- Mantan Moreland
-
Mantan Moreland 
1941 film King of the ZombiesBorn September 3, 1902
Monroe, Louisiana, U.S.Died September 28, 1973 (aged 71)
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Other names Man Tan Moreland
Manton Moreland
MorelandOccupation Actor, comedian Years active 1933-1973 Spouse Hazel Moreland (1 child) Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 - September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.[1]
Contents
Career
Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Moreland began acting by the time he was an adolescent, reportedly running away to join the circus.[citation needed] By the late 1920s, he had made his way through vaudeville, working with various shows and revues, performing on Broadway and touring Europe. Initially, Moreland appeared in low-budget "race movies" aimed at African-American audiences, but as his comedic talents came to be recognized, he received roles in larger productions.
Monogram Pictures signed Moreland to appear opposite Frankie Darro in the studio's popular action pictures. Moreland, with his bulging eyes and cackling laugh, quickly became a favorite supporting player in Hollywood movies. He is perhaps best known for his role as chauffeur Birmingham Brown in Monogram's Charlie Chan series. At the height of his career, Moreland received steady work from major film studios, as well as from independent producers who starred Moreland in low-budget, all-black-cast comedies.
Moreland also toured America in vaudeville, making personal appearances in the nation's movie theaters. His straight man was Ben Carter, and they developed an excellent rapport and impeccable timing.[says who?] Their "incomplete sentence" routines can be seen in two Charlie Chan pictures, The Scarlet Clue and Dark Alibi.
Moreland was offered fewer roles in the 1950s, when filmmakers began to reassess roles given to black actors.[citation needed] He was briefly considered as a possible addition to the Three Stooges when Shemp Howard died in 1955.[2] Moreland returned to the stage and appeared in two all-black variety films in 1955, with Nipsey Russell standing in for Ben Carter as his straight man.
Later career and death
Moreland's last featured role was in the 1968 darkly humorous horror film Spider Baby, which was patterned after Universal's thrillers of the 1940s. After suffering a stroke in the early 1960s, Moreland took on a few minor comedic roles, working with the likes of Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley and Carl Reiner.
Moreland died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1973 in Hollywood.[3] He was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.
Selected filmography
Film Year Film Role Notes 1933 That's the Spirit Night watchman Credited as Moreland 1936 The Green Pastures Angel Removing Hat Uncredited 1937 Harlem on the Prairie Alternative title: Bad Man of Harlem 1938 Two-Gun Man from Harlem Bill Blake 1939 One Dark Night Samson Brown 1940 Chasing Trouble Jefferson 1940 Up in the Air Jeff 1941 You're Out of Luck Jeff Jefferson 1941 King of the Zombies Jefferson "Jeff" Jackson 1941 Let's Go Collegiate Jeff 1941 The Gang's All Here Jefferson "Jeff" Smith 1942 Lucky Ghost Washington Delaware Jones 1942 Freckles Comes Home Jeff - the Hotel Porter 1943 Cabin in the Sky First Idea Man 1944 Charlie Chan in the Secret Service Birmingham Brown 1945 The Scarlet Clue Birmingham Brown 1945 The Shanghai Cobra (Charlie Chan) Birmingham Brown 1946 Mantan Messes Up Mantan 1946 Tall, Tan, and Terrific Mantan Moreland 1947 Ebony Parade Mantan 1948 The Feathered Serpent Birmingham Brown 1949 The Sky Dragon Birmingham Brown Alternative title: Charlie Chan and the Sky Dragon 1964 The Patsy Barbershop Porter Uncredited 1966 Alvarez Kelly Bartender Uncredited 1967 Enter Laughing Subway Rider 1968 Spider Baby Messenger Alternative title: Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told 1970 Watermelon Man Counterman 1972 The Biscuit Eater Waiter 1973 The Young Nurses Old Man Credited as Man Tan Moreland Television Year Title Role Notes 1957 Hallmark Hall of Fame 1 episode 1969 Julia Henry James 1 episode 1970 The Bill Cosby Show Uncle Dewey 1 episode Adam-12 Philip Richards 1 episode Stage performances
- Blackbirds (1928)
- Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930 (1930)
- Singin' the Blues (1931)
- Blackberries of 1932 (1932)
- Yeah-Man (1932)
- Shuffle Along of 1933 (1933)
- Waiting for Godot (1957)
Recordings
- That Ain't My Finger (Laff)
- Elsie's Sportin' House (Laff)
- Tribute to the Man (Laff)
Cultural references
The lyrics of The Coasters' 1963 song "Bad Detective" are sung from the first-person perspective of Birmingham Brown, Mantan Moreland's character in the Charlie Chan movie series.
On the Beastie Boys album Ill Communication, a Moreland sample from That Ain't My Finger was used in the song "B-Boys makin' with the Freak Freak". The sample was "Shit, if this is gonna be that kind of party, I'm gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes", which is the punchline to a joke about a French girl's misunderstanding of a certain obscene word. Audio collage artist Wayne Butane has used the same sample numerous times in his work.
Robert B. Parker makes an allusion to Moreland in Hush Money, one of his long running series of Spenser novels.[4]
In the Spike Lee film Bamboozled two characters recreate Moreland's "Incomplete Sentence" routine. Additionally, the fictional TV show which the plot spins around is called "Mantan: The New Millenium Minstrel Show".
References
- ^ New York Times
- ^ disclosed by Moe Howard in a 1971 interview with film historian Michael H. Price, cited in Price's 2007 biography of Moreland, Mantan the Funnyman, from Midnight Marquee Press of Baltimore.
- ^ Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2007). Vaudeville, Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America. Routledge. pp. 794. ISBN 0-415-93853-8.
- ^ Parker, Robert B. Hush Money, page 12, New York: Putnam
Literature
- Michael H. Price - Mantan the Funnyman (2007), a biography of Moreland
External links
- Mantan Moreland at the Internet Movie Database
- Mantan Moreland at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mantan Moreland at AllRovi
- Mantan Moreland - Biography on (re)Search my Trash
- B-Horror's Humorous Hero - Retrospect of Moreland's career
- The African American Registry - Short biography
- Mantan Moreland at Find a Grave
Categories:- 1902 births
- 1973 deaths
- Actors from Louisiana
- African American actors
- American film actors
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
- Deaths from cerebral hemorrhage
- People from Monroe, Louisiana
- Vaudeville performers
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