Linda Otto Landsburg, 64
Academy member Linda Otto Landsburg died of cancer at the age of 64 on June 27. She is survived by Alan Landsburg, her husband of 28 years, daughters Valerie and Shana Landsburg, son Michael Landsburg, daughter-in-law Anne Landsburg, son-in-law James McVay, son-in-law Scott Putman, and seven grandchildren.
Born in New York City, she attended the Birch Wathen School, and later matriculated at Connecticut College for Women. Her first employment was a starting position in the David Merrick office. As a staff member under Merrick, she began a long successful career working for one of the most prominent casting directors on Broadway. Her credits include Hair, That Championship Season, Cactus Flower, Don't Drink the Water, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and The Ginger Bread Lady.
In 1974, Otto moved to Los Angeles, where she cast some of television's most important and long-running series: Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, Charlie's Angels, and Soap (in conjunction with partner and friend Joan Barnett).
In 1976, she married Alan Landsburg, founder of an independent production company. In association with the Landsburg Company, Otto took her first steps in her career as a producer and director of socially relevant movies and documentaries.
She deeply believed it was vital to give voice to those who would not normally be heard in television's routine programming. Her documentary productions focused on subjects such as teen-age suicide (Shattered Silence), battered women (Prisoners of Wedlock), and children caught in the turmoil of divorce(Switching Parents).
Her concern for children led to some of her most successful films. The groundbreaking docudrama Adam highlighted the manner in which kidnapped children were neglected by federal government agencies. The film prompted the formation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Ryan White Story provided a platform for tolerance of children afflicted by AIDS. A Mother's Right: the Elizabeth Morgan Story focused on a sexually abused child and her mother's attempt to protect her.
When Linda Otto was afflicted by breast cancer, she turned her experience into a documentary, providing hope for other cancer patients. Destined to Live told her own story as well as those of 20 others who survived the disease. Her own bout with scleroderma led her to take an activist role as a board member of the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. Her fears for abducted children gave rise to Find the Children, a Los Angeles foundation for parents of missing children and a leader in prevention programs for schools throughout the city. She is Founding President of the organization, and remained the chair until her death.