Very busy Hollywood character actor who didn't hit his stride on screen until he was in his 50s but who nonetheless appeared in 33 films between 1931 and 1934. The Philadelphia-born actor, veteran of a dozen Broadway plays, specialized in playing corrupt authority figures, and was perhaps best known for his deep, sonorous speaking voice.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bill Takacs <kinephile@aol.com>
In 1934 Landau suffered a stroke from which he never recovered. He died the following year. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, CA, Section H, L-81. His plaque bears his real name, David H. Magee, with his pseudonym "Landau" below.
Acted on Broadway from 1919-1929.
Landau had a long but unremarkable stage career until 1930, when he played the murderous cuckold Mr. Murrant in the national touring company production of Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Street Scene". He powerfully recreated the role in director King Vidor's 1931 film adaptation. Armed with a menacing look and a cavernous bass speaking voice, Landau became a steadily employed Hollywood heavy until his premature death.