"My Favorite Martian" Star Ray Walston has passed away at the age of 86!

[Brett Ferino]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tony and Emmy-award winning actor Ray Walston, who starred on stage and screen as the devil in "Damn Yankees" and was famed for his TV role as the extraterrestrial Uncle Martin in "My Favorite Martian," has died at age 86, his agent said on Tuesday.

Walston, who specialized in playing crusty and canny characters, including the judge on the acclaimed series, "Picket Fences," died on Monday at his home in Beverly Hills after a short illness, agent Harry Gold said.

His last screen appearance was in the Oct. 15 season premiere of the CBS hit show "Touched By An Angel." He played a wealthy entrepreneur who cuts his son (Richard Chamberlain) off from the family fortune to teach him there are more valuable things in life than money.

Walston won a Tony Award for best actor in a musical for his Broadway performance as Mr. Applegate, the Devil, in the 1956 hit "Damn Yankees," about an aging baseball fan who sells his soul to help his hapless team, the Washington Senators, win the American League pennant from the unbeatable Yankees of the 1950s.

Both Walton and actress-dancer Gwen Verdon, who played the seductress Lola ("Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets"), recreated their roles for the 1958 film adaptation of the musical. Verdon died last year.

Also in 1958, Walston played Navy Seabee Luther Billis in the movie version of another Broadway hit, "South Pacific," which he had performed on stage in London and with a road company.

The New Orleans native returned to musicals for a 1969 production of "Paint Your Wagon."

In a lengthy film career that began with the comedy "Kiss Them For Me," with Cary Grant and Jayne Mansfield, Walston played mostly supporting parts, often as curmudgeonly characters.

PLAYED PHILANDERING INSURANCE EXECUTIVE

One of his best film performances was as the philandering insurance executive in Billy Wilder's 1960 romantic comedy, "The Apartment," starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray.

Wilder cast him again as a nervous, desperate songwriter opposite Dean Martin playing a womanizing crooner who has his sights on Walston's wife in the 1964 domestic comedy "Kiss Me, Stupid." Walston got that part after Peter Sellers was felled by a heart attack.

Much later in his career, he played the strident social studies teacher Mr. Hand in the 1982 goofball comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," a role he reprised for the short-lived TV spinoff series "Fast Times."

But Walston is perhaps most widely recognized for the 1960s television series that made him a household name, "My Favorite Martian," which ran for three years on CBS (1963-1966). He starred as a Martian who crash lands on Earth and moves in with newspaper reporter Tim O'Hara (Bill Bixby), who keeps the true identity of his visitor a secret by passing him off as his Uncle Martin.

Although Uncle Martin looked human and spoke English, he had such Martian traits as retractable antennae on the back of his head and the ability to make himself invisible, read minds and move objects by pointing at them.

Three decades later, Walston played a small but nostalgic role in a 1999 movie version of the series with Christopher Lloyd starring as Uncle Martin.

In the movie, Walton appears as the mysterious government advisor Armitan (an anagram for Martian), who also turns out to be a stranded native of the Red Planet and ultimately returns with Lloyd to Mars.

Walston's career enjoyed a revival when he returned to series television in the early 1990s in the acclaimed CBS drama "Picket Fences," playing a cranky judge with a heart of gold. The series earned him two Emmys for best supporting actor.

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See ya - Brett Ferino
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Tia: You don't own me.

Lisa: I am renting you for 21 years.

Ray was one of the best character actors of our time, in both television and film. His kind wont soon pass our way again. Thanks for the good times Ray...now get out!

The 9 year old in me that relished every minute of "MFM" back in the 60's is grieving tonight. Good-bye, Uncle Martin.

Let us not forget his turn as "Boothby" on Star Trek: The Next Generation as well. He was the perfect choice for Poopdeck Pappy also. I've loved everything Mr. Walston did. I didn't think I'd take it this hard.

As I grew up with "MFM", I remember all the good laughs that were to be had on the show. Bill and Roy were very good together. I still remember those antennas of his. Roy was also very good in "Picket Fences." I still can see him sitting him the bench in that show. He was a very good actor and I will miss him. Like someone said above there will never be another like him. Well Goodby Roy we will miss you but you are in a better place now. Till we pass again.

[DarleneIllyria]

When I heard about the death of Ray Walston, it felt like I had swallowed a brick. I was born May 25, 1984, so I was not around during the first run of My Favortie Martian.

I started recording this show a year ago and I continue to record the show even though I have every episode of the show.

Ray Walston was a great actor. He will be greatly missed. He was the last surviving member of MFM and now he is gone too. All of the actors of MFM were wonderful and I hope that MFM will continue to get even more fans as the years go by.

R.I.P. Ray Walston


Jenny

Dear Mr. Walston,
You are one of a kind and have left much sadness behind with your decision to return home. Thank you for staying with us for so long and for leaving Uncle Martin and all of the others here for us to remember you.
Much Love Always,
Lenore

[Richard]

I shall always remember Ray Walston from the films Damn Yankees,South Pacific and Popeye.I saw him in many other shows-and he was excellent in Picket Fences.

Bill Bixby died many years ago,although he was younger than Ray Walston.(Perhaps Martians have longer life-spans?)

Ray Walston had a long,full career.R.I.P.

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Richard Ranke

I had a chance to interview Ray Walston in
1969 for my high school paper. He was in town, doing the play The Rivals.
He was absolutely GREAT in both the play and the interview. The school never used it because the student ed said the school magazine would come out after the play left the city. (no comment)
I can say, yeah, he was everything you might have hoped he would be if you had a chance to meet him.
Also, RE: Star Trek, he not only did Boothby on Next Gen, he reprised the character on Voyager as well.
I'm especially happy "fate" permitted us an opportunity to see him reprise a varriation of MFM in the recent movie. The character finally got a chance to go home...

[callmetootie]

He was on Silver Spoons too! He played his uncle!

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Andrew Carden