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September 3, 1901 - September 28, 1973
An eye-popping, short and chubby black comedian, Mantan Moreland was known for his raspy voice, comic scowling, and good-natured reticence. He often played the hired help -- a chauffeur or servant -- but got a lot of mileage out of earthy indignance and comical grousing. One of the most naturally funny sidekicks, Moreland had a simple and amusing catch phrase, a wistfully amused "Mm, mm, ain't that somethin'."
Unfortunately, the Moreland repertoire also included far too much comical cowardice, ranging from high-pitched screaming to exaggerated expressions of fear. In his most famous role, "Birmingham Brown," the cautious chauffeur to Charlie Chan, there always seemed to be one too many frenzied cries of "Mistah Chan!" and jokes that were tasteless. Roland Winters as Chan: "Go on in...you'll be harder to see in the dark." Mantan: "Don't worry, I'm gonna blend in with the darkness!"
Born in Louisiana, and always claiming that his first name was not some kind of bad racist pun but a common name down South, Moreland was in show business most of his life. He said he began as a barefoot dancer in minstrel shows as early as 1912 and worked with the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus when he was 14. He made his way through vaudeville, toured Europe in "Blackbirds of 1928" and returned to the states in variious shows and reviews. He eventually teamed with Flournoy Miller and learned Miller's "anticipation" or "interruption" style in comedy routines. Moreland would later perform it at The Apollo Theater and in nightclubs with a number of partners and popularize it with new generations of comedy fans. Here, with his partner from the 50's and 60's Livinggood Pratt, the humor is in the split-second anticipation of what the other is going to say:
"Mantan, what's your brother doin'..." "He gona get married...he's gonna marry the daughter of -- " "She's a nice girl. Listen, let me tell you something...One time I-" "That was her sister!..." "Now that's funny, just the other day I was talkin' to her father and the first thing I -- " "That was your fault. What you should've done --" "I did!" "See that, Livinggood? That's why I like to talk to you. 'Cause you and I seems to agree with each other!"
Moreland often rescued a film with his anticipation routine, including it in the Charlie Chan film "The Scarlet Clue" among others. Moreland made his film debut in 1939 in Joe Louis's "Spirit of Youth." He had bit parts in 300 films, and despite his often criticized stereotype antics in Charlie Chan films, went on to star in many films for black-oriented companies like Million Dollar Productions and Dixie National. These films rarely played outside black theaters. His most well known character was Birmingham Brown, assistant to super sleuth Charlie Chan. Starting with "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service" (1944) Moreland would assay the role in fifteen films, the last being "Sky Dragons" (1948) when the series ended.
Moreland worked regularly on radio's "Duffy's Tavern" in 1951 and 1952 and starred in twelve episodes of the TV show "Mike Shane." Probably his best role in the latter stage of his career was the 1957 all-black production of "Waiting for Godot." He took Bert Lahr's part in that one. Despite the prestige of that role, he remained best known for his old supporting comedy roles and Chan films and was haunted by some of the moments of glaring bad taste. In 1959 he admitted, "Millions of people may have thought that my acting was comical but I know now that it wasn't always so funny to my own people."
After suffering a stroke in 1963, Moreland moved from New York to California with his wife Hazel and daughter Marcella. He returned to work, making risque party albums, joining Livinggood in USO shows in the Orient, and guesting with Moms Mableyon a memorable episode of Bill Cosby'sfirst sitcom. While many black performers who had allowed themselves to play stereotyped roles in the 30's and 40's were spurned in later years, Moreland seemed to have slightly better luck in finding work. Performers like Cosby knew that even though Moreland performed some un-natural gags and bits of business in the old days, he was still a naturally funny man who could make an audience laugh any day.
Stage:
Blackbirds (1928), Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930 (1930), Singin' the Blues (1931), Blackberries of 1932 (1932), Yeah-Man (1932), Shuffle Along of 1933 (1933), Waiting for Godot (1957)
Movies:
The Spirit of Youth (1937), Next Time I Marry (1938), Gang Smashers (1938), Harlem on the Prairie(1938), Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938), One Dark Night (1939), Pier 13 (1940), The Girl in 313 (1940), Star Dust (1940), Viva Cisco Kid (1940), Laughing at Danger (1940), Professor Creeps (1940), While Thousands Cheer (1940), Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1940), Up Jumped the Devil (1941), Cracked Nuts (1941), Up in the Air (1941), King of the Zombies (1941), Hello Sucker (1941), Dressed to Kill (1941), Professor Creeps (1942), A-Haunting We Will go (1942), The Strange Case of Dr. X (1942), Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942), The Jade Mask (1942), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Phantom Killer (1942), Hit the Ice (1943), Cabin in the Sky(1943), Revenge of the Zombies (1943), Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher (!943), You're a Lucky Fellow Mr. Smith (1943), The Chinese Cat (1944), Black Magic (1944), Bowery to Broadway (1944), Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944), See Here, Private Hargrove (1944), Mystery of the Riverboat (1944), The Shanghai Cobra (1945), The Scarlet Clue (1945), Mantan Messes Up (1946), Mantan Runs for Mayor (1946), Dark Alibi (1946), Shadows Over Chinatown (1946), Tall, Tan and Terrific (1946), The Trap (1947), The Chinese Ring (1947), Docks of New Orleans (1948), Best Man Wins (1948), Mystery of the Golden Eye (1948), The Feathered Serpent (1948), The Shanghai Chest (1948), Sky Dragon (1949), Enter Laughing (1967), Watermelon Man (1970), The Biscuit Eater (1972), Young Nurses (1973)
Recordings:
That Ain't My Finger (Laff), Elsie's Sportin' House (Laff), Tribute to the Man (Laff)
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