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Martin Kove
Born	March 6, 1947 (1947-03-06) (age 63) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1971–present
Spouse(s)	Vivienne Kove (1981-2005)

Martin Kove (born March 6, 1947)^[1] is an American actor who has appeared in both feature films and television series.

Career

Film appearances

His best known roles may have been on the 1980s hit CBS television series Cagney & Lacey as Detective 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, Part II and the 1989 sequel The Karate Kid, Part III. He studied Okinawa-te Karate under a prominent black belt of Shihan Gordon Doversola. In 1985, Kove played a traitorous helicopter pilot in Rambo: First Blood Part II.

Television appearances

Kove appeared as George Baker in the short-lived CBS series Code R (1977) about the emergency services (fire, police, and ocean rescue) in the California Channel Islands. His co-stars were James Houghton, Tom Simcox, and Joan Freeman.

He also starred in the short-lived sci-fi series Hard Time on Planet Earth and has made guest appearances on several television programs including Gunsmoke, Kojak, The Incredible Hulk, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Streets of San Francisco, and Black Scorpion. In 2007, Kove appeared in the No More Kings video, "Sweep The Leg", in a parody of his Karate Kid character. Kove also guest appreared in Kung Fu, The Legend Continues portraying as the Shadow Assassin in Episode 3, Season 1 "Shadow Assassin" which aired on Feb. 3, 1993 and then again as the same character in Episode 23, Season 2 which aired on Jan. 26, 1994.

Personal life

Kove was born in Brooklyn, New York City and had a Jewish upbringing.^[2] He was married to Vivienne Kove from 1981 to 2005. 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 (1972)
• Cops and Robbers (1973)
• The Wild Party (1975)
• White Line Fever (1975)
• Death Race 2000 (1975)
• The White Buffalo (1977)
• The Incredible Hulk (1978)
• The Karate Kid (1984)
• Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
• The Karate Kid, Part II (1986)
• Steele Justice (1987)
• The Karate Kid, Part III (1989)
• Shootfighter: Fight to the Death (1992)
• Wyatt Earp (1994)
• Black Sheep (1996)
• Timelock (1996)
• Nowhere Land (1998)
• Crocodile 2: Death Swamp (2002)
• Hard Ground (2003) (TV)
• Curse of the Forty-Niner (2003)
• Barbarian (2003)
• Glass Trap (2004)
• Miracle at Sage Street (2005)
• The Dead Sleep Easy (2008)
• Savage (2009)^[3]
• War Wolves (2009) (TV)

References

External links

• Martin Kove at the Internet Movie Database

Further reading

Voisin, Scott, "Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting." BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 9-781593-933425.