Strother Martin – Biography, Spouse, Net Worth

Strother Martin was one of the first Hollywood actors who knew how to stay relevant and maintain their acting career from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was a talented actor who was able to express himself through the characters given to him for star in various movies and TV shows.

The American actor gained great popularity for portraying the character of the prison captain in the movie Cool Hand Luke. He is also known for being the supporting cast of John Wayne and Paul Newman in various films which show the culture, lifestyle and stories of Westerners, and was also known for his film quote “What we have here is a communication failure”. For more on Strother Martin, read his profile below.

Biography of Strother Martin

He was born as Strother Douglas Martin on March 26, 1919, in Kokomo, Indiana, USA to his mother – Ethel Dunlap and father Strother Douglas Martin senior. It is not known if he was an only child or if he had other siblings. Ever since he was a child, Martin had always been a good swimmer who had incredible diving skills. He won the National Junior Diving Championship at the age of 17.

Although details of his elementary and high school education are not known, it is established that Strother Martin was an alumnus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he joined the swim team of school and represented them in various school competitions. Later, he became the US Navy’s swim coach during World War II.

Strother Martin moved to Los Angeles, California after the war where he was a swim coach and swim stunner for film water scenes. He was given only minor roles to play on various television shows and quickly rose to prominence in Hollywood when he appeared on the NBC anthology series Frontier and the Civil War series Gray Ghost as a mission to recognition in the early 1950s. He was later featured in ABC’s religious series Crossroads and also in Gunsmoke in 1955.

Martin also appeared on Crusader, Have Gun-Will Travel, Boots and Saddles, Hunt Down, and Jefferson Drum in the later years of the 1950s.

After being cast as a supporting and recurring act for many years, Martin was later given the opportunity to act as a lead character in some films and they include, The Brotherhood of Satan (1971) – a film by American horror where he played the role of Doc Duncan, Pocket Money (1972) as Bill Garret and Slap Shot – an American sports comedy where he played the role of Joe McGrath.

His other works include The Texan as Polk, The Rebel as Deputy Jess, The Law and Mr. Jones as Guest, Pete and Gladys as Harold Horton, Stoney Burke as Guest, The Dakotas as Private Anton Copang, The Rounders as Cousin Fletch and Death Valley Days as Arizona.

In 1980, Strother Martin, who was being watched by his doctor for heart problems, died of cardiac arrest on August 1 at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California. He was 61 when he died.

Husband

Strother Martin was married to the love of his life Helen Meisels-Martin. The couple married in 1967 in a wedding ceremony attended by their families and friends. Hollywood actors are known for multiple marriages, but Martin was faithful to death. On his deathbed, Strother was still very much married to his wife, Helen. The couple were visibly happy, as there had never been any news of any issues regarding their relationship.

Seventeen years after his death, his wife, Helen, also gave up his ghost in 1997. Helen’s ashes were kept alongside those of her husband at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.

Net Worth – What is Strother Martin Worth?

Strother Martin was a Hollywood star at a time when actors weren’t making a lot of money, however, considering that he reached a certain degree in his acting career and maintained an above average consistency, he is safe to say he earned more than enough for his personal needs. With almost no information on how much the late iconic actor earned, it is almost impossible to estimate the value of his net worth. That said, Strother was far from poverty for most of his life.