<P> Martin's first film was the George Pal 1955 production Conquest of Space, followed by a brief but memorable appearance in The Colossus of New York (1958), as the scientist father of Charles Herbert . In 1959, Martin appeared in the episode "Echo" on Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond . He appeared in two 1959 episodes of David Janssen's crime drama series, Richard Diamond, Private Detective . Soon after, he caught the eye of Blake Edwards, who cast him in a number of widely varied roles; as Sal in the 1959 Peter Gunn episode "The Fuse", his breakout role as the comic sidekick Andamo in the 1959 CBS drama series Mr. Lucky, 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 - 1963 . </P> <P> After his performance in The Great Race, CBS cast Martin in what was to become his most famous part, Secret Service agent Artemus Gordon in The Wild Wild West, opposite Robert Conrad . The Artemus Gordon character was a master gadgeteer and disguise artist, and these attributes fitted Martin perfectly . Martin himself 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 . The recent DVD release of the first season of the series includes a recently discovered pre-production sketch Martin had made of his very first make - up design for the pilot episode . Another episode revealed another of Martin's talents: he was a concert - trained violinist . </P> <P> 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 . The series was cancelled in 1969 in the midst of a national controversy over violence on television . </P> <P> After The Wild, Wild West ended, Martin continued his career in various guest roles on television and in roles in television films . In 1970, Martin portrayed Alexander Hamilton in the NBC television special Swing Out, Sweet Land, hosted by John Wayne . He also appeared in a 1970 episode of The Immortal ("White Elephants Don't Grow on Trees"). The following year, Martin tried his hand at directing . He guest starred in the 1971 episode of Columbo entitled "Suitable For Framing", as a murderous art critic and also a 1971 episode of Love, American Style, which he also directed . Martin directed another episode of the series in 1973 . Later that same year, he appeared as the famed Asian detective Charlie Chan in The Return of Charlie Chan . He 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 . </P>

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