Career
Television
The Canadian-born Martel made his television debut in an episode of the superhero series Wonder Woman in 1977. His first big role came the same year as Jimmy Mulligan in the short-lived NBC family sitcom Mulligan's Stew , of which only the pilot and six episodes were filmed.
From 1979 to 1980, he had a recurring guest role as Marvin in eight episodes of Eight is Enough . In the 1981 television movie The Munsters' Revenge , based on the series The Munsters , he played the werewolf Eddie Munster, son of the actors Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo. [1] [2]
In 1985, he appeared in six episodes of the short-lived drama series The Best Times . Between 1985 and 1992, Martel also held a recurring role over all the seven seasons of the sitcom Growing Pains . He played Eddie Ziff, a friend of main character Mike Seaver (played by Kirk Cameron). [3] Overall, Martel appeared in more than 20 telvesion shows and about 10 television films.
Film
Martel made his feature film debut in 1979 in the horror film The Amityville Horror , playing Greg, one of the two sons of the Lutz family who move into a haunted house. In 1981, he made his second film appearance with a large role in the slasher movie Bloody Birthday . [4] [5]
In 1982, he appeared in Steven Spielberg's film classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial as Greg, one of the three friends of Robert MacNaughton's character Michael who take part in the final bicycle chase of the film. [6] [7] In 1987, Martel had his last fourth and last cinema role as George in the drama White Water Summer alongside Kevin Bacon and Sean Astin. [8]