Mantan Moreland
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- September 3, 1902
- Died
- September 28, 1973 (aged 71)
- Birthplace
- Monroe, Louisiana, USA
Biography
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 couldn't be overlooked and he soon earned featured status in Harlem-styled western parodies and grade "A" comedy films playing the superstitious, ever-terrified manservant running from any kind of impending doom. Moreland's peak in movies came with his recurring role as Birmingham, the skittish chauffeur, in the "Charlie Chan" series, where he was forever forewarning his boss to stay away from an obviously dangerous case or situation. Though haunted mansions were an ideal place for setting off his stereotyped character, Mantan would be haunted in a different way by this Hollywood success in years to follow. By the 1950s, racial attitudes began to change and, with the rise of the civil rights movement, what was once considered hilarious was now interpreted as demeaning and offensive to both blacks and whites. Mantan and others, such as Stepin Fetchit, were ostracized and ridiculed by Hollywood for their past negative portrayals. It took decades for audiences to forgive and newer generations to forget the Depression-era comedy of Mantan Moreland in order for the actor to come back. In the late 1960s he managed a modest resurgence on TV and in commercials and occasional films, allowing him to work again with such comic heavyweights as Bill Cosby, Godfrey Cambridge and director Carl Reiner. It was all too brief, however, for Mantan, long suffering from ill health, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1973, just as he was settling in to his renewed popularity. Today, audiences tend to be kinder and more understanding of Moreland, remembering him as a highly talented comic who, in the only way he knew, broke major barriers and opened the doors for others black actors to follow.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Ebony Parade
Movie · as Mantan
The Young Nurses
Movie · as Old Man
Watermelon Man
Movie · as Joe the Counterman
The Comic
Movie · as Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled)
The Bill Cosby Show
TV · as Uncle Dewey · 1 ep
Love, American Style
TV · as Stranger · 1 ep
Julia
TV · as Harry James · 1 ep
Adam-12
TV · as Philip Richards · 1 ep
Spider Baby
Movie · as Messenger
Enter Laughing
Movie · as Subway Rider
The Patsy
Movie · as Barber Shop Porter
Rockin' the Blues
Movie · as Self
Come On, Cowboy!
Movie · as Mantan
Sky Dragon
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
Docks of New Orleans
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
The Feathered Serpent
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
The Shanghai Chest
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
The Golden Eye
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
The Dreamer
Movie
She's Too Mean for Me
Movie
What a Guy
Movie
The Chinese Ring
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
Return of Mandy's Husband
Movie · as Mantan
Shadows Over Chinatown
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
The Trap
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
Dark Alibi
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
Mantan Messes Up
Movie · as Mantan
Riverboat Rhythm
Movie · as Mantan
Mantan Runs for Mayor
Movie
Tall, Tan and Terrific
Movie · as Mantan Moreland
The Spider
Movie · as Harry
The Shanghai Cobra
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
The Jade Mask
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
The Scarlet Clue
Movie · as Birmingham Brown, Chauffeur
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Movie · as Porter (uncredited)
Captain Tugboat Annie
Movie · as Pinto
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
Black Magic
Movie · as Birmingham Brown
Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
Movie · as Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver
Pin Up Girl
Movie · as Train Station Porter (uncredited)
Chip Off the Old Block
Movie · as Porter
Moon Over Las Vegas
Movie · as Porter
Bowery to Broadway
Movie · as Alabam
South of Dixie
Movie · as The Porter
See Here, Private Hargrove
Movie · as Train Porter (uncredited)
This Is the Life
Movie · as Porter (uncredited)
Cabin in the Sky
Movie · as First Idea Man
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
Movie · as Eustace Smith
Melody Parade
Movie · as Skidmore
Swing Fever
Movie · as Woody, Woody, Nick's Valet (uncredited)
Revenge of the Zombies
Movie · as Jefferson 'Jeff' Johnson
Sarong Girl
Movie · as Maxwell
He Hired the Boss
Movie · as Bootblack
Slightly Dangerous
Movie · as Waiter at Swade's (uncredited)
You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
Movie · as Porter
We've Never Been Licked
Movie · as Willie
Hit the Ice
Movie · as Porter with Snowshoes (uncredited)
Footlight Serenade
Movie · as Amos
Eyes in the Night
Movie · as Alistair
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
Movie · as Horatio B.Fitz Washington
Lucky Ghost
Movie · as Washington
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Movie · as Sam, the Nightclub Janitor (uncredited)
Phantom Killer
Movie · as Nicodemus
Freckles Comes Home
Movie · as Jeff the porter
Four Jacks and a Jill
Movie · as Cicero - Wash Room Attendant (uncredited)
Mr. Washington Goes to Town
Movie · as Schenectady Washington
Andy Hardy's Double Life
Movie · as Prentiss - The Benedict Butler (uncredited)
Professor Creeps
Movie · as Washington
Girl Trouble
Movie · as Flint's Chauffeur
Law of the Jungle
Movie · as Jefferson "Jeff" Jones
Treat 'Em Rough
Movie · as 'Snake-Eyes'
A-Haunting We Will Go
Movie · as Porter (uncredited)
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
Movie · as Lightnin'
King of the Zombies
Movie · as Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson
It Started with Eve
Movie · as Railway Porter (uncredited)
Sleepers West
Movie · as Porter (uncredited)
Birth of the Blues
Movie · as Black Trumpet Player (uncredited)
Sign of the Wolf
Movie · as Ben
The Gang's All Here
Movie · as Jefferson 'Jeff' Smith
You're Out of Luck
Movie · as Jeff Jefferson
Let's Go Collegiate
Movie · as Jeff
Dressed to Kill
Movie · as Rusty
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Movie · as Roy
Up Jumped the Devil
Movie · as Washington
Cracked Nuts
Movie · as Burgess
Marry the Boss's Daughter
Movie · as Diner Cook
Up in the Air
Movie · as Jeff Jefferson
On the Spot
Movie · as Jefferson White
Chasing Trouble
Movie · as Thomas H. Jefferson
Millionaire Playboy
Movie · as Bellhop
Viva Cisco Kid
Movie · as Memphis - The Cook
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Movie · as Robbins
Star Dust
Movie · as Waiter on Train
Laughing at Danger
Movie · as Jefferson
Drums of the Desert
Movie · as Sergeant 'Blue' Williams
Four Shall Die
Movie · as Beefus - Touissant's Chauffeur
Girl in 313
Movie · as Porter
Maryland
Movie
City of Chance
Movie · as Anxious Man
While Thousands Cheer
Movie · as Nash
Irish Luck
Movie · as Jefferson
Tell No Tales
Movie · as Sport Black at the Wake (uncredited)
Riders of the Frontier
Movie · as Chappie, the Cook
One Dark Night
Movie · as Samson Brown
Frontier Scout
Movie · as Norris Family Butler
Next Time I Marry
Movie · as Tilby
Spirit of Youth
Movie · as Creighton 'Crickie' Fitzgibbons
Two-Gun Man from Harlem
Movie · as Bill Blake
Gang Smashers
Movie · as Gloomy
Harlem on the Prairie
Movie · as Mistletoe
The Green Pastures
Movie · as Angel Removing Hat (uncredited)
That's the Spirit
Movie · as Night Watchman