Jessie Royce Landis

Jessie Royce Landis (born Jessie Medbury; November 25, 1896 – February 2, 1972) was an American actress. Her name is also seen as Jesse Royce-Landis.<ref name=":0" /> She remains perhaps best-known for her mother roles in the Hitchcock films To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959).

Early life

Jessie Royce Landis was born Jessie Medbury in Chicago, Illinois,<ref name=nissen/> to Paul, an orchestra musician, and Ella Medbury. Her acting surname "Landis" derives from her first husband, although she was married twice more.

A scholarship that Landis received when she was 14 enabled her to attend the Hinshaw Dramatic School, which led to her acting two years later with the Evanston Stock Company.<ref name="acc">Template:Cite book</ref>

Career

Landis starring in The Millionairess at the Westport Country Playhouse (1938), the US premiere of George Bernard Shaw's play

Landis was a stage actress for much of her career.

When her first husband's family encountered financial problems, she joined the North Shore Players as leading lady and director. In 1924, she left those dual roles to go on tour with The Highwayman.<ref name="nissen" />

Her Broadway career began with The Honor of the Family (1926) and ended with Roar Like a Dove (1964).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> In her early years on Broadway, she continued to act in touring productions.<ref name="baf">Template:Cite book</ref> In the early 1950s, Landis spent three seasons acting on stage in London.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Landis was recognized for the "best performance of the year" for her acting in Larger Than Life in London in 1950.<ref name="nyt" />

In the era of old-time radio, Landis had the roles of Irene Emerson on Helpmate<ref name="slpd">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> and the housekeeper on The House on Q Street.<ref name="rp">Template:Cite book</ref> She also was part of "a stellar cast of Broadway actors and actresses" in the cast of We Are Always Young on WOR in New York in 1941.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In the 1950s, she began appearing in movies as a character actress, such as her roles 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 Swan (1956), she played the mother of the character played by Grace Kelly. Landis's appearance in North by Northwest earned her publicity for portraying Cary Grant's mother despite claiming to be nearly a year younger. Landis listed 1904 as the year of her birth.<ref name=nissen>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, she had actually shaved eight years off her age. She appears in the 1900 U.S. Census as a 3-year-old born in November 1896;<ref name="autogenerated2">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.</ref> not old enough to be his (biological) mother.Template:Original research inline

Landis made many television appearances in programs such as The United States Steel Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Boris Karloff's Thriller.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>

Landis' autobiography You Won't Be So Pretty (But You'll Know More) was published in 1954.<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref>

Marriages

Landis was married three times. In June 1915, she secretly married Perry Lester Landis, "a scion of one of Evanston's prominent families".<ref name="nissen" /> Their son, Medbury Perry Landis, was born with Down syndrome in 1916. When she returned to the stage, he was put in a special school over his father's objections. The couple never lived together again, although they were not divorced until 1925,<ref name="nissen" /> and their son died in 1928.

Landis was married to Rex Smith from 1937 to 1944. In 1956, she married her third husband and widower,<ref name="nissen" /> United States Army Major General John F. R. "Jeff" Seitz (died 1978).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

Landis died of cancer at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on February 2, 1972, aged 75.<ref name=nissen/>

Complete filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1930	At Your Service		Short
	Derelict	Helen Lorber
1949	Mr. Belvedere Goes to College	Mrs. Chase
	It Happens Every Spring	Mrs. Greenleaf
	My Foolish Heart	Martha Winters
1950	Mother Didn't Tell Me	Mrs. Wright
1952	Meet Me Tonight	Olive Lloyd Ransome, segment "Ways and Means"
1953	Main Street to Broadway	Jessie Royce Landis - First Nighter	Uncredited
1955	To Catch a Thief	Jessie Stevens
1956	The Swan	Princess Beatrix
	The Girl He Left Behind	Mrs. Madeline Shaeffer
1957	My Man Godfrey	Angelica Bullock
1958	I Married a Woman	Mrs. Blake, Janice's Mother
1959	North by Northwest	Clara Thornhill
	A Private's Affair	Elizabeth T. Chapman
1961	Goodbye Again	Mrs. Van der Besh
1962	Bon Voyage!	Countessa "La Comtesse" DuFresne
	Boys' Night Out	Ethel Williams
1963	Critic's Choice	Charlotte Orr aka Charlie
	Gidget Goes to Rome	Albertina Blythe
1970	Airport	Mrs. Harriet DuBarry Mossman

Partial television credits

Year	Series/TV Movie	Role	Episode
1952	Larger Than Life	Julia Lambert	TV movie
1956	Climax!	Olivia Chesney	"An Episode of Sparrows"
1960	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Claire Crane	Season 5 Episode 26: "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?"
1960	Thriller	Mrs. Killburn	"The Mark of the Hand"
1965	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Madame Olga Nemirovitch	"The Adriatic Express Affair"
1969	Ironside	Victoria Ironside	"Why the Tuesday Afternoon Bridge Club Met on Thursday"
1971	Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones	Grandmother Greher	ABC Movie of the Week
1971	Columbo	Mrs. Chadwick	"Lady in Waiting" (final appearance)

Radio appearances

Year	Program	Episode/source
1944	Grand Central Station	NA<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
1953	Theatre Guild on the Air	Quiet Wedding<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>

References

Template:Portal Notes Template:Reflist

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Find a Grave
• Template:OL author
• Template:Tcmdb name
• Template:IBDB name
• Template:Iobdb name