Strother Martin

As a youngster in Indianapolis, Indiana, Strother Martin was a excellent swimmer and diver. He won the National Junior Springboard Diving Championship at age 17 and was a member of the University of Michigan diving team. During WWII, he served as a swimming instructor for the U.S. Navy. He tried to make the 1948 U.S. Olympic diving team, but finished third in the National Springboard Diving Championships.

After moving to California to try his hand at acting, he worked as a swimming instructor and as an extra - especially if swimming was required. He finally began to get small acting roles which eventually led to larger roles and he worked with directors like Sam Peckinpah and John Ford.

In 1967, he had a memorable role in Cool Hand Luke which starred Paul Newman, but the majority of his roles were on television in shows like Bonanza, Death Valley Days, Perry Mason and The Dick Van Dyke Show.