1902-09-03 Monroe, Louisiana, USA
Although his brand of humor has been reviled for decades, Negro character actor Mantan Moreland parlayed his cocky but jittery character into a recognizable presence in the late 1930s and early 1940s, appearing in a long string of comedy thrillers . . . and was considered quite funny at the time! 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.
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The Young Nurses | Old Man | 1973-03-01 |
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Watermelon Man | Joe the Counterman | 1970-05-27 |
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The Comic | Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled) | 1969-11-19 |
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Spider Baby | Messenger | 1967-12-24 |
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Enter Laughing | Subway Rider | 1967-02-25 |
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The Patsy | Barber Shop Porter | 1964-06-24 |
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Rockin' the Blues | Self | 1956-10-11 |
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Come On, Cowboy! | Mantan | 1949-01-01 |
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Sky Dragon | Birmingham Brown | 1949-04-27 |
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The Feathered Serpent | Birmingham Brown | 1948-12-19 |
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Docks of New Orleans | Birmingham Brown | 1948-03-21 |
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The Shanghai Chest | Birmingham Brown | 1948-07-11 |
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What a Guy | 1948-01-01 | |
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She's Too Mean for Me | 1948-08-23 | |
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The Dreamer | 1948-04-04 | |
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The Golden Eye | Birmingham Brown | 1948-08-29 |
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Return of Mandy's Husband | Mantan | 1947-05-22 |
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The Chinese Ring | Birmingham Brown | 1947-12-06 |
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Mantan Runs for Mayor | 1946-08-23 | |
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Dark Alibi | Birmingham Brown | 1946-05-25 |
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Riverboat Rhythm | Mantan | 1946-02-16 |
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Tall, Tan and Terrific | Mantan Moreland | 1946-06-26 |
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The Trap | Birmingham Brown | 1946-11-30 |
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Shadows Over Chinatown | Birmingham Brown | 1946-06-27 |
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Mantan Messes Up | 1946-01-01 | |
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Captain Tugboat Annie | Pinto | 1945-11-17 |
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She Wouldn't Say Yes | Porter (uncredited) | 1945-11-29 |
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The Jade Mask | Birmingham Brown | 1945-01-26 |
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The Shanghai Cobra | Birmingham Brown | 1945-09-29 |
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The Scarlet Clue | Birmingham Brown, Chauffeur | 1945-05-11 |
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The Spider | Harry | 1945-12-01 |
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South of Dixie | The Porter | 1944-06-23 |
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Pin Up Girl | Train Station Porter (uncredited) | 1944-04-25 |
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Black Magic | Birmingham Brown | 1944-08-19 |
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Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat | Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver | 1944-05-20 |
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Bowery to Broadway | Alabam | 1944-11-03 |
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Charlie Chan in the Secret Service | Birmingham Brown | 1944-02-14 |
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See Here, Private Hargrove | Train Porter (uncredited) | 1944-03-18 |
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Chip Off the Old Block | Porter | 1944-02-01 |
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Moon Over Las Vegas | Porter | 1944-04-01 |
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Slightly Dangerous | Waiter at Swade's (uncredited) | 1943-04-01 |
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Sarong Girl | Maxwell | 1943-06-11 |
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He Hired the Boss | Bootblack | 1943-04-02 |
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Melody Parade | Skidmore | 1943-08-27 |
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Swing Fever | Woody | 1943-11-01 |
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You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith | Porter | 1943-10-22 |
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Swing Fever | Woody, Nick's Valet (uncredited) | 1943-11-01 |
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Cabin in the Sky | First Idea Man | 1943-03-24 |
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Hit the Ice | Porter with Snowshoes (uncredited) | 1943-06-02 |
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Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher | Eustace Smith | 1943-01-29 |
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We've Never Been Licked | Willie | 1943-07-29 |
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Revenge of the Zombies | Jefferson 'Jeff' Johnson | 1943-09-17 |
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Law of the Jungle | Jefferson "Jeff" Jones | 1942-02-06 |
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Lucky Ghost | Washington | 1942-02-10 |
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Girl Trouble | Flint's Chauffeur | 1942-10-09 |
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Footlight Serenade | Amos | 1942-08-01 |
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The Strange Case of Doctor Rx | Horatio B.Fitz Washington | 1942-03-27 |
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Eyes in the Night | Alistair | 1942-10-16 |
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Tarzan's New York Adventure | Sam, the Nightclub Janitor (uncredited) | 1942-05-01 |
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A-Haunting We Will Go | Porter (uncredited) | 1942-08-07 |
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Mr. Washington Goes to Town | Schenectady Washington | 1942-05-09 |
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Freckles Comes Home | Jeff the porter | 1942-01-02 |
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Andy Hardy's Double Life | Prentiss - The Benedict Butler (uncredited) | 1942-12-01 |
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Professor Creeps | Washington | 1942-02-28 |
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Treat 'Em Rough | 'Snake-Eyes' | 1942-01-30 |
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Phantom Killer | Nicodemus | 1942-10-02 |
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Four Jacks and a Jill | Cicero - Wash Room Attendant (uncredited) | 1942-01-23 |
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Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost | Lightnin' | 1942-06-26 |
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Cracked Nuts | Burgess | 1941-07-02 |
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Marry the Boss's Daughter | Diner Cook | 1941-11-28 |
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Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery | Roy | 1941-03-24 |
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King of the Zombies | Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson | 1941-05-14 |
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Sleepers West | Porter (uncredited) | 1941-03-14 |
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Let's Go Collegiate | Jeff | 1941-09-12 |
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Dressed to Kill | Rusty | 1941-08-08 |
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Birth of the Blues | Black Trumpet Player (uncredited) | 1941-11-07 |
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You're Out of Luck | Jeff Jefferson | 1941-01-20 |
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Sign of the Wolf | Ben | 1941-03-25 |
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Up Jumped the Devil | Washington | 1941-01-01 |
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It Started with Eve | Railway Porter (uncredited) | 1941-09-26 |
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The Gang's All Here | Jefferson 'Jeff' Smith | 1941-06-11 |
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City of Chance | Anxious Man | 1940-01-13 |
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Up in the Air | Jeff Jefferson | 1940-09-09 |
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On the Spot | Jefferson White | 1940-06-11 |
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Maryland | 1940-07-19 | |
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The Man Who Wouldn't Talk | Robbins | 1940-01-11 |
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Girl in 313 | Porter | 1940-05-31 |
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Drums of the Desert | Sergeant 'Blue' Williams | 1940-10-06 |
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Four Shall Die | Beefus - Touissant's Chauffeur | 1940-10-15 |
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Laughing at Danger | Jefferson | 1940-08-12 |
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Star Dust | Waiter on Train | 1940-04-06 |
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Viva Cisco Kid | Memphis - The Cook | 1940-04-12 |
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Millionaire Playboy | Bellhop | 1940-03-14 |
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Chasing Trouble | Thomas H. Jefferson | 1940-01-30 |
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While Thousands Cheer | Nash | 1940-09-15 |
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One Dark Night | Samson Brown | 1939-01-02 |
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Tell No Tales | Sport Black at the Wake (uncredited) | 1939-06-12 |
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Riders of the Frontier | Chappie, the Cook | 1939-08-15 |
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Irish Luck | Jefferson | 1939-08-22 |
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Frontier Scout | Norris Family Butler | 1938-09-16 |
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Gang Smashers | Gloomy | 1938-12-30 |
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Spirit of Youth | Creighton 'Crickie' Fitzgibbons | 1938-04-01 |
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Two-Gun Man from Harlem | Bill Blake | 1938-05-01 |
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Next Time I Marry | Tilby | 1938-12-09 |
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Harlem on the Prairie | Mistletoe | 1937-12-09 |
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The Green Pastures | Angel Removing Hat (uncredited) | 1936-08-01 |
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That's the Spirit | Night Watchman | 1933-04-15 |
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Ebony Parade | Mantan |
