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(1931– ). American actor.
The early years of Martin Landau are not a pretty sight. Despite
training at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and a youthful friendship
with James Dean, Landau's serious expression and sharp features initially
usually doomed him to be typecast as a vaguely foreign villain, most
conspicuously in Alfred HITCHCOCK's North by Northwest, the sort of role that
demands little in the way of acting skills. About the only time he
was able to distinguish himself was in an episode of The Outer Limits, "The Man Who Was Never Born," where he managed to
be remarkably sympathetic even when buried underneath some of the
most hideous makeup ever created for the series. At this point, Gene
RODDENBERRY reportedly wanted him to play
Mr. Spock on his new series, Star Trek, and he probably would have worn the Vulcan ears with distinction;
however, the part went to another young Jewish actor, Leonard NIMOY.
Instead, success finally came to Landau only when his wife landed
a regular role in another new series, Mission:
Impossible, and she was able to arrange for her husband to make
some regular guest appearances as Rollin Hand, master of disguise.
The character proved so popular that he was able to negotiate a lucrative
contract to be a regular star for the next two seasons. Still, while
visibly intelligent and competent, he was not particularly warm, and
the cost-conscious producers decided (correctly) that having him leave
in a salary dispute would not unduly harm the series; and, in a sort
of turnaround, Nimoy was immediately hired as his more than satisfactory
replacement. Landau's departure did force his wife to give up the
best role she had ever had, and many observers undoubtedly thought
that was she crazy to stick with this loser instead of tending to
the interests of her own career, which at that point seemed infinitely
more promising.
A desire to keep working together then led Landau and Bain into
the clutches of Gerry ANDERSON
and Sylvia ANDERSON
and the infamous debacle of Space:
1999. Miscast as the commander of Earth's errant Moon inanely
careening through the galaxy, Landau did his best to channel William
SHATNER as a passionate, involved leader,
but an army of Shatners couldn't have saved this supremely silly series.
Landau's fortunes subsequently continued to decline, with low points
that included the television movie The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island and an execrable horror
movie, The Being. Probably
feeling bitter about how Hollywood was treating him, he must have
relished the opportunity to play a film worker seeking revenge against
unscrupulous bosses in an episode of Alfred
Hitchcock Presents, "Final Twist," and when he was reduced to
appearing in a Fred Olen RAY movie, Cyclone, one might have reasonably concluded
that his acting career was essentially over.
It is at this point that something remarkable happened: Landau was
rediscovered as a capable and appealing "character actor" and he started
to land choice roles in major films like Tucker:
The Man and His Dream (1988) and Woody ALLEN's Crimes
and Misdemeanors (1989). With wrinkles in his face and some gray
in his hair, Landau suddenly seemed charming and lovable, and he proved
especially impressive playing Bela LUGOSI
in Tim BURTON's otherwise uninteresting Ed Wood, earning an Academy Award as the
year's Best Supporting Actor. However, these Indian Summers in an
actor's life never last forever, and Landau's more recent efforts
have received less critical acclaim: two routine portrayals of Pinocchio's
foster father Geppetto, a solid contribution to the film version of
The X-Files, an uncredited
cameo in Burton's Sleepy Hollow, and several appearances in nostalgic documentaries.
But if the Internet Movie Database is to be believed, Landau is now
slated to appear in two forthcoming films and a new television series,
and this better-than-ever actor, now in his seventies, may still be
able to awe viewers with another stunning performance, even as his
ex-wife Bain stagnates in semi-retirement. Life isn't fair.
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