Martin_E._Brooks

Martin E. Brooks

Martin E. Brooks

American actor (1925–2015)

Martin E. Brooks (born Martin Baum;[1] November 30, 1925 – December 7, 2015) was an American character actor known for playing scientist Rudy Wells in the television shows The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman,[citation needed] from 1975 onward. The role had very briefly been played by Martin Balsam and then by Alan Oppenheimer.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life

Brooks was born Martin Baum in The Bronx in New York City in 1925. When he was 10, he moved with his family to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[2] After high school, he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army, became a paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division and was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries received during World War II.[2] He attended Penn State University[2] and enrolled at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research in New York City.[3][4] He won the off-Broadway best actor award for his performance in Outside the Door and changed his name to Martin Brooks, following the advice of producer Richard Rodgers.[1][2]

Career

Acting

Theatre

In 1959, Brooks starred in Saul Levitt's hit play The Andersonville Trial with Brian Donlevy and Charles Durning.[2] He was very proud of his theatre work that included An Enemy of the People and I Am a Camera, as well as the actors with whom he appeared, including Julie Harris and Barbara Bel Geddes.[5] Brooks was also in John Steinbeck's Burning Bright as Victor with Kent Smith as Joe Saul, Barbara Bel Geddes as Mordeen, and Howard Da Silva as Friend Ed[6][7][8][9] which he had adapted from his 1950 novel of the same name.[10]

Television

In the 1950s, Brooks appeared in The Philco–Goodyear Television Playhouse.In the 1960s, he appeared in Combat!.[5] In the 1972–73 TV season, he had a recurring role as Deputy D.A. Chapman in McMillan & Wife.[11] In the fall of 1977, Brooks and Richard Anderson (as Oscar Goldman) became the first known actors to portray the same characters as regulars simultaneously on two different networks. NBC picked up The Bionic Woman after the series had been cancelled by ABC. ABC continued to air The Six Million Dollar Man. Brooks had, by that time, been promoted to series regular on both series. The unusual situation lasted only one season as the two series were cancelled by their respective networks in the spring of 1978.[11]

Brooks reprised the role of Wells in three television movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987), Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989) and Bionic Ever After? (1994). His other television roles include in Mike Snow in Hunter, Arthur Bradshaw in General Hospital,[1] Car 54, Where Are You?, Gunsmoke (“The Lure”-1967), Mission: Impossible, Night Gallery, Love, American Style, The Mod Squad,[11] and ten appearances as Edgar Randolph in the prime-time soap opera Dallas, playing a pivotal role in a story arc involving J.R. Ewing.[12] Brooks also guest-starred in an episode of The Silent Force in 1970.[13] He appeared in Knots Landing as Ted Burton in the 1990s.[5]

Writing

Brooks wrote two novels: Danny Brown and Roman Candle.[2] His play Flo and Joe was optioned for a Broadway production and received several workshop productions at the Actors Studio and at Theatre West.[2]

Personal life and death

According to Jon Landau, Brooks was the "soulmate" of Landau's mother, Edie, for over 20 years. They were friends as children and reconnected in 1993 after her husband died.[1] Brooks was friends with Charles Durning when they met in 1959 in Saul Levitt's hit play The Andersonville Trial until Durning's death in 2012.[2]

Brooks died on December 7, 2015, of natural causes at his home in Studio City in Los Angeles one week after his 90th birthday.[1][3]

Awards and honors

Brooks won the Theatre World Award and the Donaldson Award for his role in Burning Bright.[14]

Filmography

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Television

More information Year, Title ...

References

Notes

  1. ^ Credited as Martin Brooks.
  2. ^ Part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame series.
  3. ^ Uncredited.
  4. ^ Episodes were shown out of production order.
  5. ^ Episode was rerun on July 6, 1960.

Citations

  1. [1]
    Barnes, Mike (December 7, 2015). "Martin E. Brooks, Actor on 'The Six Million Dollar Man,' Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  2. [2]
    Dagan, Carmen (December 7, 2015). "Martin E. Brooks, Who Played Dr. Rudy Wells on 'Six Million Dollar Man,' Dies at 90". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  3. [3]
    Gettell, OLiver (December 7, 2015). "Martin E. Brooks, actor on Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman, dies at 90". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Time Inc. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  4. [4]
    Lentz III 2016, p. 43.
  5. [5]
    "Martin E. Brooks of 'Six Million Dollar Man,' 'Bionic Woman,' dies at 90". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Associated Press. December 8, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  6. [6]
    Billboard 1950a, p. 22.
  7. [7]
    Billboard 1950b, p. 59.
  8. [8]
    McElrath, Crisler & Shillinglaw 1996, p. 360.
  9. [9]
    Benson 1989, p. 286.
  10. [10]
    Steinbeck 1950, p. 3.
  11. [11]
    MeTV Staff (December 8, 2015). "R.I.P. MARTIN E. BROOKS". MeTV. Chicago: Weigel Broadcasting. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  12. [12]
    "Season Six". Dallas Episode Guide. Ultimate Dallas. 2003. Retrieved September 6, 2008.
  13. [13]
    The Classic TV Archive: The Silent Force
  14. [14]
    Rayne, Maja (December 7, 2015). "The Six Million Dollar Man Actor Martin E. Brooks Dies At 90: Report". People. United States: Time Inc. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  15. [15]
    "Johnny Gunman". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  16. [16]
    "Colossus: The Forbin Project". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  17. [17]
    Jones, D. F. (1966). Colossus: A Novel of Tomorrow That Could Happen Today. New York City: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ASIN B004V7DZ0U.
  18. [18]
    "The Man". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  19. [19]
    Wallace, Irving (1965). The Man (1st ed.). United Kingdom: Cassell. ASIN B004VMWH9A.
  20. [20]
    "Hallmark hall of fame. Joan of Arc". WorldCat. United States: Online Computer Library Center. September 7, 1952. OCLC 422934231.
  21. [21]
    Hemingway, Ernest (1929). A Farewell to Arms (The Hemingway Library published in 2012 ed.). New York City: Scribner. ISBN 978-1451658163.
  22. [22]
    Joshi 2007, p. 89.
  23. [23]
    "Television". Time. New York City: Time Inc. April 4, 1960. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2017. Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (NBC, 9-10 p.m.). The first of a series of classic mysteries adapted for TV. Mary Roberts Rinehart's The Bat stars Helen Hayes and Jason Robards Jr. Host: Joseph Welch.
  24. [24]
    "The Old Man Who Cried Wolf". Hollywood.com. Boca Raton, Florida: Hollywood.com, LLC. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  25. [25]
    Skelton & Benson 1998, p. 89.

Sources
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Martin_E._Brooks, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.