Lew Landers | |
|---|---|
| Born | Louis Friedlander January 2, 1901 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 16, 1962 (aged 61) Palm Desert, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Louis Friedlander Louis Friedländer Louis Friendlander |
| Occupation(s) | Film and television director |
Lew Landers (born Louis Friedlander, January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962) was an American independent film and television director.[1]
Born as Louis Friedlander in New York City, Lew Landers began his movie career as an actor. In 1914, he appeared in two features: D.W. Griffith's drama The Escape and the comedy short Admission – Two Pins, under his birth name. He became an assistant director at Universal Pictures in 1922.[2] He began making films in the 1930s, one of his early ones being the Boris Karloff / Bela Lugosi thriller The Raven (1935).[3] After directing a few more features, he changed his name to Lew Landers and directed more than 100 films in a variety of genres, including Westerns, comedies, and horror movies. He worked for every major film studio—and many minor ones—during his career. Since 1943, he began to alternate his movie work with directing television series,[2] including two episodes of Adventures of Superman and the campy Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.
On December 16, 1962, Landers died of a heart attack in Palm Desert, California.[2] His grave is located at Chapel of the Pines Crematory.
Actor Jim McKrell played a TV news reporter named Lew Landers in two films directed by Joe Dante: The Howling (1981) and Gremlins (1984).
