- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- September 3, 1902
- Place of Birth
- Monroe, Louisiana, USA
- Died
- September 28, 1973
Mantan Moreland
Born just after the turn of the century in Louisiana, Mantan began running away from home at age 12 to join circuses and medicine shows, only to be brought back time and again. During these times he sharpened his comic skills and developed routines and acts that eventually became popular on the vaudeville stage, or what was then called the "chitlin' circuit." A solo performer by nature, he often teamed up with other famous comics (such as Ben Carter) to keep working, and became a deft performer of "indefinite talk" routines, where two quicksilver comics continually topped each other in mid-sentence, as if reading each other's mind (i.e., "Say, did you see...?" "Saw him just yesterday...didn't look so good"). Mantan's focus gradually shifted his trade toward film, where he initially appeared in servile bits (shoeshine men, porters, waiters). However, his talent for making people laugh cou…
Filmography
movieThe Young Nurses
1973 · Old Man
movieWatermelon Man
1970 · Joe the Counterman
movieThe Comic
1969 · Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled)
tvLove, American Style
1969 · Stranger
tvThe Bill Cosby Show
1969 · Uncle Dewey
tvAdam-12
1968 · Philip Richards
tvJulia
1968 · Harry James
movieSpider Baby
1967 · Messenger
movieEnter Laughing
1967 · Subway Rider
movieThe Patsy
1964 · Barber Shop Porter
movieRockin' the Blues
1956 · Self
movieSky Dragon
1949 · Birmingham Brown
movieCome On, Cowboy!
1949 · Mantan
movieThe Feathered Serpent
1948 · Birmingham Brown
movieThe Golden Eye
1948 · Birmingham Brown
movieShe's Too Mean for Me
1948
movieThe Shanghai Chest
1948 · Birmingham Brown
movieThe Dreamer
1948
movieDocks of New Orleans
1948 · Birmingham Brown
movieWhat a Guy
1948
movieThe Chinese Ring
1947 · Birmingham Brown
movieReturn of Mandy's Husband
1947 · Mantan
movieThe Trap
1946 · Birmingham Brown
movieMantan Runs for Mayor
1946
movieShadows Over Chinatown
1946 · Birmingham Brown
movieTall, Tan and Terrific
1946 · Mantan Moreland
movieDark Alibi
1946 · Birmingham Brown
movieRiverboat Rhythm
1946 · Mantan
movieMantan Messes Up
1946 · Mantan
movieThe Spider
1945 · Harry
movieShe Wouldn't Say Yes
1945 · Porter (uncredited)
movieCaptain Tugboat Annie
1945 · Pinto
movieThe Shanghai Cobra
1945 · Birmingham Brown
movieThe Scarlet Clue
1945 · Birmingham Brown, Chauffeur
movieThe Jade Mask
1945 · Birmingham Brown
movieBowery to Broadway
1944 · Alabam
movieBlack Magic
1944 · Birmingham Brown
movieSouth of Dixie
1944 · The Porter
movieThis Is the Life
1944 · Porter (uncredited)
movieCharlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
1944 · Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver
moviePin Up Girl
1944 · Train Station Porter (uncredited)
movieMoon Over Las Vegas
1944 · Porter
movieSee Here, Private Hargrove
1944 · Train Porter (uncredited)
movieCharlie Chan in the Secret Service
1944 · Birmingham Brown
movieChip Off the Old Block
1944 · Porter
movieSwing Fever
1943 · Woody, Woody, Nick's Valet (uncredited)
movieYou're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
1943 · Porter
movieRevenge of the Zombies
1943 · Jefferson 'Jeff' Johnson
movieMelody Parade
1943 · Skidmore
movieWe've Never Been Licked
1943 · Willie
movieSarong Girl
1943 · Maxwell
movieHit the Ice
1943 · Porter with Snowshoes (uncredited)
movieHe Hired the Boss
1943 · Bootblack
movieSlightly Dangerous
1943 · Waiter at Swade's (uncredited)
movieCabin in the Sky
1943 · First Idea Man
movieCosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
1943 · Eustace Smith
movieAndy Hardy's Double Life
1942 · Prentiss - The Benedict Butler (uncredited)
movieEyes in the Night
1942 · Alistair
movieGirl Trouble
1942 · Flint's Chauffeur
moviePhantom Killer
1942 · Nicodemus
movieA-Haunting We Will Go
1942 · Porter (uncredited)
movieFootlight Serenade
1942 · Amos
movieMexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
1942 · Lightnin'
movieMr. Washington Goes to Town
1942 · Schenectady Washington
movieTarzan's New York Adventure
1942 · Sam, the Nightclub Janitor (uncredited)
movieThe Strange Case of Doctor Rx
1942 · Horatio B.Fitz Washington
movieProfessor Creeps
1942 · Washington
movieLucky Ghost
1942 · Washington
movieLaw of the Jungle
1942 · Jefferson "Jeff" Jones
Treat 'Em Rough
1942 · 'Snake-Eyes'
movieFour Jacks and a Jill
1942 · Cicero - Wash Room Attendant (uncredited)
movieFreckles Comes Home
1942 · Jeff the porter
Marry the Boss's Daughter
1941 · Diner Cook
movieBirth of the Blues
1941 · Black Trumpet Player (uncredited)
movieIt Started with Eve
1941 · Railway Porter (uncredited)
movieLet's Go Collegiate
1941 · Jeff
movieDressed to Kill
1941 · Rusty
movieCracked Nuts
1941 · Burgess
movieThe Gang's All Here
1941 · Jefferson 'Jeff' Smith
movieKing of the Zombies
1941 · Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson
movieSign of the Wolf
1941 · Ben
movieEllery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
1941 · Roy
movieSleepers West
1941 · Porter (uncredited)
movieYou're Out of Luck
1941 · Jeff Jefferson
movieUp Jumped the Devil
1941 · Washington
movieFour Shall Die
1940 · Beefus - Touissant's Chauffeur
movieDrums of the Desert
1940 · Sergeant 'Blue' Williams
movieWhile Thousands Cheer
1940 · Nash
movieUp in the Air
1940 · Jeff Jefferson
movieLaughing at Danger
1940 · Jefferson
movieMaryland
1940
movieOn the Spot
1940 · Jefferson White
movieGirl in 313
1940 · Porter
movieViva Cisco Kid
1940 · Memphis - The Cook
movieStar Dust
1940 · Waiter on Train
movieMillionaire Playboy
1940 · Bellhop
movieChasing Trouble
1940 · Thomas H. Jefferson
movieCity of Chance
1940 · Anxious Man
movieThe Man Who Wouldn't Talk
1940 · Robbins
movieIrish Luck
1939 · Jefferson
movieRiders of the Frontier
1939 · Chappie, the Cook
movieTell No Tales
1939 · Sport Black at the Wake (uncredited)
movieOne Dark Night
1939 · Samson Brown
Gang Smashers
1938 · Gloomy
movieNext Time I Marry
1938 · Tilby
movieFrontier Scout
1938 · Norris Family Butler
movieTwo-Gun Man from Harlem
1938 · Bill Blake
movieSpirit of Youth
1938 · Creighton 'Crickie' Fitzgibbons
movieHarlem on the Prairie
1937 · Mistletoe
movieThe Green Pastures
1936 · Angel Removing Hat (uncredited)
movieThat's the Spirit
1933 · Night Watchman
movieEbony Parade
— · Mantan