Just saw a notice of both passing.  Sci-Fi /horror films will not be the same.

That's really sad, but they were going to go some time. How old were they?

(My first memory of Martin Landau is in the original Space: 1999. I don't romanticize the flaws of that series, but it was one of the first science fiction TV shows that didn't assume science fiction is juvenalia and didn't have scripts written downward to be suitable for sixth-grader viewers. Which is one of the enduring flaws of both the Star Trek and the Star Wars franchises: they're written to be suitable viewing for sixth-graders, even if they have value for adult viewers as well.)

Romero was 77. Landau was 89.

It's a shame to see them go. Both will be missed.

Same here Mickey.  That and as part of Mission Impossible with Peter Graves.

In reply to pitademon (msg # 4):

I'm an immigrant who missed out on Mission: Impossible. It aired before I moved to a country where I could watch it. That's something of a loss as I hear it was really good.

Martin Landau is one of the reasons I ended up becoming a DM many years later, but that takes a little bit of telling.

I was less than 10 years old and growing up in a rather backward country of origin when Space: 1999 was aired during its first run, with dubbing for translation. Back then all we got was Second World War dramas and other "Realism" (there wasn't even "Neo-Realism" yet!), so here was Martin Landau, an obviously serious actor, putting on serious performances in "fantasies" (a pejorative slur that had little true connection with either fantasy or science fiction, but was used for both). Martin Landau introduced me to the foreign notion that sober and serious speculation about the future was possible even in popular entertainment, and it didn't all have to be Utopian motivational stuff. Without that early influence it's conceivable that I never would have bothered buying that 2nd Edition AD&D Player's Handbook in early adulthood in my current country.

I remember Martin Landau from the 1963 production of Cleopatra (the famous remake with Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison, and Richard Burton).  I was seven years old when we saw it at the Ft. Buckner base theater in Okinawa, and fell so in love with Ms. Taylor.  Mr. Landau played a Centurion called Rufio, if I recall correctly, whom Marc Antony envied for his long arms.

Through Mission:  Impossible and Space:  1999 and many other roles large and small, he was always a consummate professional.  He brought much to any production with which he was associated.  With his passing, another connection to Gerry and Sylvia Anderson is lost.

George Romero I have little knowledge of other than that he produced and then let fall into public domain Night of The Living Dead.  Thanks for doing the right thing, George.  A generation that might not otherwise see your work can now download and enjoy it, keeping your memory alive for a long time to come.

Rest easy, both of you, on your westward journey.

In reply to horus (msg # 7):

A fine eulogy. Thank you.

I think it was the subtle commentary on current american life that really sold Romero's works.  Although in his later years, his political slant became much more obvious and direct in his films (compare Dawn of the Dead to Land of the Dead).