Jessie Royce Landis (born Jessie Medbury; November 25, 1896 – February 2, 1972), also known as Jesse Royce-Landis,

Career

thumb|upright|right|Landis starring in [[The Millionairess (play)|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. In her early years on Broadway, she continued to act in touring productions. In the early 1950s, Landis spent three seasons acting on stage in London. Landis was recognized for the "best performance of the year" for her acting in Larger Than Life in London in 1950. and the housekeeper on The House on Q Street. 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.

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. 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; not old enough to be his (biological) mother.

Landis made many television appearances in programs such as The United States Steel Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Boris Karloff's Thriller.

Landis' autobiography You Won't Be So Pretty (But You'll Know More) was published in 1954.

Marriages

Landis was married three times. In June 1915, she secretly married Perry Lester Landis, "a scion of one of Evanston's prominent families".

Death

Landis passed away of cancer at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut, at the age of 75.

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References

Notes