Martin Kove (March 6 1946) is an American actor who has appeared in both feature films and television series. He played Nero the Hero in Death Race 2000.
Career[]
Film appearances[]
His best known roles may have been on the 1980s hit TV series Cagney & Lacey as Det. Victor Isbecki and in the 1984 hit film The Karate Kid as Cobra Kai Sensei John Kreese. He reprised his role as Kreese in the 1986 hit sequel The Karate Kid and the 1989 sequel The Karate Kid. He studied Okinawa-te Karate under a prominent black belt of Shihan Gordon Doversola. In 1985, Kove played a treacherous helicopter pilot in Rambo: First Blood Part II.
Television appearances[]
Kove has starred in the short-lived television series Code R (TV series) and Hard Time on Planet Earth and has made guest appearances on several television programs including Gunsmoke, Kojak, The Incredible Hulk (TV series), Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Black Scorpion. In 2007, Kove appeared in the No More Kings video, Sweep The Leg, in a Parody of his Karate Kid character.
Personal life[]
Kove was born in New York and had a Jewish upbringing. He has been married to Vivienne Kove since 1981. In 1990, they welcomed Twins, a boy named Jesse and girl named Rachel.
Filmography[]
- Little Murders (1971)
- The Last House on the Left (1972)
- Women in Revolt (1972)
- Savages (film) (1972)
- Cops and Robbers (film) (1973)
- The Wild Party (film) (1975)
- White Line Fever (film) (1975)
- Death Race 2000 (1975)
- The White Buffalo (1977)
- The Incredible Hulk - First Episode (1978)
- The Karate Kid (1984)
- Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
- The Karate Kid (1986)
- Steele Justice (1987)
- The Karate Kid (1989)
- Wyatt Earp (film) (1994)
- Black Sheep (1996 film) (1996)
- Time Lock (1996)
- Nowhere Land (1998)
- Crocodile 2: Death Swamp (2002)
- Hard Ground (2003) (TV)
- Curse of the Forty-Niner (2003)
- Glass Trap (2004)
- Miracle at Sage Street (2005)
- The Dead Sleep Easy (2008)
External links[]
- Marty Kove official website
- Martin Kove on Wikipedia