Edie Landau Explained

Edythe Landau (née Rudolph; July 15, 1927 – December 24, 2022) was an American film and television producer and executive, known for such films as Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Pawnbroker, King: A Filmed Record...Montgomery to Memphis, The Chosen and the fourteen movies of the American Film Theatre[1] [2] which she produced with her husband Ely Landau.[3]

Early life and career

Landau was born to a Jewish family and raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Rose and Harry Rudolph (former president of the Eastern Basketball League)[4] [5] and sister to Mendy Rudolph (2007 inductee to the Basketball Hall of Fame).[6] She received her B.A. in Education from Wilkes University.[7] In 1948, Landau moved to New York City, where she served as production coordinator for Phillips H. Lord,[8] on such popular radio shows as Gangbusters and Mr. District Attorney, among others.[9]

In 1953, Landau joined (and later married) Ely Landau in his start-up company National Telefilm Associates[10] which owned television station WNTA Channel 13 in NYC, considered the "fourth TV network" in the early days of television.[11] Until 1961, Edie Landau served as the company's Executive Vice President,[12] [13] overseeing the station's original programming including the anthology drama series The Play of the Week,[14] The Mike Wallace Show, The David Susskind Show,[15] Open End, The Bishop Sheen Show, and One Night Stand, among others.

In 1962, the Landaus produced Long Day's Journey Into Night,[16] an adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play directed by Sidney Lumet,[17] which won Best Actor awards for all its leading actors at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival,[18] as well as an Academy Award nomination for Katharine Hepburn as Best Actress.[19] This was followed in 1964 by The Pawnbroker[20] [21] [22] (Golden Globe Award winner and Academy Award nomination for Rod Steiger as Best Actor), The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969) also with Hepburn,[23] and the documentary King: a Filmed Record...Montgomery to Memphis (1970).[24] [25] The film about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. played in 663 theaters as a one-night benefit for King's charities,[26] was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature,[27] and in 1999 was added to the National Film Registry.[28]

In 1973, the Landaus launched the American Film Theatre,[29] [30] bringing two seasons of outstanding stage plays to the motion picture screen as part of a subscription series.[31] The fourteen movies of the American Film Theatre included Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance (the Landaus' third collaboration with Katharine Hepburn), O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, Pinter's The Homecoming, and Robert Shaw's The Man in the Glass Booth (with a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for Maximilian Schell).

Later career

From the late 1970s through the 1980s, Landau produced such films as Hopscotch (with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson),[32] [33] Beatlemania, Chaim Potok's The Chosen,[34] [35] [36] Robert Ludlum’s The Holcroft Covenant (with Michael Caine),[37] in addition to a number of award-winning productions for HBO, including The Deadly Game (with George Segal and Robert Morley),[38] Separate Tables (with Alan Bates and Julie Christie),[39] [40] Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson (with Laurence Olivier and Jackie Gleason)[41] and The Christmas Wife (with Jason Robards and Julie Harris).[42] [43] [44]

In 1982, while continuing her producing career, Landau graduated from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, and became a member of the State Bar of California.[45]

In 1989, Landau also began operating Nannies Unlimited Agency, an exclusive Beverly Hills placement service with clientele including numerous celebrities of the entertainment world.[46] [47] [48] In 2014, she published an original volume of poems, Smiles for Seniors: And Anyone Else Who Can Poke Fun at Themselves.[49]

Personal life and death

In addition to the two young sons her husband Ely A. Landau brought to the marriage (Neil and Les Landau), the Landaus had three children together: Jon Landau (producer of such films as Titanic and Avatar),[50] Tina Landau (renowned theater writer and director),[51] and Kathy Landau (Executive Director of Symphony Space in New York City).[52]

Landau passed away from natural causes on December 24, 2022, at the age of 95.[53] [54]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Reason, Matthew. Documentation, Disappearance and the Representation of Live Performance. limited. Springer/Palgrave Macmillan. September 22, 2006. 978-0-230-59856-0. 97.
  2. News: THEATER; Famous Plays, Famous Players, Forgotten Films. Schickel. Richard. April 13, 2003. The New York Times. 0362-4331. November 20, 2016.
  3. News: Ely Landau, Producer, 73, Dies; Filmed Plays for TV and Theaters. Pace. Eric. November 8, 1993. The New York Times. 0362-4331. November 20, 2016.
  4. Postal. Bernard. Silver. Jesse. Silver. Roy. 1965. Harry Rudolph. Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports. New York. Bloch Publishing Co.
  5. Web site: Producer Landau: Interpreter of Dreams . June 8, 2013 . March 1, 2010 . Pat Sierchio . JewishJournal.com.
  6. Blevins. David. 2012. Mendy Rudolph. The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia: Baseball, Basketball .... Rowman & Littlefield. 1. 836.
  7. News: Graduate of Wilkes. June 23, 1948. The Wilkes-Barre Record. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 9.
  8. 1959. Edythe Rein. Radio Annual and Television Year Book. Indiana University. Radio Daily Corporation. 1050.
  9. Book: Dunning, John. 1998. Philiips H. Lord. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.. Oxford University Press. 128–129. 978-0-19-507678-3.
  10. Book: National Telefilm Associates. Onym Press. 2011. 978-613-7-83449-7. Charline. Aeron.
  11. July 7, 1956. "Fourth TV Network, for Films, is Created". Boxoffice. 8.
  12. August 26, 1957. KMGM-TV SOLD TO NATL. TELEFILM. Broadcasting Telecasting the Business Weekly of Radio and Television. 79–80.
  13. Sep–Dec 1957. No.36-52. Sponsor. Sponsor Publications, Inc.. 11.
  14. Book: Gould, Jack. Watching Television Come of Age: The New York Times Reviews. University of Texas Press. November 1, 2002. 978-0-292-72846-2.
  15. Book: Battaglio, Stephen. David Susskind: A Televised Life. Macmillan. 2010. 978-1429946148. 42, 63–65, 67–68, 259–260.
  16. Book: Designing Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artist. Sylbert. Richard. Townsend. Sylvia. Praeger. September 30, 2006. 978-0275986902. 71–73.
  17. Book: Rapf, Joanna E.. Sidney Lumet: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 2006. 1578067243. 28–43.
  18. News: Awards 1962 : Competition. Festival de Cannes. November 21, 2016.
  19. News: The 35th Academy Awards 1963. Oscars.org Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. November 21, 2016.
  20. Leff. Leonard J.. 2003. Remembering The Pawnbroker. The American Experience in World War II: The United States and the Road to War in Europe. Taylor & Francis. 131–138. 041594029X.
  21. Book: Harris, Mark. Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood. Penguin Group. 2008. 978-1-59420-152-3. New York, NY. 173–176.
  22. Web site: The Pawnbroker (1965) - Overview - TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies. November 21, 2016.
  23. Book: Edwards, Anne. Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman. Macmillan. 1985. 0688045286.
  24. Book: Rollins, Peter C.. The Columbia Companion to American History on Film: How the Movies Have Portrayed the American Past. Columbia University Press. June 5, 2004. 978-0231112239. New York, NY. 341–342.
  25. Book: Niemi, Robert. History in the Media: Film and Television. limited. ABC-CLIO. 2006. 157607952X. 364.
  26. Web site: Movie Review - - Screen: The Pilgrimage of Martin Luther King Jr. - NYTimes.com. www.nytimes.com. November 21, 2016.
  27. News: The 43rd Academy Awards 1971. Oscars.org Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. November 21, 2016.
  28. Book: Eagan, Daniel. America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry. A&C Black. 2010. 978-0826429773. registration.
  29. Benson . Raymond . April 16, 2009 . Remember...The American Film Theatre! . Cinema Retro . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130601121955/http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?%2Farchives%2F3150-REMEMBER...THE-AMERICAN-FILM-THEATRE%21.html . June 1, 2013 .
  30. Book: Caute, David. Joseph Losey: A Revenge on Life. Oxford University Press. September 22, 1994. 978-0195064100. 181.
  31. News: Better Season Expected by American Film Theater. Glover. William. October 11, 1974. Associated Press.
  32. Web site: Hopscotch. Turner Classic Movies. November 21, 2016.
  33. Web site: Movie Review - - 'HOPSCOTCH' STARS JACKSON-MATTHAU TEAM - NYTimes.com. www.nytimes.com. November 21, 2016.
  34. News: BRINGING BROOKLYN OF THE 1940S BACK TO LIFE FOR 'THE CHOSEN'. Shepard. Richard F.. May 16, 1982. The New York Times. 0362-4331. November 21, 2016.
  35. Web site: Movie Review - - 'THE CHOSEN' - NYTimes.com. www.nytimes.com. November 21, 2016.
  36. Web site: The Chosen (1981). Turner Classic Movies. November 21, 2016.
  37. News: The Holcroft Covenant Blu-ray Review Slant Magazine. Slant Magazine. en-US. November 21, 2016.
  38. 1985. The Deadly Game. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. VNR AG. 2. 107.
  39. Book: Mann, William J.. Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger. Billboard Books. September 1, 2006. 0823084698. 490.
  40. News: TV: BATES AND JULIE CHRISTIE IN 'SEPARATE TABLES'. O'connor. John J.. April 4, 1983. The New York Times. 0362-4331. November 21, 2016.
  41. News: TELEVISION WEEK. Lovers. C. Gerald Fraser Music. August 28, 1983. The New York Times. 0362-4331. November 21, 2016.
  42. Web site: Christmas Wife, The (1988) - Overview - TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies. November 21, 2016.
  43. News: Review/Television; For the Holidays, Family and Romance. O'connor. John J.. December 12, 1988. The New York Times. 0362-4331. November 21, 2016.
  44. News: Television Reviews : A Juggernaut of Talent in Holiday Offerings. Heffley. Lynne. December 12, 1988. Los Angeles Times.
  45. Web site: State Bar of CA :: Edythe Landau. California. The State Bar of. members.calbar.ca.gov. November 21, 2016.
  46. Book: Elias, Merle. L.A. First Class. Globe Pequot. July 1, 2001. 0762707860. 36.
  47. Book: Communications, Emmis. Los Angeles Magazine. July 1, 1999. Emmis Communications. en.
  48. News: Perfect Home Help for Celebs? Only the Very Discreet. BYRNE. BRIDGET. October 23, 1996. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 0458-3035. November 21, 2016.
  49. Book: Landau, Edie. Smiles for Seniors: And Anyone Else Who Can Poke Fun at Themselves. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. April 23, 2014. 978-1494821272.
  50. News: Titanic and Avatar producer Jon Landau speaks to Newsweek about what all great movies have in common. October 4, 2016. Newsweek. November 21, 2016.
  51. News: The 9 Habits of Highly Creative Directors. Dominus. Susan. September 4, 2005. The New York Times. 0362-4331. November 21, 2016.
  52. News: Symphony Space Welcomes Kathy Landau as New Executive Director. BWW News Desk. BroadwayWorld.com. November 21, 2016.
  53. Web site: Reul . Katie . Edie Landau, Producer and National Telefilm Associates Executive, Dies at 95 . Variety . December 27, 2022.
  54. Web site: Edie Landau, 'Hopscotch' and 'The Deadly Game' Producer, Dies at 95. Hollywood Reporter. December 27, 2022. Carly Thomas. December 30, 2022.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Edie Landau".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.