Biography
Cullen Landis (July 9, 1896 – August 26, 1975) was an American actor and director whose career began during the early years of the silent film era.
James Cullen Landis was the middle child of three siblings—two sons and a daughter—raised by Lulan and Margaret (née Cullen) Landis in Nashville, Tennessee. His father worked as a stockbroker. As a boy, James was passionate about trains and dreamed of becoming a railroad engineer. Although that ambition faded, his fascination with railroads remained, and years later he designed a steam-powered model train set for himself. He entered the emerging film industry at age 18, around the same time his older sister, Margaret Landis, made her film debut.
In 1928, Cullen Landis starred in the first all-talking motion picture, Lights of New York. He once confided to a friend that talkies suited musicals perfectly, but he was no "song and dance man." In 1930, he left Hollywood for Detroit to produce and direct industrial films for automobile manufacturers. Landis initially started as a director and only switched to acting after the lead actor broke a leg and it was found that the costumes fit him. He became a popular lead actor of the silent era, appearing in about one hundred films over 14 years. During World War II, he served as a captain with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, producing training films in the South Pacific. By the war’s end, he had been twice decorated and promoted to major. After the war, he made documentaries for the U.S. State Department, traveling to remote parts of the world. James Cullen Landis passed away on August 28, 1975, at age 79, in a nursing home in Bloomfield, Michigan, three months after his wife, Jane, died.
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