Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau has died.
A publicist confirmed that the 89-year-old passed away following a short hospitalization.
BREAKING: Publicist says Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau has died following short hospitalization. He was 89.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 17, 2017
The versatile actor’s career started in 1955 and spanned more than seven decades, but he really shot to fame with his 1959 role in Alfred Hitchcock’s film North by Northwest.
Landau was one of the better known stars on the CBS show Mission: Impossible despite only being on the show for three seasons.
After leaving the show in 1969 because of a contract dispute, he had a some career struggles before being picked to play alongside Jeff Bridges in Tucker: The Man and His Dream in the late 1980s.
He earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the performance and backed it up with another nomination for his role in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors the following year.
"The bottom line is a good actor can play many things." And Martin Landau was one of our greatest. #RIP pic.twitter.com/rmoIYNFulQ
— Tribeca (@Tribeca) July 17, 2017
Landau didn’t win either year, but finally earned himself an Oscar for Best Actor in 1994 for his performance in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood.
Landau also turned down the role of Mr. Spock in the NBC series Star Trek, which famously went to Leonard Nimoy instead.
The influential actor is survived by daughters Susie and Juliet, sons-in-law Roy and Deverill, sister Elinor, granddaughter Aria and godson Dylan.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
