Strother Douglas Martin, Jr. was born in Kokomo, Indiana on March 26, 1919. As a child, he excelled at swimming and diving (see Trivia below). He later served as a swimming instructor with the U.S. Navy during World War 2 and then as a student at the University of Michigan.
His swimming abilities then took him to Hollywood, where he found work as an instructor for such films as The Damned Don't Cry (1950) starring Joan Crawford. His foot in the door, he soon started earning small parts on such series as Gunsmoke and Have Gun - Will Travel. Throughout his career, he'd amass 189 credits in television and feature films.
Martin is best remembered for his role in the 1967 Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke. Credited simply as the Captain, he served as a prison warden and main antagonist in the film, who was best remembered for this scene.
By 1980, Martin was under a doctor's care for diabetes and cardiac-related issues. He ultimately died of a heart attack on August 1st at the age of 61.
Strother Martin was cremated and his ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills.
 |
| Location: Court of Remembrance, Columbarium of Radiant Dawn, Outdoor Garden Niche #62310 |
Rest in peace.
Trivia
- While there are no biographies or museums for Martin, there is a mural painted in his honor in Los Angeles.
Location: 5200 Fountain Avenue - In 1970, Chico State College in California hosted the First Annual Strother Martin Film Festival. Sadly, it did not become an annual event as originally billed.
- Martin's most famous line of dialogue from Cool Hand Luke serves as the opening of the Guns N' Roses song Civil War. Check it out on YouTube.
- An avid swimmer who earned the nickname "T-Bone Martin," Martin won the National Junior Springboard Division Championship in 1936. Although he failed to make the 1948 Olympic team, he would later coach the children of Hollywood stars, agents, executives, and more.
- Just a few months before Cool Hand Luke opened in theatres, Martin appeared on a classic episode of the sit-com Gilligan's Island (see profile picture above). He played a man who was attempting to win a cash prize for being marooned on an island. Despite the similarity between this concept and the reality series Survivor, it would take CBS 37 years to develop the award-winning format.
