my all time favorite woman. I was 8 the night the show premiered. I so loved science and sci fi and later became an engineer, an Air Force Captain, and have worked and still work on all sorts of space and satellites and aerospace projects.
Unbelievable that she was considered too beautiful to be a serious actress!! I loved LIS and all the cast, especially Guy Williams and Bill Mumy. But I always wished I had Marta's beauty, grace and angelic voice!
And Angela Cartwright was already known for Make Room for Daddy, and the recent release in 1965 of SoM. Judy Lockhart (whom I met working at a Denver hotel came from a performing family, and had took over the Mrs. Martin role from fired Clores Leachman in 1957 Lassie ( later Timmy & Lassie).
I too grew up watching Lost In Space. Fortunately it was when I was young and didn't really give two hoots about Girls, or in her case Full grown Women. A few yrs later I thought about her and other Women alot. Thanks, great video. WR, 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇸🤓🤓🤔🤔🙉🙊🙈👏
The Lost in Space show caught the attention of so many in America. I never really thought much of Marta Kristen because she looked like so many of the girls next door that I attended grade school with which were in fact also Scandinavian backgrounds or later Swedish models. But what interested me about the show was that I was already a young amateur astronomer. I soon bought my first astronomy telescope with my berry picking money that I saved during summer work. I was already building Crystal radios at age 10 when neighbors soon gave me an old Zenith Transoceanic shortwave table model radio. Because of finding the more intellectual broadcasts across the world in the shortwave band, I soon discovered the BBC in England. I lost all interest in television because of the radio listening and the Astronomy telescope. I soon completely stopped watching television, and my parents thought something was wrong with me. As the narrator in this special about Marta mentions the popularity of The Beatles and the NASA space program at this time in history, my parents could see that I was already self-dependent with building electronics and observing through my telescope. They had not forgotten all of Television for one night my father came to my bedroom door and said that there was a new show previewing that night from England he figured I'd like watching it because he knew that I was listening to the BBC so much on the shortwave radio. It was The Avengers from England. You can see excerpts of this today all over the Internet and RU-vid. The female star in the show played by Diana Rigg, became the biggest sex symbol of television at that time. The younger generations today they may not remember her as a young beautiful actress and instead they'd remember her as last playing in the famous cable TV show, Game of Thrones, and still acting into her early 80s. Although I worked for most of my life, over 30 years in computer technology within big corporations in my hometown here of Portland Oregon, for the past 20 years I've worked as a background extract on Hollywood movie sets, and 17 years ago before this day on my birthday yesterday, I was hired at a university as the adjunct professor of astronomy teaching for one term at age 50. So just to prove that life is not over after 20 or 30, as many people realize what they want to do when they grow up one day, and that it was what they started with deep interests in early childhood. [Now I want to look up Marta Kirsten and see what's become of her since these early days.] Just an aside note for those that don't remember the Robot in Lost in Space, it was modeled after an earlier robot in the movies from the 1950s sci-fi, Forbidden Planet. Also look up excerpts from that movie, as you can watch on RU-vid many snippets which had a similar twist of a beautiful blonde actress named Anne Francis.
Interesting stories Mark. Many of us can relate to your stories in the context of our own childhood experiences and how they affected us on our road to adulthood. Take care!
Oh Man - you left out one of the BEST Fun Facts - in the mid 60's she was married to Burt Ward , she was on Lost in Space & he was on Batman. Imagine their at home conversations ... Marta: today I fought off Tomato people !! :) and Burt: So today I was almost cut in half by a giant saw blade while tied to a conveyor belt !! ... EDIT - I was wrong with this story ... sorry
Kathy kersh, the wife of Burt Ward who played Robin on the Batman tv series, appeared with marta kristen in a movie called, gemini affair. From Ms. Harper Stacey.
I heard a talk show. wmsx yrs ago and when. Mark S This was your Life. I think ! Had Ward on the show and he did not mention that. He did say his father in law wasn't crazy about him. He also mentioned his book. "Boy Wonder in Tights " Jk
Was only 8 when show premiered, but it was one of my favorites, along with Star Trek, which was far superior but "Lost" was definitely "funnier", either intentionally or unintentionally or maybe a little of both! In any event, I was old enough to notice that Marta Kristen was quite attractive! That being said, at that age I think I was a bit more interested in the insults that Major West and Dr. Smith used to sling at each other which I used to get a huge kick out of! "Spare me your poisonous barbs, Major West", LOL!
Angela Cartwright played one of seven children in the sound of Music the main stars were Julie Andrews and Christopher Plumber. Julie played Maria that took care of the children and educated them including how to sing and operate puppets, but later married their father.
Not very in depth as far as her backstory is concerned, yea she was left at an orphanage when she was a child. She was the daughter of a German soldier and a Finnish mother, when her father was killed she was 2 months old and momma dumped her at an Oslo orphanage and went home.
Marta was born to a Finnish woman and a German nazi soldier so she is not Norwegian at all.. Her Finnish mother found work in Norway where she was born. Her mother did not tell her father she was born afraid of what he might do. She was left at an orphanage. Basically she was lebensborn.
You left out the "shocking fact" that Marta appeared topless throughout the movie "Once". Unfortunately, most people, including myself, have never see this obscure film. Even she hasn't seen it since 1974. Apparently, USC has the only known copy in its film library & it's need of restoration.
Awesome actress God Blessed her Abundantly in many ways. Mark Goddard I've heard just passed away within this last month. He also was awesome in so many ways Jk
I wish Irwin Allen had kept the adventure path rather than reducing the show to childish comedy. That aspect happened because comedian Red Skelton, who became an investor in the show, steered it in a comical direction. I always loved Red, but his influence was a tragic mistake.
Sadly Martha had perhaps one or two shows mostly focus on her in the first season, one about being taken over by a plant life . She like most of the cast was used sparingly because the focus was on the smith character, this is for me why I stopped watching it. It started out great.
