Obituary: Martin Landau Oscar-Winner Actor Passes Away at 89

Martin Landau who won an Oscar for playing Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood has passed away. Landau whose credits include Crimes and Misdemeanors, Mission Impossible, North By Northwest died this weekend in Los Angeles.

Landau was nominated for three Oscar nominations, his first in Tucker: The Man and His Dream for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1989. He was nominated again the following year for Crimes and Misdemeanors, and he won Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood in 1995.

After appearing in numerous TV Shows, Landau made his feature film debut in 1959’s Pork Chop Hill. He starred opposite Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest and the rest is history.

Landau appeared in more than eighty episodes of Mission: Impossible as Rollin Hand. A magician and master impersonator when he joined the Impossible Missions Force.

Aside from his acclaimed TV and film work, Landau was also a guiding force in the Actors Studio and had been for over five decades. Originally encouraged by Lee Strasberg, Landau taught Jack Nicholson and Crimes and Misdemeanors co-star Anjelica Huston. He was serving as Artistic Director at the time of his passing.

Most recently, Landau appeared in The Last Poker Game.

Landau was writing his currently untitled memoir and a documentary about his life, An Actor’s Actor: The Life of Martin Landau is in production. He had also written the foreword to Life Magazine’s James Dean book.

He is survived by his daughters Susie Landau Finch and Juliet Landau, his sons-in-law Roy Finch and Deverill Weekes, former wife and co-star Barbara Bain.