Harry Landis (born Hyman Jacob Londinsky,[2][3] 25 November 1926 – 11 September 2022) was a British actor and theatre director.
[1] He came from a poor background as the only child of, Sarah (née Sadie Chibulam), and a father, Morris Londinsky, a taxi driver, who left when Harry was a baby.
While working in a factory, he would perform the show he had seen at the Hackney Empire the previous night, and the shop steward encouraged him to go to the Unity Theatre, which was linked to the trade union and labour movement.
[8] After doing his military service with the British Army during World War II, he returned to the Unity Theatre, and, by then aged 20, he was awarded a grant by the London County Council so he could study at drama school.
Other films followed, including Bitter Victory, Edge of Sanity, Ransom, The Informers, Private Potter, Dunkirk and Operation Bullshine.
In between directing, Landis appeared in many TV shows, such as Minder, and later continued to do so with series including EastEnders, Goodnight Sweetheart, Casualty and Friday Night Dinner.
Landis returned to live in the East End in the 2010s, with his partner of more than 30 years, Ingrid Curry, buying a flat in Spitalfields.