Strother Martin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Strother Martin
Martin in McLintock! (1963)
Born	Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (1919-03-26)March 26, 1919 Kokomo, Indiana, U.S.
Died	August 1, 1980(1980-08-01) (aged 61) Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–1980
Spouse(s)	Helen Meisels ​ (m. 1967)​
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Petty officer third class
Battles/wars	World War II

Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (born March 26, 1919 – died August 1, 1980) was an American character actor. He often played supporting roles in movies. He worked with famous actors like John Wayne and Paul Newman. He also appeared in many Western films. These were often directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah.

One of Martin's most famous roles was in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. He played the strict warden, or "captain," of a prison camp. In the movie, he said the memorable line, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." This line is very famous. It is number 11 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.

Early Life and Swimming

Strother Martin was born on March 26, 1919. His hometown was Kokomo, Indiana. For a short time, his family lived in San Antonio, Texas. But they soon moved back to Indiana.

As a child, Strother was an excellent swimmer and diver. People even called him "T-Bone Martin" because he was so good at diving. When he was 17, he won the National Junior Springboard Diving Championship.

During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. He was a swimming instructor for the Navy. He was also part of the diving team at the University of Michigan. He tried to join the U.S. Olympic team for diving. He finished third in the competition.

Acting Career Highlights

After the war, Martin moved to Los Angeles. He worked as a swimming instructor. He also got small roles in movies that needed water scenes. One of his first uncredited roles was in the 1950 film The Damned Don't Cry.

Soon, he started getting more acting jobs. He appeared in many films and TV shows throughout the 1950s. He was in Western shows like Frontier and Gunsmoke. In Gunsmoke, he played different characters many times.

Early TV and Film Roles

In 1955, he was in an episode of Crossroads. He also played a character named Cooter in a 1956 episode of Gunsmoke. This episode was written by Sam Peckinpah.

Martin appeared in many other TV shows. He was in Crusader and Have Gun - Will Travel. In 1957, he played a tightrope walker in Have Gun - Will Travel. He also appeared in Boots and Saddles and Trackdown.

In 1959, he played Polk in The Texan. He was also Deputy Jess in The Rebel. He appeared in an episode of Rawhide in 1959.

Famous Film Roles

Strother Martin became very well-known by the late 1960s. He often played villains in Western movies. Some of his famous Western films include:

• The Horse Soldiers (1959)
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
• McLintock! (1963), where he played an Indian agent.
• True Grit (1969), where he was a horse trader.

In 1969, he was in three classic Western movies:

• The Wild Bunch, where he played Coffer, a bounty hunter.
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, as Percy Garris, a mine boss.
• True Grit, as Colonel Stonehill.

He often worked with his close friend, actor L.Q. Jones.

Later Career and Other Roles

Even though he usually played supporting roles, he had bigger parts in some films. These include Hannie Caulder (1971) and The Brotherhood of Satan (1971). He also starred in Pocket Money (1972) with Paul Newman. He was in the horror film SSSSSSS (1973).

He worked with Paul Newman again in Slap Shot (1977). In this movie, he played the general manager of a hockey team. Strother Martin appeared in six films with John Wayne and six films with Paul Newman.

He also had a small role in the comedy film Up in Smoke (1978). He played the father of Tommy Chong's character.

Martin made many guest appearances on Gunsmoke. He was in a two-part episode called "Island in the Desert." In this episode, he played a hermit living in the desert. He also appeared many times on Perry Mason.

One of his last acting jobs was hosting Saturday Night Live on April 19, 1980. In one skit, he played a strict owner of a French language camp. This was a funny reference to his famous role in Cool Hand Luke. He even changed his famous line to, "What we have here is failure to communicate BILINGUALLY!"

Death

Strother Martin was married to Helen Meisels-Martin from 1967 until he passed away. They did not have any children.

In his last few years, Martin was being treated for diabetes and heart problems. He died on August 1, 1980, at the age of 61. He passed away from a heart attack at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, California.

Filmography

Film

Television

Dangerous Assignment – episode – The Venetian Story – Riri (1952)

See also

In Spanish: Strother Martin para niños