An Oscar-winning character actor who got his start in 1951, making his stage debut in Detective Story at the 'Peaks Island Playhouse' in Maine. He made his off-Broadway debut that same year in First Love. He auditioned for Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio in 1955; alongside 2000 other people. Only he and Steve McQueen were accepted.
Martin is most known for his work on the 1966 television series Mission: Impossible, in which his characterization was so well
received and so popular with the audience that he received Emmy nominations as "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" for each of the three seasons he appeared, and in 1968, he won the Golden Globe award as "Best Male TV Star."
In addition, he has also appeared in many other television series, such as: The Outer Limits, Star Trek, In the Heat of the Night, and of course, Gunsmoke, which earned him the prestigious Silver Spur award in 2015.
Portraying Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994), earned him the “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar, as well as his third Golden Globe, and top honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. Martin was looking forward to a return visit to the 2017 Silver Spur Award Show. |