Top 10 Facts about Ross Martin

Ross Martin. Photo By Arnold Carr. Wikimedia.

Top 10 Facts about Ross Martin

Ross Martin was an American radio, voice, stage, film and television actor.

Martin acted as  Artemus Gordon on the CBS Western series The Wild Wild West, which aired from 1965 to 1969,   very famous.

He also co-starred with Richard Haydn, Louise Sorel and Leslie Nielsen in the famed series The Return of Charlie Chan as detective Charlie Chan.

He was the voice of Doctor Paul Williams in 1972’s Sealab 2020, additional characters in 1973’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids.

1.He was Born To a Polish Jewish Family

Martin was born in March 22, 1920, to a Polish Jewish family in Gródek, Poland.

Together with his parents they immigrated to New York City when he was an infant.

For his parents to be able to travel, they were recorded as Izak and Sara Rosenblat and infant son Mercus.

In 1920, they boarded the steamship New Rochelle at Danzig, and after 18 days they arrived at the Port of New York.

They settled in The Bronx, and Martin could only spoke Polish, Yiddish and some Russian before learning English. Later on he learnt French, Spanish and Italian added an advantage to his career.

Martin attended City College of New York, where he graduated magna cum laude, then earned a law degree from the National University School of Law.

2.He Was a Family Man

Martin married his first wife, Muriel Weiss, in 1941, and They had a daughter, Phyllis Rosenblatt, a New York artist.

Weiss died from cancer in 1965, although were separated at the time of her death.

In 1967, Martin married Olavee Lucile Parsons, a successful model and documentary director.

He adopted her two children, Rebecca Martin Schacht and George Martin. 

Martin and Parsons remained married until Martin’s death in 1981 and while she died in 2002.

3.He Build a Career in Acting despite Being Trained in Business and law

Despite academic training in business, instruction, and law, Martin chose a career in acting.

He was partners in a comedy team with Bernie West, an American television writer, for several years.

He has appeared on many radio and live TV broadcasts, including playing Wyatt Earp on January 20^th, 1952 episode of The Gabby Hayes Show.

In 1953, he made his Broadway debut in Hazel Flagg.

4.He First Appeared in  George Pals’ 1955 Film ‘Conquest of Space’

Martin’s first film was the George Pal 1955 production Conquest of Space.

It was followed by a brief but memorable appearance in The Colossus of New York, as the scientist father of Charles Herbert.

In 1959, Martin appeared in the episode “Echo” on Alcoa Presents, One Step Beyond.

 He also appeared in two 1959 episodes of David Janssen’s crime drama series, Richard Diamond, Private Detective.

Blake Edwards acknowledged his talent and casted him number of widely roles such as Sal in Peter Gunn episode “The Fuse”, his breakout role as the comic sidekick Andamo in CBS drama series Mr. Lucky.

He also casted the asthmatic kidnapper Red Lynch in the 1962 thriller Experiment in Terror, culminating with a role in The Great Race, as the smoothly villainous Baron Rolfe Von Stuppe.

 He was also a regular on Stump the Stars from 1962.

5.Became Famous When he Acted As  Artemus Gordon on The series The Wild Wild West. 

An Image of a TV Screen showing The Wild Wild West. Photo by sfsite.com. Wikimedia.

 Martin created most of his disguises for the show, and most of the cast had no idea what he would look like until seeing him during the shooting of the episode.

In 1968, Martin broke his leg and then suffered a near-fatal heart attack, forcing The Wild Wild West to replace him with other actors, including Charles Aidman, William Schallert and Alan Hale Jr for nine episodes.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, for the fourth and final season of The Wild Wild West.

Due to national controversy over violence on television, The Wild Wild series was cancelled in 1969.

6.He Continued with His Acting Career in Various Guest Roles

After The Wild Wild West Series Ended, Martin appeared as  Alexander Hamilton in the NBC television special Swing Out, Sweet Land, hosted by John Wayne.

In the same year, he appeared in an episode of The Immortal, White Elephants Don’t Grow on Trees.

He has also made a guest appearance on Barnaby Jones in 1974, and also lent his voice to an episode of Wait Till Your Father Gets Home later that year.

7.He Directed His First Film in 1971

In 1971, he starred an episode of Columbo, suitable for Framing, as Dale Kingstone, a murderous art critic.

In the same years, he directed episode of love, American Style. He also directed another episode of the series in 1973.

8.He Starred in ‘The Return of Charlie Chan’

 Later in 1973 he co-starred as a famed Asian detective Charlie Chan in The Return of Charlie Chan directed by Darl Luke, where Charlie Chan investigates a murder case aboard the yacht of a wealthy Greek shipping tycoon.

9.He Voiced Doctor Williams and Has Been Used To Animate Other Series

He was the voice of Doctor Paul Williams in 1972’s Sealab 2020, an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 1972, on Saturday mornings.

In 1973’s Butch Cassidy and Sundance kids, he was a main character and it was broadcasted on NBC.

9.His Voice Has Been Used To Animate Other Series

He has also lent his voice to an episode of Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, an American comedy animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It was aired in first-run syndication in the United States from 1972 to 1974.

In 1978, he did more voice work for the animated series Jana of the Jungle, an American animated television series created by comic strip artist Doug Wildey and was aired on NBC in 1978.

10.He Died of Heart Attack

Entrance of Mount Sinai Memorial Park where Ross Martin Body was Interred. Photo by MSP(Mount Sinai Memorial Park).Wikimedia.

On July 3, 1981, Martin suffered a fatal heart attack after a game of tennis at San Vincente Tennis Ranch, San Diego County Club of Ramona, California.

He was rushed to the Pomerado Hospital in Poway, California, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

He is interred in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.