Person Details
Birthday:
Aliases: James Cullen Landis , J. Cullen Landis
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 38
TV Involvements: 0
Most Famous Work
Biography
Cullen Landis (July 9, 1896 – August 26, 1975) was an American motion picture actor and director whose career began in the early ears of the silent film era. James Cullen Landis was the middle of three siblings (two sons and a daughter) raised by Lulan and Margaret (née Cullen) Landis in Nashville, Tennessee, where his father supported his family as a stock broker. As a boy, James was a train enthusiast and dreamed to be an railroad engineer. Though the ambition eventually faded, his interest in railroads did not, and some years later he helped design for himself a model train set powered by steam. He began working in the fledgling film industry at age 18 around the time his older sister, Margaret Landis, appeared in her first film. In 1928 Cullen Landis starred in the first ‘all talking’ motion picture, Lights of New York. He once confided in a friend that talkies were perfect for musicals and that he was no "song and dance man". He left Hollywood for Detroit in 1930 to produce and direct industrial films for automobile companies. Landis began as a movie director, only turning to acting after his lead player broke a leg and it was discovered that the actor’s costumes fit him. He went on to become one of the more popular lead actors of the silent era, appearing in some one hundred films over 14 years. During World War II, he served as a captain with US Army Signal Corps producing training films in the South Pacific. By war’s end he was twice decorated and promoted to major. In the post war years he made documentaries for the US State Department that took him to the far corners of the world. James Cullen Landis died on August 28, 1975, aged 79, at a nursing home in Bloomfield, Michigan, three months after the death of his wife, Jane. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Most Famous Work
The Ace of Hearts
(1921) Young Man in Restaurant (uncredited)Lights of New York
(1928) Eddie MorganVoices of the City
(1921) JimmyThe Devil's Skipper
(1928) John DubraySnowblind
(1921) Pete GarthWho Is Number One?
(1917) Tommy HalePioneer Trails
(1923) Jack Dale / Jack PlainsRemembrance
(1922) Seth SmithActing
Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
---|---|---|
1943 | Self (segment 'Lights of New York') (archive footage) | |
1930 | N/A | |
1928 | Jules Barbier | |
Eddie Morgan | ||
John Dubray | ||
Pertio | ||
Bud | ||
1927 | George Minafer | |
Georgie McCarver | ||
N/A | ||
1926 | Denny O'Brien | |
Danny Grovan | ||
Bob Hastings | ||
Davy Crockett | ||
'Sunrise' Smith | ||
Herbert Brown | ||
Gordon Kent | ||
1925 | David Henderson | |
Jerry Chandler | ||
John Grayson | ||
Ronald Steel | ||
George Minafer | ||
1924 | Donald Dillingham | |
Jack Le Moyne | ||
Ben Martin | ||
Tom Rumford | ||
1923 | Harold Trevis | |
Chaser | ||
Paul Nadeau | ||
Jack Dale / Jack Plains | ||
Cons Saunders | ||
Alan Fair | ||
Nathan Forge | ||
1922 | Oliver Newell | |
Seth Smith | ||
Peter Armitage | ||
Elmer Slocum | ||
1921 | Jimmy | |
Young Man in Restaurant (uncredited) | ||
Jim at 22-32 | ||
Pete Garth | ||
Rab | ||
1920 | Stoddard | |
Bob DeWitt | ||
1919 | Slicker Evans | |
Jerry Wilson | ||
Lemuel Stallings | ||
Billy Lanyon / Tommy Oakhurst | ||
Ned Caldwell (as J. Cullen Landis) | ||
1918 | The Boyfriend | |
Jack | ||
Jack | ||
Jack Random | ||
1917 | Tommy Hale | |
N/A | ||
Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
Directing
Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
---|---|---|
1940 | Director | |
Year | Role | Movie/Tv |