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Edie Landau

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[edit]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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).^[29]

Later career[edit]

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[edit]

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]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Edie LandauatIMDb