Mantan Moreland

About

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...

Known for

Adam-12Series • 1968Love, American StyleSeries • 1969JuliaSeries • 1968The Bill Cosby ShowSeries • 1969Spider BabyMovie • 1967The PatsyMovie • 1964Tarzan's New York AdventureMovie • 1942Eyes in the NightMovie • 1942A-Haunting We Will GoMovie • 1942Hit the IceMovie • 1943Cabin in the SkyMovie • 1943It Started with EveMovie • 1941King of the ZombiesMovie • 1941Dressed to KillMovie • 1941The Strange Case of Doctor RxMovie • 1942The TrapMovie • 1946The Scarlet ClueMovie • 1945The Shanghai CobraMovie • 1945Watermelon ManMovie • 1970Dark AlibiMovie • 1946Charlie Chan in the Secret ServiceMovie • 1944Revenge of the ZombiesMovie • 1943