Memoriam for Monte Landis

This would appear to be a rare case of Travalanche scooping both Wikipedia and IMDB. Today would have been the 92nd birthday of character actor Monte Landis (Monte Landstein, 1933-2024) had he not passed away back in December. A gentleman named Aaron Alpert who claimed (plausibly) that he was Landis’s nephew (and shared rare photos to prove it) announced it on social media a few weeks back.

Landis was originally from Glasgow, and launched his career in the U.K. According to Alpert, “He began his career in Britain in a mime/comedy double-act with Yecheskel Fenigstein, son of a chazan, which they took to clubs around Europe. Monte also had a career in Paris in the mid-1950s as an MC in cabaret and jazz clubs (Crazy Horse & Club Saint-Germain). He played his own role later in Charade with Cary Grant (1963), and was a choreographer for the French vocal group The Blue Stars of France.”

Landis’ other movies included The Mouse That Roared (1959), Play it Cool (1962), Targets (1968), Star! (1968), Myra Breckinridge (1970), Young Frankenstein (1974), Linda Lovelace for President (1975), Yellowbeard (1983), Body Double (1984), Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), and Real Genius (1985). His TV work was especially valued. He guested on at least a half dozen episodes of The Monkees, and was also onBatman, Get Smart,Hawaii Five-O, High Chaparral, Columbo, McMillan & Wife,The Feather and Father Gang, et al. His last screen credits were in the mid ’90s.

For more about show business historyconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.