As fans of Space: 1999 we knew him as the indomitable Commander John Koenig. To others, he was Rollin Hand in Mission: Impossible, Bob Ryan in Entourage, Major General Adlon in Meteor, Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood, Alvin Kurtzweil in The X-Files, and Leonard in North by Northwest, among many other roles.
To his peers in Hollywood he was an incredibly versatile actor, chameleon-like in his ability to “slip into the skin” of a character.
To Barbara Bain he was a large and important part of her life, having been a loving husband and her acting and producing partner for many years, and of course, to his daughters, Susan Landau-Finch and Juliet Landau, he was an inspiring and devoted father.
A couple of days ago, on the 15th of July, Martin left this world, leaving behind an enviable acting, producing and teaching legacy that will be long remembered.
Martin was 89 at the time of his death, and passed away from “unexpected complications” while hospitalised at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles.
Space 2049 sends it’s deepest condolences to Barbara, Susan, Juliet and every single one of Martin’s family and friends, and we also extend those condolences to his many fans.
For me, Martin will always be John Koenig, and it saddens me that he won’t get the chance to guest star in some future version of the show helping a new Commander Koenig to battle some impossible situation.
If you’d like to learn more about this incredible actor, producer and acting coach, you can visit his Wikipedia page here, his IMDb page here, and his biography.com page here.
Hopefully one day Space: 1999 will get the reboot it deserves, and through it’s re-emergence into popular culture, thousands of new science fiction fans will revisit the original series and, through that, explore Martin’s remarkable body of work.
Rest in peace, Martin. You will be missed. Thank you for Commander John Koenig.
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