'Mission Impossible' actor Martin Landau dies aged 89

Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau, famous for his turn on the Mission: Impossible TV series, is dead at 89.

Landau reportedly died at 1.30pm PST (9.30pm BST) for "unexpected complications" on Saturday (15 July) at UCLA Medical Center, TMZ first reported. The actor's publicist confirmed his death to The Associated Press.

Landau rose to fame after playing a homosexual henchmen in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 North by Northwest. He quit CBS' Mission: Impossible in 1969 after three seasons following a contract dispute, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

His career picked up when Francis Ford Coppola chose him to play Abe Karatz opposite Jeff Bridges in Tucker: The Man and His Dream in 1988. Landau would go on to receive a best supporting actor nomination for his performance.

He received yet another nomination for his portrayal as Judah Rosenthal in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors in 1989. Landau finally earned an Oscar for playing horror-film legend Lugosi in the Tim Burton-directed biopic Ed Wood in 1994.

The former newspaper cartoonist was an admired acting teacher who taught greats, including Jack Nicholson, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Landau, who was born in Brooklyn on 20 June 1928, is survived by his daughters Susan and Juliet from his marriage to his Mission: Impossible co-star Barbara Bain, whom he divorced in 1993.