Martin Landau Net Worth

What Was Martin Landau's Net Worth?

Martin Landau was an American actor, producer, and acting coach who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2017. Martin Landau started as a cartoonist but later quit for theater acting. He won numerous awards for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi in the 1994 film "Ed Wood," and he played Rollin Hand on the CBS series "Mission: Impossible" (1966–1969), Commander John Koenig on ITV's "Space: 1999" (1975–1977), and Dr. Sol Gold on the ABC police procedural "The Evidence" (2006). Martin had more than 170 acting credits to his name, including the films "North by Northwest" (1959), "Cleopatra" (1963), "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965), "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!" (1970), "Alone in the Dark" (1982), "Treasure Island" (1985), "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1988), "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989), and "The Majestic" (2001), the TV movies "Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol" (1972), "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1979), "Kung Fu: The Movie" (1986), "The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" (1987), "Max and Helen" (1990), "By Dawn's Early Light" (1990), and "Legacy of Lies" (1992), and the television series "Without a Trace" (2004–2009),  and "Entourage" (2006–2008).

Landau lent his voice to the films "1860!" (1949), "Legend of the Spirit Dog" (1997), "1860 II" (2003), "9" (2009), and "Frankenweenie" (2012) and the television series "Spider-Man" (1995–1996) and "The Simpsons" (2011). He produced the films "Prank" (2000), "An Existential Affair" (2006), "Lovely, Still" (2008), and "Bachelor Trip" (2012) and the TV movie "Take Me to Broadway" (2011). Martin was also an acting teacher who coached actors such as Anjelica Huston and Jack Nicholson. Landau died of hypovolemic shock on July 15, 2017, at the age of 89.

Early Life

Martin Landau was born Martin James Landau on June 20, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of Jewish parents, Selma Buchman and Morris Landau, and his father, a machinist, was born in Austria and attempted to rescue family members from the Nazis. Martin graduated from James Madison High School in 1946, then he studied at Pratt Institute. He later took a job at the "New York Daily News," spending five years working as an editorial cartoonist. Landau and Gus Edson produced a comic strip called "The Gumps" during this time. Martin left the newspaper at the age of 22 to focus on stage acting. He auditioned for the Actors Studio in the mid-1950s, and out of 500 applicants, only Landau and Steve McQueen were accepted. There, Martin trained under Elia Kazan, Lee Strasberg, and Harold Clurman, and befriended James Dean. Landau was eventually made an executive director of the Actors Studio.

(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Career

In the early years of his career, Martin  guest-starred on television series such as "The Goldbergs" (1953), "The Plainclothesman" (1954), and "Omnibus" (1955). After appearing in the 1957 Broadway play "Middle of the Night," he made his film debut in 1959's "Pork Chop Hill." Landau then co-starred with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock-directed film "North by Northwest," and he followed it with "The Gazebo" (1959), "Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock" (1962), "Cleopatra" (1963), "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965), and "Nevada Smith" (1966). From 1966 to 1969, he starred as Rollin Hand on "Mission: Impossible," which won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Dramatic Series in 1967 and 1968 and a Golden Globe for Television Series – Drama in 1968. Next, Martin appeared in the films "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!" (1970), "A Town Called Bastard" (1971), "Strange Shadows in an Empty Room" (1976), "The Last Word" (1979), "The Return" (1980), "Alone in the Dark" (1982), "Treasure Island" (1985), and "Empire State" (1987), and he won a Golden Globe for his performance as Abe Karatz in 1988's "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" and earned Academy Award nominations that film and 1989's "Crimes and Misdemeanors." He starred in the TV movies "Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol" (1972), "Savage" (1973), "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1979), "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" (1981), "Kung Fu: The Movie" (1986), and "The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" (1987), and from 1975 to 1977, he played John Koenig on "Space: 1999."

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

In the '90s, Landau appeared in the films "No Place to Hide" (1993), "Time Is Money" (1994), "City Hall" (1996), "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1996), "B*A*P*S" (1997), "The X-Files" (1998), "Rounders" (1998), "EDtv" (1999), "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), and "Carlo's Wake" (1999) and the TV movies "Max and Helen" (1990), "By Dawn's Early Light" (1992), and "Legacy of Lies" (1992). He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of actor Bela Lugosi in the 1994 Tim Burton-directed film "Ed Wood." From 2004 to 2009, he had a recurring role as Frank Malone on the CBS series "Without a Trace," which earned him two Primetime Emmy nominations. Around this time, Martin also appeared in the films "Hollywood Homicide" (2003), "Love Made Easy" (2006), "David & Fatima" (2008), "Lovely, Still" (2008), "Harrison Montgomery" (2008), and "City of Ember" (2008), and he co-starred with Jim Carrey in 2001's "The Majestic." He played Bob Ryan in four episodes of HBO's "Entourage" from 2006 to 2008, and he reprised his role in the 2015 film of same name. In 2006, Landau starred as Dr. Sol Gold on the ABC series " The Evidence," then he appeared in the films "The Red Maple Leaf" (2016), "Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game" (2017), and "Without Ward" (posthumously released in 2022, a decade after it was filmed), and he portrayed J. Howard Marshall II in "The Anna Nicole Story" (2013) and Rulon Jeffs in "Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs" (2014).

Personal Life

Martin married actress Barbara Bain on January 31, 1957, and they welcomed daughters Juliet and Susan together before divorcing in 1993. Landau and Bain co-starred on "Mission: Impossible" and "Space: 1999" during their marriage. Susan is a film producer, and Juliet is an actress best known for playing Drusilla on the supernatural TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel."

Getty Images

Death

Martin died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on July 15, 2017, at the age of 89. His death certificate listed hypovolemic shock as the primary cause of death, and intra-abdominal hemorrhage, metabolic acidosis, and diffuse atherosclerotic vascular disease were also listed on the document. Landau was laid to rest at the Beth David Cemetery, which is located in Elmont, New York.

Awards and Nominations

Landau earned three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning for "Ed Wood" in 1995. His other nominations were for "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1989) and "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1990). He won Golden Globes for "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" and "Ed Wood" as well as a Best TV Star – Male award for "Mission: Impossible" (1968). "Ed Wood" also earned Martin awards from the American Comedy Awards, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, National Society of Film Critics Awards, New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Saturn Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Society of Texas Film Critics Awards. He received six Primetime Emmy nominations: Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series for "Mission: Impossible" (1967, 1968, and 1969), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for "Without a Trace" (2004 and 2005), and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for "Entourage" (2007).

Landau won a CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for "Legacy of Lies" in 1993, and he was nominated in that category for "By Dawn's Early Light" in 1991. He also earned a CableACE Award nomination for Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for "Max and Helen" in 1991. In 2016, Martin and his "The Red Maple Leaf" co-stars won an award for Outstanding Cast Performance – Feature at the Action on Film International Film Festival. Landau received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the San Diego World Film Festival (1998), California Independent Film Festival (2002), Method Fest (2005), and Chicago International Film Festival (2009), and he was honored with the Berlin International Film Festival's Berlinale Camera (1990), the Santa Monica Film Festival's Moxie! Tribute Award (2001), the Satellite Awards' Mary Pickford Award (2006), and the Israel Film Festival's Career Achievement Award (2013). In 2001, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Motion Picture category.

Read more: Martin Landau Net Worth