Iconic actor Martin Landau, whose career spanned over six decades, passed away at the age of 89. His representative says that he died from hypovolemic shock at Los Angeles’ Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Landau’s breakout role was Rollin Hand in the Mission: Impossible TV series. After the show ended, he found a successful career in films with acclaimed roles in Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Crimes and Misdemeanors, and Ed Wood, which finally earned him an Oscar win. In the 2000s, he earned three Emmy nominations for his work in Entourage and Without A Trace.
Landau also taught acting classes in between roles. One of his students was three-time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson. In a New York Times interview, Nicholson said, “The reason I’m a good actor is because Martin Landau put me through a series of exercises for three years before I could do them.”
Upon hearing about his death, Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette, who starred with him in Ed Wood, stated, “Working with Martin Landau on Ed Wood was a joy. What a talented, sweet generous actor.” Actor Orlando Jones shared a picture that Landau drew for him with the caption, “He took me under wing. He touched my heart. I swore to pay it forward.”
Earlier this year, Landau attended the premiere of The Last Poker Game. This was the final film released before his death. He’s set to appear in the upcoming films Without Ward and Nate and Al, and he’ll be in the documentaries Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age and Lunch with Archer King, which are both slated for a 2018 release. He’ll also be the subject of his own documentary called An Actor’s Actor: The Life of Martin Landau. He leaves behind two daughters from his marriage to former Mission: Impossible co-star Barbara Bain: film director Susan Landau Finch and Buffy actress Juliet Landau.
