Monday, July 17, 2017

Martin Landau, 1928-2017, R.I.P.


Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau has died at the age of eighty-nine.

Landau's long career as an actor began in the mid-1950s. He had a notable supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest. He went on to play master of disguise Rollin Hand in TV's Mission: Impossible in the late 1960s, and following that, he and then-wife Barbara Bain co-starred in Space: 1999. He deservedly won an Academy Award for his remarkable performance as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. And obviously, I've left out a lot!

Now I'll (mostly) shut up and fill the rest of this tribute with photos!

His Oscar-winning role as Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's Ed Wood, 1994.

With James Mason in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 classic, North by Northwest.

In Space: 1999, a show that, believe it or not, I never watched!


With Peter Graves and then-wife Barbara Bain in Mission: Impossible.

With Jeff Bridges and Lloyd Bridges in 1988's Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Landau
played the part of Abe Karatz, and received his first Oscar nomination for this movie.

 With Woody Allen in 1989's Crimes and Misdemeanors. Landau
won his second Oscar nomination for his role as Judah Rosenthal.


In Ed Wood, where Landau appeared with George "The Animal" Steele,
Juliet Landau (Yes, that's Martin Landau's daughter!), and Johnny Depp.

With buddy James Dean.

With Steven Hill in the first season of Mission: Impossible.

As Geppetto in The Adventures of Pinocchio, 1996.

With most of the cast of Ed Wood.

Thanks for your time.

14 comments:

  1. I loved him in Ed Wood. That movie is so funny, but touching.

    Love,
    Janie

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    Replies
    1. It was a great film, even though they played with a lot of the historical details.

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    2. They did indeed. My daughter and I saw one of Ed Wood's movies on TV. It was unbelievably bad.

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    3. I own several films he directed, and a couple that he wrote or co-wrote. None of them were very good. But in his biopic, you couldn't help getting caught up in his enthusiasm as he made such truly crappy films.

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  2. Another great bites the dust. He was excellent as Bela Lugosi. I watched him Ace 1999 and I wonder if he liked to have people remember that tv show. He was also quite good in the film Remember with Christopher Plummer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd be a fan of his if he'd done nothing but Lugosi.

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  3. Landau was definitely a talent to remember. And we lost George Romero on the same day! The creative crowd is starting to thin out even more!

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  4. Him and Romero sure are two that did some great work. Seen him in a lot. Sure had quite the career.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It may astound my readers to learn that I've never seen any of Romero's zombie films. I did manage to see Monkey Shines.

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  5. One of those people who were so talented that they showed up in most everything you ever watched, but blended into the story so well that you seldom noticed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, much like the late John Heard, subject of an upcoming post.

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