Birth Name: Michael Christopher Landes
Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York, United States
Date of Birth: September 18, 1972
Ethnicity:
*Ashkenazi Jewish (father)
*Hungarian and/or Italian (mother)
Michael Landes is an American actor. He is married to actress Wendy Benson, with whom he has two children.
Michael is the son of Patricia Ann, an interior decorator, and Bernard M. “Bernie” Landes, a marketing consultant. His father is Jewish.
Michael’s paternal grandparents were Alfred Landes (the son of Samuel Landes and Frieda Schultz/Shatz) and Lillian Cohen (the daughter of ? Cohen and ? Halpert). Samuel and Frieda were Romanian Jewish immigrants. Frieda was the daughter of Joseph Schultz and Edith Itsokovitch.
Marriage records of Michael’s parents list his mother’s surname as both “Kopcsay” and “Galgano” (on different records). The surname “Kopcsay” is Hungarian while “Galgano” is Italian. It is not clear which one is Michael’s mother’s maiden name, and if the other was held by one of his ancestors or not.
Source: Michael’s paternal grandfather, Alfred Landes, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4V1-3M9
Death record of Michael’s paternal grandmother, Lillian Cohen – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP8R-B48
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