Martin Kove Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Martin Kove is an American actor, voiceover artist, director, and producer who is known for having been cast as the psychopathic Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese in the martial arts drama film series titled Karate Kid. He has also appeared in a number of other films and shows such as Shootfighter: Fight to the Death, Cagney & Lacey: The Return, Under Heavy Fire, Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, We’ve Got Each Other, The Incredible Hulk, Cagney & Lacey, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Curse of the Forty-Niner, Max Havoc: Ring of Fire, Miracle at Sage Street, Seven, The Dead Sleep Easy, Chinaman’s Chance: America’s Other Slaves, Middle Men, Falcon Song, Tapped Out, The Extendables, The Dog Who Saved Summer, Bring Me A Dream, Paint It Red, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Criminal Minds, The Goldbergs, Cobra Kai, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Martin Kove has played both the bad boys as well as the good boys in the Hollywood creations and has also garnered an impressive social media fan base with more than 25k followers on Twitter and more than 15k followers on Facebook.

Born Name

Martin Kove

Nick Name

Marty

Sun Sign

Pisces

Born Place

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States

Residence

Los Angeles, California, United States

Nationality

Occupation

Actor, Voiceover Artist, Director, Producer

Manager

Martin Kove is represented by Scott Carlson Entertainment, Inc., Talent Management Company, California, United States.

Build

Slim

Height

6 ft 1½ in or 186.5 cm

Weight

80 kg or 176.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Martin Kove has dated –

1. Vivienne Kove (1981-2005) – Martin Kove got married to actress Vivienne Kove in the year 1981. The couple welcomed twins, a son named Jesse Morgan Kove and a daughter named Rachel Olivia Kove, on November 2, 1990. Jesse Kove is an actor, producer, and director. After being together for more than 2 decades, Martin Kove and Vivienne Kove decided to part ways and filed for a divorce and finally got divorced in 2005.

Race / Ethnicity

White

Hair Color

Salt & Pepper

Eye Color

Blue

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Bulbous nose
• Wide forehead
• Thin lips
• Narrow-eyed

Brand Endorsements

Martin Kove was cast in the TV commercials for Irish Spring soap in the 1970s.

Religion

Martin Kove was raised in a Jewish household.

Best Known For

• Having been cast as the psychopathic Cobra Kai Sensei John Kreese in the martial arts drama film series, Karate Kid
• Appearing in a large variety of roles in several movies such as The Last House on the Left, Cops and Robbers, White Line Fever, The Wild Party, The White Buffalo, The Four Deuces, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Blood Tide, Cry For The Strangers, Steele Justice, Project Shadowchaser, Shootfighter: Fight to the Death, Cagney & Lacey: The Return, Under Heavy Fire, Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, Curse of the Forty-Niner, Max Havoc: Ring of Fire, Miracle at Sage Street, Seven, The Dead Sleep Easy, Chinaman’s Chance: America’s Other Slaves, Middle Men, Falcon Song, Tapped Out, The Extendables, The Dog Who Saved Summer, Bring Me A Dream, Paint It Red, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Having been cast in a number of shows such as Three for the Road, The Streets of San Francisco, Code R, The Rockford Files, The San Pedro Beach Bums, Murder, She Wrote, We’ve Got Each Other, The Incredible Hulk, Cagney & Lacey, Hard Time on Planet Earth, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Walker, Texas Ranger, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Diagnosis: Murder, Black Scorpion, Criminal Minds, The Goldbergs, Cobra Kai, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The New Hollywood Squares, and Louder with Crowder

First Film

Martin Kove made his first theatrical film appearance in the black comedy film, Little Murders, in 1971. The film starred the likes of Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, Elizabeth Wilson, Jon Korkes, John Randolph, and Doris Roberts. However, Martin Kove wasn’t credited for his role.

The same year i.e. in 1971, Martin Kove made his first credited theatrical film appearance by playing the role of Marty in the comedy-drama film, Women in Revolt. It starred the likes of Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, and Holly Woodlawn.

First TV Show

He made his first TV show appearance as Rollo in an episode, titled The Spy Who Returned from the Dead, of the mystery-drama series, The Wide World of Mystery, in January 1974.

Martin Kove Facts

1. He learned Okinawa-te Karate, a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom, under the expert guidance of black belt Gordon Doversola Shihan.
2. Martin himself is a black belt in Kendo, Okinawa-te, and Tiger Kenpo, all of which are the forms of martial arts.
3. He has been an honorary marshal of Tarzana, Los Angeles, California.
4. Martin Kove once injured his hand while filming a fight scene between his character, John Kreese, and Mr. Miyagi in the martial arts drama film, The Karate Kid Part II (1986). Despite several injuries, he continued to film the scene.
5. He sometimes jokingly refers to his character, John Kreese, in the Karate Kid series as “Han Solo on steroids”.
6. Martin Kove once said in an interview that he has always felt like he never really got to do what he wanted to do because most of the time, the business gets in the way of the art.
7. He often has encounters with kids in supermarkets who come up to him and say things like “You hurt Ralph (Ralph Macchio)!”. Kove rather enjoys how they hate him so much for his character and that also makes him feel like the Darth Vader, of the Star Wars franchise, of the contemporary cinematic world.
8. In 1977, Martin Kove was cast as George Baker in the action-adventure television series, Code R, in which he starred alongside the likes of James Houghton, Tom Simcox, Joan Freeman, Susanne Reed, Ben Davidson, Robbie Rundle, and W. T. Zacha.
9. As a director, he has worked on an episode of the mystery crime drama series, Silk Stalkings.
10. Martin Kove has also served as a producer for a couple of projects such as Curse of the Forty-Niner, Ballistica, and Six Gun Savior.
11. In September 2021, during season 30 of Dancing with the Stars, Martin was partnered with Britt Stewart.

Featured Image by Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0