machinist.
[Martin Landau biography. Film Reference.com.][Pfefferman, Naomi. The ‘Majestic’ Martin Landau. Jewish Journal.com. 21 December 2001.] At the age of 17, he began working as a
cartoonist for the
Daily News, assisting
Gus Edson on
The Gumps comic strip during the 1940s and 1950s.
[Lindsey, Robert. "Martin Landau Rolls Up in a New Vehicle". The New York Times. 7 August 1988.]
