Jessie Royce Landis
Jessie Royce Landis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Jessie Royce Medbury November 25, 1896 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 2, 1972 (aged 75) |
| Resting place | Branchville Cemetery, Ridgefield, Connecticut |
| Spouse(s) | Perry Lester Landis (1923-1935) Rex Smith (1937-1944) Maj. Gen. J. F. R. Seitz (1956-1972) |
Jessie Royce Landis (November 25, 1896 – February 2, 1972) was an American actress.
Early Life
Jesse Royce Landis was born Jessie Royce Medbury in Chicago, Illinois.[1] Her father, Paul, was an orchestra musician.
Career
Landis was a stage actress for much of her career. In the 1950s, she began appearing in movies as a character actress, most notably in To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959), both starring Cary Grant and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In North by Northwest she played Grant's character's mother, and in To Catch a Thief and the The Swan she played Grace Kelly's mother. She also made many television appearances.
Age Controversy
Landis's appearance in North by Northwest earned her publicity for portraying Cary Grant's mother despite being nearly a year younger. Landis listed 1904 as the year of her birth, a date now given by many printed biographies and online sources.[1][2] However, in the tradition of many Hollywood actors, Landis had actually shaved years off her age – in this instance, eight. She appears in the 1900 U.S. Census as a 3-year-old born in November, 1896,[3] and so was actually seven years older than Grant.
Personal life and death
She was married three times. Her third husband was Major General J.F.R. "Jeff" Seitz. He died in 1978.[4] Her autobiography, titled You Won't Be So Pretty (But You'll Know More) was published in 1954.
Landis died of cancer in Danbury, Connecticut on February 2, 1972.[1]
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Mr. Belvedere Goes to College | Mrs. Chase | |
| 1949 | It Happens Every Spring | Mrs. Greenleaf | |
| 1949 | My Foolish Heart | Martha Winters | |
| 1955 | To Catch a Thief | Jessie Stevens | |
| 1956 | Climax! | Olivia Chesney | Episode: "An Episode of Sparrows" |
| 1956 | The Swan | Princess Beatrix | |
| 1957 | My Man Godfrey | Angelica Bullock | |
| 1958 | I Married a Woman | Mrs. Blake, Janice's Mother | |
| 1959 | North by Northwest | Clara Thornhill | |
| 1960 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Claire Crane | Episode: "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?" |
| 1960 | Thriller | Mrs. Killburn | Episode: "The Mark of the Hand" |
| 1961 | Goodbye Again | Mrs. Van der Besh | |
| 1962 | Boys' Night Out | Ethel Williams | |
| 1963 | Critic's Choice | Charlotte Orr aka Charlie | |
| 1963 | Gidget Goes to Rome | Albertina Blythe | |
| 1965 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Madame Olga Nemirovitch | Episode: "The Adriatic Express Affair" |
| 1970 | Airport | Mrs. Harriet DuBarry Mossman | |
| 1971 | Columbo | Mrs. Chadwick | Episode: "Lady in Waiting" |
References
- ^ a b c Nissen, Axel (2006). Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties. McFarland. p. 95. ISBN 0-7864-2746-9.
- ^ The New York Times Biographical Service. Vol. 3. New York Times & Arno Press. 1972. p. 353.
- ^ Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Chicago Ward 4, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 248; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 96; FHL microfilm: 1240248.
- ^ "US Army Officers 1939-1945". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
External links
- Jessie Royce Landis at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jessie Royce Landis at IMDb
- Jessie Royce Landis at the TCM Movie Database
- Jessie Royce Landis at Find a Grave
- Jessie Royce Landis from Great Character Actors
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