UNCLE MARTIN
Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, best known as the title character, “Uncle Martin” on My Favorite Martian. He had such iconic film, television and stage roles as Luther Billis (South Pacific), Mr. Applegate (Damn Yankees), J.J. Singleton (The Sting), Mr. Hand (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Candy (Of Mice and Men), and Judge Henry Bone (Picket Fences). (More from Wikipedia)
“Rip Van Winkle” by the Devotions wasn’t as good as an earlier novelty hit that I absolutely loved – “Martian Hop” by the Ran-Dells – and I had a connection there also: There was a TV show called My Favorite Martian where the Martian (played by Ray Walston) was named “Uncle Martin”. There weren’t too many Martin’s in the world back then, at least that I knew about. I even created little antennae (bent from the wire that bound the newspapers together for my paper route) that I wore behind my ears to class; they were supposed to be like the ones that would rise up from Walston’s head from time to time when he was doing his Martian thing.
(March 2012)
