You were always there...always inspiring with a talent that was respected but often shortchanged of the praise it deserved.
You impressed me first in "Mission: Impossible" and later "Space: 1999", but there were so many other performances I was to admire, including your guest roles on "Twilight Zone" (in "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"; "The Jeopardy Room"; "The Beacon") and "Outer Limits" ("The Man Who Was Never Born"; "The Bellero Shield"). And man, oh, man, did you ever give me joyful chills in Jack Sholder's "Alone in the Dark" and the Sun Classics edition of Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher".
Your most remarkable performance was perhaps in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood", where you (at long last) gained a well deserved Oscar for your portrayal of the great Bela Lugosi. This led to your portrayal of Geppetto in two wonderful Pinocchio films, for which fans young and old are still in sentimental awe.
You could perform it all--and did it all, Mr. Landau--and today the acting world is a significant degree less in its splendor for your passing.
Was saddened to hear of your passing and alas, so many days after the woeful fact. You deserved better than that, since you were a fine, strong actor, so full of menace and mirth, adored by fans around the world for a lifetime of outstanding work.
As a child star, you generated chills galore in "Tomorrow, the World!", which became a prophetic prelude to your presence in "Star Trek'"s "Patterns of Force". You also projected a most devilish aura in the series' "Way to Eden", establishing Dr. Sevrin as one of the Enterprise's most memorable enemies.
Also, you were spot-on in many other productions, including "The Addams Family"; "Alfred Hitchock Presents"; "The Bionic Woman"; "Bonanza"; "Circle of Fear"; "Climax"; "Death Valley Days"; "Fantasy Island"; "The Incredible Hulk"; "Lost in Space"; "Mission: Impossible"; "One Step Beyond"; "The Outer Limits"; "Project U.F.O."; "Rawhide"; "The Six Million Dollar Man"; "Suspense"; "The Virginian"; "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"; "Wanted: Dead or Alive"; and "The Wonderful World of Disney". To boot, you even helped good, ol' Don Knotts weave the laughs in the uproarious "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", as well as taking the investigative reigns in the unfortunately short-lived, "Dan Raven".
God bless and Godspeed, dear friend. Your work will be appreciated, revisited--and remembered--for centuries to come.
