He again appeared as himself with his band, Tony Martinez and His Mambo, in the 1956 musical picture Rock Around the Clock. Tony Martinez gained a loyal fan base for his role on the popular television series The Real McCoys before taking to the stage for the role of Sancho Panza in a whopping 2,245 productions of The Man of La Mancha. Martinez was a music scholar before relocating to New York to continue his studies at Juilliard. Tony Martinez was a talented musician who was versed in five instruments as well as vocals, though it was in film and television roles that Martinez found the most popularity. He married wife Myra in 1981 and the couple would remain together until Martinez’s death. Tony Martinez passed away at the age of 83 on September 16, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada.