Cast & creator
Strother Martin
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Saturday Night Live, Perry Mason
Strother Martin (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."
73
film credits
98
television credits
171
1950–2004 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (171)
Showing 171 of 171 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Perry Mason
Pete Gibson
1957Perry Mason
Joe Mead
1957Perry Mason
Gerald Sommers
1957Perry Mason
Roy Hutchinson
1957
Bonanza
Lonnie Stern
1959Bonanza
Joad Bruder
1959Bonanza
Cole Younger
1959Bonanza
Little Meredith Smith
1959Bonanza
Yuri
1959
The Fugitive
Deputy Shirky Saulter
1963
Love, American Style
1969
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957Have Gun, Will Travel
Carew
1957Have Gun, Will Travel
Fred Coombs
1957
The Rockford Files
Thomas Tyler 'T.T.' Flowers
1974
Matinee Theater
1955
Four Star Playhouse
Tom Blair
1952
Lassie
1954
The Virginian
Finley
1962The Virginian
Luther Watson
1962
The Twilight Zone
Mothershed
1959
Dragnet
1951
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Harper Worthington Yates
1961
Ben Casey
1961Ben Casey
Frank Geray
1961
Daniel Boone
Solomon Tarbot
1964
I Love Lucy
Man in Coffee Shop
1951
Rawhide
Bates
1959
The Name of the Game
Nanyface
1968
The Big Valley
Dan'l Hawks
1965The Big Valley
Fludd
1965
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Terry Riggs
1969
Lawman
1958
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Joby
1956
The Doris Day Show
Tyrone Lovey
1968
The Rookies
1972
Gunsmoke
Mr. Stooler
1955Gunsmoke
Cooter
1955Gunsmoke
Ed Davey
1955Gunsmoke
Dooley
1955Gunsmoke
Dillard
1955Gunsmoke
Rowley
1955Gunsmoke
Gene Bunch
1955Gunsmoke
Billy
1955Gunsmoke
Timble
1955Gunsmoke
Ben Snow
1955
Run for Your Life
Holly Amberton
1965
77 Sunset Strip
Charles Sloane
1958
Baretta
1975
Lost in Space
Nerim
1965
The Invaders
Charlie Coogan
1967
The Texan
Polk Blackston
1958
Vega$
1978
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
Gilligan's Island
1964
Studio 57
Pete Dutton
1954
The Millionaire
Pete Hill
1955
The Rebel
Jess
1959
Trackdown
Benny French
1957
Telephone Time
1956
Navy Log
1955
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956
Tarzan
1966
Petrocelli
Clate Dobie
1974
Black Saddle
Pit Thatcher
1959
It Takes a Thief
Willard Knox
1968
Cavalcade of America
Wilkins
1952
The New Breed
Benny Kohler
1961
Stoney Burke
1962Broken Arrow
Renton
1956
Pete and Gladys
1960The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
Waiter
1953
The Dakotas
1963
Nichols
Zachariah
1971
The Wonderful World of Disney
Buckshot
1954The Wonderful World of Disney
Thurm
1954
The Lieutenant
Taxi Driver
1963
The Legend of Jesse James
Meeker
1965Profiles in Courage
Senator James Wadsworth
1964Chevron Theatre
1952
The Lone Wolf
Nick Davis
1954
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Percy Garris
1969
Crossroads
Landry Kersh
1955
Dangerous Assignment
1952
Panic!
1957
Movin' On
1974
He & She
The Rev. Mr. Anderson
1967
Cool Hand Luke
Captain
1967
True Grit
Colonel G. Stonehill
1969
Hawkins
R.J. Hawkins
1973
Paper Moon
1974
The Danny Thomas Hour
Paul Rooney
1967
The Wild Bunch
Coffer
1969
Jefferson Drum
Pete Henke
1958
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Floyd
1962
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Old Hollander
1951
General Electric Theater
Gunnery Officer Daly
1953General Electric Theater
Obie
1953
Hard Times
Poe
1975
Sssssss
Dr. Carl Stoner
1973
A Star Is Born
Delivery Boy (uncredited)
1954
Slap Shot
Joe McGrath
1977
The Sons of Katie Elder
Ned Ross
1965
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Bellhop
1951Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Teeples
1951
The Asphalt Jungle
William Doldy (uncredited)
1950
McLintock!
Agard
1963
Up in Smoke
Mr. Stoner
1978
The Horse Soldiers
Virgil
1959
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Bowen
1970
Hannie Caulder
Rufus Clemens
1971
Harper
Claude
1966
Kiss Me Deadly
Harvey Wallace
1955
Rooster Cogburn
Shanghai McCoy
1975
The Villain
Parody Jones
1979Hotel de Paree
1959
The Champ
Riley
1979
Nevada Smith
Strother (uncredited)
1966
Fools' Parade
Lee Cottrill
1971
Shenandoah
Train Engineer
1965
The Red Badge of Courage
Corporal (voice) (uncredited)
1951
Pocket Money
Bill Garrett
1972
World Without End
Nihka (uncredited)
1956
Cowboy
Trailhand Bitten by Rattlesnake
1958
The Wild and the Innocent
Ben Stocker
1959
The Flim-Flam Man
Lovick
1967
The Damned Don't Cry
Springboard Diver (uncredited)
1950
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Self (archive footage)
2004
Drum Beat
Scotty
1954
Invitation to a Gunfighter
Fiddler
1964
Androcles and the Lion
Soldier (uncredited)
1952
The Brotherhood of Satan
Doc Duncan
1971
The Silver Chalice
Father (uncredited)
1954
The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday
Billy
1976
Nightwing
Selwyn
1979
The Shaggy Dog
Thurm
1959
Attack
Ingersol
1956
One of Our Own
LeRoy Atkins
1975
The Magnetic Monster
Co-Pilot
1953
The End
Dr. Waldo Kling
1978
South Sea Woman
Marine in Audience at Court-martial (uncredited)
1953
The Mountains of the Moon
O'Keefe
1967
Strategic Air Command
Airman
1955
The Big Knife
Stillman
1955
Red Sky at Morning
John Cloyd
1971
The Secret of Nikola Tesla
George Westinghouse
1980
The Deadly Companions
Parson
1961
Better Late Than Never
J.D. Ashcroft
1979
Hotwire
The Weasel
1980
The Black Whip
Thorny
1956
Love and Bullets
Louis Monk
1979
An Eye for an Eye
Trumbull
1966
Copper Sky
Pokey
1957
Sanctuary
Dog Boy
1961
Mitzi & 100 Guys
Self
1975
Johnny Concho
Townsman (uncredited)
1956
The Boy and the Bronc Buster
Buckshot
1973
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
Old Hollander
1978
Steve Martin: A Wild and Crazy Guy
Turtle Ranch Boss
1978
The Flim Flam Man
Lovick
1972
Brainstorm
Mr. Clyde
1965
Steel Cowboy
Pinky Pincus
1978
World for Ransom
1954
Black Patch
Petey
1957
Rhubarb
Michael 'Shorty' McGirk (uncredited)
1951
Showdown
Charlie Reeder
1963
Target Zero
Pvt. Dan O'Hirons
1955
Storm Over Tibet
Co-pilot
1952
Bitter Heritage
Earle Eheeler
1958