Martin E. Brooks was born Martin Baum on November 30, 1925, and died on December 7, 2015.
He was an American character actor known for playing scientist Dr. Rudy Wells in the television series The Six Million Dollar Man and its spin-off, The Bionic Woman, from 1975 onward (a role originally portrayed by Martin Balsam and then by Alan Oppenheimer).
Martin was born Martin Baum in The Bronx.
When he was 10, he moved with his family to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
After high school, Martin 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 during World War II.
Martin attended Penn State University and enrolled at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research in New York City.
He won the off-Broadway best actor award for his performance in Outside the Door and changed his name to Martin Brooks, upon producer Richard Rodgers’ suggestion.
According to Jon Landau, Brooks was the “soulmate” of Landau’s mother, Edie, for over 20 years.
They were friends as children and reconnected in 1993 after her husband died.
Martin passed away on December 7, 2015, of natural causes at his home in Studio City, Los Angeles.
He had turned 90 a week prior to his death.