Martin E Brooks obit

Martin E. Brooks, Actor on 'The Six Million Dollar Man,' Dies at 90

He was not on the list.

He played Dr. Rudy Wells on the 1970s ABC series and its spinoff, 'The Bionic Woman.'

Martin E. Brooks, best known for his portrayal of the scientist Dr. Rudy Wells on the 1970s ABC series The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman, has died. He was 90.

Brooks died Monday in Studio City of natural causes, Avatar and Titanic producer Jon Landau told The Hollywood Reporter. Brooks was the “soul mate” of Landau’s mother, Edie (also a producer), for the past 20 years, he said. The two grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where they had been friends as children, and reconnected in 1993 after her husband died.

Brooks was the third actor to play Wells, who oversees the bionic implants of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) on the two action shows. He then reprised the role of Wells on three telefilms.

A familiar face on television, Brooks also appeared on such series as Knots Landing, Hunter, McMillan & Wife and Cagney & Lacey, and he played Edgar Randolph, a suspect in the shooting of Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), at the climax of the 1983-84 season of Dallas.

On Broadway, Brooks had roles starting in the 1950s in John Steinbeck’s Burning Bright, for which he received a Theatre World Award and a Donaldson Award; Arthur Miller’s adaptation of Ibsen’s Enemy of the People; Arch Oboler’s Night of the Auk; and John Van Druten’s I Am a Camera.

Brooks also worked alongside such great actresses as Katharine Cornell, Helen Hayes, Julie Harris, Ruth Gordon, Geraldine Page, Marian Seldes and Uta Hagen on the Great White Way and co-starred with Brian Donlevy in a national tour of Saul Levitt’s hit play The Andersonville Trial.

Martin Baum was born in the Bronx, and when he was 10, his family moved to Wilkes-Barre, where his father opened and operated the Blue Bell Dress Factory. 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 in battle.

After the war, Baum attended Penn State University and enrolled at Erwin Piscator’s Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research in New York City. While there, he won the off-Broadway best actor award for his performance in Wolfgang Borchert’s Outside the Door and changed his name to Martin Brooks after a suggestion from one of his producers, Richard Rodgers.

At the same time, Brooks also was invited by Lee Strasberg to join The Actors Studio.

Brooks also played Dr. Arthur Bradshaw on ABC soap General Hospital and appeared in such films as Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) and The Man (1972).

He taught at the Tracy Roberts Acting School, which he co-owned with his late friend Tracy Roberts, and became an active member of Theatre West. In 2014, Brooks released his first CD, A Life Filled With Love, featuring songs he wrote and recorded in the 1960s and ’70s.

Brooks also wrote two novels, and his play Flo and Joe was optioned for a Broadway production.

In addition to Edie Landau, survivors include his nephews Charles and Danny and his grandnephews Ted, Mike, Mark, Jay and Aaron.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.

1957 Johnny Gunman Johnny G.1 Drama film written and directed by Art Ford

1970 Colossus: The Forbin Project Dr. Jefferson J. Johnson1

Science fiction–thrill film directed by Joseph Sargent

Based on the novel Colossus by D. F. Jones

1972 The Man Wheeler's Lawyer

Political drama directed by Joseph Sargent and written by Rod Serling

Largely based on Irving Wallace's The Man

1994 T-Force Dr. Jonathan Gant Science fiction directed by Richard Pepin

1996 Street Gun Man thrown off the roof Thriller film directed by Travis Milloy

(final film role)



Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.

1951 Sure as Fate1 Guest Episode: "The Rabbit" (S 1:Ep 17)

The Philco–Goodyear Television Playhouse Guest Episode: "Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal" (S 3:Ep 41)

Fireside Theatre Guest Episode: "A Little Night Music" (S 3:Ep 41)

1952 Suspense Harry Raymond Episode: "Remember Me?" (S 4:Ep 45)

Joan of Arc1 Guest Made-for-TV Movie2 [

1953 Suspense Meros Leckow Episode: "The Man Who Cried Wolf" (S 5:Ep 33)

Campbell Summer Soundstage1 Guest Episode: "Deception" (S 2:Ep 6)

Studio One in Hollywood Guest Episode: "The Storm" (S 5:Ep 50)

Armstrong Circle Theatre1 Guest Episode: "The Honor of Littorno" (S 4:Ep 10)

1954 Suspense1 Guest Episode: "Once a Killer" (S 6:Ep 43)

Studio One in Hollywood Stephano1 Episode: "The Cliff" (S 6:Ep 52)

The Philco–Goodyear Television Playhouse Guest Episode: "Time of Delivery" (S 7:Ep 4)

1955 Justice1 Guest Episode: "Cry Wolf" (S 2:Ep 15)

Armstrong Circle Theatre1 Guest Episode: "Leap for Freedom" (S 5:Ep 31)

Climax! Guest

Episode: "A Farewell to Arms" (S 1:Ep 26)

Based on A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Adaptation by Gore Vidal

Studio One in Hollywood Paul1 Episode: "Mama's Boy" (S 7:Ep 51)

Peters1 Episode: "Shakedown Cruise" (S 8:Ep 8)

1956 Eye on New York Lt. Jan Kepart1 Episode: "Night of the Auk" (S 1:Ep 1–Pilot)

1957 Armstrong Circle Theatre Aristides Andros Episode: "Have Jacket Will Travel" (S 8:Ep 11)

Decoy Larry1 Episode: "Necklace of Glass" (S 1:Ep 9)

True Story Bruce Mansfield1 Episode: "Girl in Hotel" (S 1:Ep 12)

Suspicion1 Guest Episode: "The Sparkle of Diamonds" (S 1:Ep 8)

Armstrong Circle Theatre The Priest1 Episode: "The Shepherd of Paris" (S 8:Ep 7)

1957–58 Love of Life Paul Raven Contract role

1958 The United States Steel Hour Martin Mandow1 Episode: "The Charmer" (S 5:Ep 9)

True Story Bill Farrell1 Episode: "22 March 1958" (S 1:Ep 18)

Kraft Television Theatre Mr. Ferguson1 Episode: "Death Wears Many Faces" (S 11:Ep 420

1958 The Secret Storm Skip Curtis Contract role [5]

1959 New York Confidential Sammy Watts Episode: "Broadway Sam" (S 1:Ep 17)

Ralph Episode: "The Skin Game" (S 1:Ep 20)

1960 Sunday Showcase Guest Episode: "The Margaret Bourke White Story" (S 1:Ep 16)

Armstrong Circle Theatre Lewis Benson Episode: "Full Disclosure" (S 10:Ep 7)5 [5]

Dow Hour of Great Mysteries Jack Bailey1



Episode: "The Bat" (S 1:Ep 1–Pilot)

Apdation of Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood's Broadway play The Bat



1961 Way Out The Face1 Episode: "False Face" (S 1:Ep 7)

Car 54, Where Are You? Petrucio3 Episode: "The Taming of Lucille" (S 1:Ep 12) [5]

1962–64 Search for Tomorrow Dr. Everett Moore Contract role

1963 Look Up and Live Jim1 Episode: "The Presence of Death" (S 3:Ep 12)

The DuPont Show of the Week Joe Vanderling Episode: "Diamond Fever" (S 2:Ep 13)

Armstrong Circle Theatre Major Rickert Episode: "The Aggressor Force" (s 13:Ep 17}4

1965 Combat! Corporal MacGowan1 Episode: "The Raider" (S 4:Ep 16)

1966 The Loner Chris Meegan1 Episode: "Pick Me Another Time to Die" (S 1:Ep 24)

Flipper Kent1 Episode: "Flipper's Underwater Museum" (S 2:Ep 27)

The F.B.I. Richard Larken1 Episode: "Anatomy of a Prison Break" (S 2:Ep 10) [5]

1967 Gunsmoke Young1 Episode: "The Lure"

The Fugitive Lieutenant Gould1 Episode: "The Walls of Night" (S 4:Ep 27)

Iron Horse Gilbert Reese1 Episode: "Diablo" (S 2:Ep 1)

The Wild Wild West Franklin Poore Episode: "The Night of the Hangman" (S 3:Ep 7)

1968 The F.B.I. Bobby Devries Episode: "The Predators" (S 3:Ep 25)

Judd, for the Defense Art Barrows Episode: "The Gates of Cerberus" (S 2:Ep 10)

1969 Mission: Impossible Paul Trock Episode: "Illusion" (S 3:Ep 24)

1970 The Silent Force Guest Episode: "The Hero" (S 1:Ep 2)

The Old Man Who Cried Wolf Hudson F. Ewing Made-for-TV Movie directed by Walter Grauman

1971 Night Gallery Doctor Armstrong Episode: "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar / The Last Laurel" (S 1:Ep 6–b)

Storefront Lawyers Kendrick Episode: "This Money Kills Dreams" (S 1:Ep 22)

Love, American Style Guest Episode: "Love and the Anniversary Crisis / Love and the Conjugal Visit / Love and the Dream Burglar / Love and the Hotel Caper / Love and the Monster" (S 3:Ep 2)

Cannon Lewis R. Enders Episode: "Dead Pigeon" (S 1:Ep 8)

The Partners Feeny Episode: "Have I Got an Apartment for You!" (S 1:Ep 10)

The Mod Squad Richard Clark Episode: "Death of a Nobody" (S 4:Ep 13)

1972 Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Pierce Episode: "Smiles from Yesterday" (S 1:Ep 21)

1972–73 McMillan & Wife Deputy D.A. Chapman Recurring

1975–78 The Six Million Dollar Man Dr. Rudy Wells Contract role

1976–78 The Bionic Woman

1981 General Hospital Dr. Arthur Bradshaw Contract role