Mantan Moreland, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Mantan Moreland
Acting

Mantan Moreland
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1902-09-03,Monroe, Louisiana, USA
Gender
Male
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.

Filmography

King of the Zombies

5.231

King of the Zombies
1941-05-14

It Started with Eve

7.219

It Started with Eve
1941-09-26

6.861

Spider Baby
1967-12-24

6.271

Watermelon Man
1970-05-27

Footlight Serenade

6.5

Footlight Serenade
1942-08-01

5.625

The Spider
1945-12-01

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat

6.528

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
1944-05-20

The Shanghai Cobra

6

The Shanghai Cobra
1945-09-29

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

6.052

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service
1944-02-14

7.1

Black Magic
1944-08-19

The Scarlet Clue

6

The Scarlet Clue
1945-05-11

Shadows Over Chinatown

6.154

Shadows Over Chinatown
1946-06-27

6.111

The Jade Mask
1945-01-26

6.318

Dark Alibi
1946-05-25

6.75

The Trap
1946-11-30

6.438

Sleepers West
1941-03-14

Docks of New Orleans

6.071

Docks of New Orleans
1948-03-21

The Chinese Ring

5.118

The Chinese Ring
1947-12-06

The Shanghai Chest

6.583

The Shanghai Chest
1948-07-11

The Feathered Serpent

6.077

The Feathered Serpent
1948-12-19

Eyes in the Night

6.111

Eyes in the Night
1942-10-16

5.567

The Golden Eye
1948-08-29

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx

5.225

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
1942-03-27

5.444

Lucky Ghost
1942-02-10

Tarzan's New York Adventure

6.364

Tarzan's New York Adventure
1942-05-01

5.8

Up in the Air
1940-09-09

Cabin in the Sky

6.5

Cabin in the Sky
1943-03-24

Birth of the Blues

6.167

Birth of the Blues
1941-11-07

She Wouldn't Say Yes

6.417

She Wouldn't Say Yes
1945-11-29

5.8

On the Spot
1940-06-11

6

Frontier Scout
1938-09-16

5.25

Phantom Killer
1942-10-02

Sign of the Wolf

7

Sign of the Wolf
1941-03-25

Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher

4.556

Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
1943-01-29

8

Melody Parade
1943-08-27

6

Swing Fever
1943-11-01

Freckles Comes Home

5.8

Freckles Comes Home
1942-01-02

The Gang's All Here

5.4

The Gang's All Here
1941-06-11

Revenge of the Zombies

5.393

Revenge of the Zombies
1943-09-17

Mantan Messes Up

8

Mantan Messes Up
1946-01-01

You're Out of Luck

6.5

You're Out of Luck
1941-01-20

Four Jacks and a Jill

6.5

Four Jacks and a Jill
1942-01-23

Next Time I Marry

7.25

Next Time I Marry
1938-12-09

Spirit of Youth

6.143

Spirit of Youth
1938-04-01

Two-Gun Man from Harlem

4.75

Two-Gun Man from Harlem
1938-05-01

Mr. Washington Goes to Town

5.5

Mr. Washington Goes to Town
1942-05-09

6.4

Irish Luck
1939-08-22

6.289

Pin Up Girl
1944-04-25

7

Sarong Girl
1943-06-11

Let's Go Collegiate

5.4

Let's Go Collegiate
1941-09-12

Riverboat Rhythm

6.333

Riverboat Rhythm
1946-02-16

Andy Hardy's Double Life

5.045

Andy Hardy's Double Life
1942-12-01

Dressed to Kill

6.288

Dressed to Kill
1941-08-08

Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery

6.5

Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
1941-03-24

Captain Tugboat Annie

8

Captain Tugboat Annie
1945-11-17

Rockin' the Blues

6

Rockin' the Blues
1956-10-11

4.8

Enter Laughing
1967-02-25

Chip Off the Old Block

7

Chip Off the Old Block
1944-02-01

Harlem on the Prairie

7.5

Harlem on the Prairie
1937-12-09

Return of Mandy's Husband

7

Return of Mandy's Husband
1947-05-22

Professor Creeps

7

Professor Creeps
1942-02-28

Up Jumped the Devil

10

Up Jumped the Devil
1941-01-01

8.25

Girl Trouble
1942-10-09

5.357

Tell No Tales
1939-06-12

Law of the Jungle

5.625

Law of the Jungle
1942-02-06

Riders of the Frontier

7

Riders of the Frontier
1939-08-15

Moon Over Las Vegas

10

Moon Over Las Vegas
1944-04-01

Chasing Trouble

5.5

Chasing Trouble
1940-01-30

Come On, Cowboy!

7

Come On, Cowboy!
1949-01-01

Millionaire Playboy

4.5

Millionaire Playboy
1940-03-14

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk

5.333

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
1940-01-11

6.4

Viva Cisco Kid
1940-04-12

Treat 'Em Rough

8

Treat 'Em Rough
1942-01-30

5.667

Star Dust
1940-04-06

The Green Pastures

6.313

The Green Pastures
1936-08-01

Laughing at Danger

9

Laughing at Danger
1940-08-12

Drums of the Desert

5.5

Drums of the Desert
1940-10-06

8

Four Shall Die
1940-10-15

He Hired the Boss

5.25

He Hired the Boss
1943-04-02

A-Haunting We Will Go

6.1

A-Haunting We Will Go
1942-08-07

Mantan Runs for Mayor

8

Mantan Runs for Mayor
1946-08-23

7

The Dreamer
1948-04-04

7

Ebony Parade

She's Too Mean for Me

10

She's Too Mean for Me
1948-08-23

7

What a Guy
1948-01-01

5.611

Girl in 313
1940-05-31

6.5

Maryland
1940-07-19

5.563

City of Chance
1940-01-13

8

Sky Dragon
1949-04-27

9

Gang Smashers
1938-12-30

7

Cracked Nuts
1941-07-02

Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost

4.833

Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
1942-06-26

Slightly Dangerous

6

Slightly Dangerous
1943-04-01

Bowery to Broadway

10

Bowery to Broadway
1944-11-03

You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith

3.5

You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
1943-10-22

10

South of Dixie
1944-06-23

We've Never Been Licked

6.5

We've Never Been Licked
1943-07-29

6

Hit the Ice
1943-06-02

That's the Spirit

5

That's the Spirit
1933-04-15

Tall, Tan and Terrific

7

Tall, Tan and Terrific
1946-06-26

See Here, Private Hargrove

6.5

See Here, Private Hargrove
1944-03-18

6

Swing Fever
1943-11-01

6.208

The Patsy
1964-06-24

The Young Nurses

4

The Young Nurses
1973-03-01

Marry the Boss's Daughter

9

Marry the Boss's Daughter
1941-11-28

8

One Dark Night
1939-01-02

While Thousands Cheer

7

While Thousands Cheer
1940-09-15

6.1

The Comic
1969-11-19

The Bill Cosby Show

5.5

The Bill Cosby Show
1969-09-14

6.444

Julia
1968-09-17

7.1

Adam-12
1968-09-21

Love, American Style

6.105

Love, American Style
1969-09-29