Profile Text
05/15/2019 – Kove – “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” Los Angeles Special Screening – Arrivals – TCL Chinese Theatre – Hollywood, CA, USA – Photo Credit: Kazuki Hirata / HollywoodNewsWire.net / PRPhotos.com
Birth Name: Martin L. Kove
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: March 6, 1947
Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish
Martin Kove is an American actor and martial artist. He is known for playing John Kreese in The Karate Kid films and on the show Cobra Kai . His roles also include the films Death Race 2000 , White Line Fever , Rambo: First Blood Part II , Wyatt Earp (1994), Baby Face Nelson (1995), Crocodile 2: Death Swamp , Middle Men (2009), Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood , VFW , Max Reload and the Nether Blasters , Queen of the Ring , and Killing Mary Sue ; and the series Cagney and Lacey , The Edge of Night , and Hard Time on Planet Earth .
He was adopted by Jewish parents, Frances (Sussman) and Theodore “Teddy” Kove. At the time, 1947, most Jewish couples in the U.S. adopted children that were born to Jewish mothers, and sometimes also Jewish fathers. Martin was raised in Conservative Judaism. He has two children, including actor Jesse Kove, with his former wife Vivienne Love.
Theodore Kove was the son of Meyer Kovolefsky and Sadie Bzuesza. Meyer and Sadie were born in Poland/Russia.
Frances Sussman was the daughter of Morris Sussman and Rose. Morris was born in Horodenka, Ukraine. Rose was born in Austria.
Sources: https://jewishjournal.com
Genealogy of Martin Kove – https://www.geni.com
Martin Kove on the 1950 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Martin’s adoptive father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Martin’s adoptive mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org