Lew Landers (January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962) was a prolific American independent film and television director.

Biography

Born Louis Friedlander in New York City, he began his movie career as an actor. In 1914 he appeared in two features, D. W. Griffith's drama The Escape and the comedy short Admission – Two Pins, opposite Glen White, under his birth name. He began making films in the 1930s, one of his first being the Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi thriller The Raven (1935). After directing a few more features, he changed his name to Lew Landers and went on to direct more than 100 films in a variety of genres, including westerns, comedy and horror films. He worked for every major film studio—and many minor ones—during his career. In the 1950s he began to alternate his film work with directing television series, including two episodes of Adventures of Superman that were shot in black and white in under a week.

On December 16, 1962, Landers died of a heart attack. His grave is located at Chapel of the Pines Crematory.