Mantan Moreland
Data de nascimento:
03/09/1902
Local de nascimento:
Monroe, Louisiana, USA
Data de falecimento:
28/09/1973
Biografia
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.
Filmes em que atuou
-
Horrible Horror (1986)- 7.00 ★Jefferson Jackson in 'King of the Zombies'
-
The Young Nurses (1973)- 4.20 ★Old Man
-
A Noite em Que o Sol Brilhou (1970)- 6.40 ★Joe the Counterman
-
Glória e Lágrimas de um Cômico (1969)- 6.11 ★Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled)
-
Spider Baby (1967)- 6.89 ★Messenger
-
Enter Laughing (1967)- 4.00 ★Subway Rider
-
O Otário (1964)- 6.16 ★Barber Shop Porter
-
Rockin' the Blues (1956)- 0.00 ★Self
-
Come On, Cowboy! (1949)- 0.00 ★Mantan
-
O Voo da Morte (1949)- 7.67 ★Birmingham Brown
-
O Rádio da Morte (1948)- 5.92 ★Birmingham Brown
-
Charlie Chan e o Tesoura Azteca (1948)- 5.83 ★Birmingham Brown
-
Crime Por Alfabeto (1948)- 6.10 ★Birmingham Brown
-
O Olho de Ouro (1948)- 5.39 ★Birmingham Brown
-
The Dreamer (1948)- 0.00 ★
-
She's Too Mean for Me (1948)- 0.00 ★
-
What a Guy (1948)- 0.00 ★
-
O Anel Chinês (1947)- 4.93 ★Birmingham Brown
-
Return of Mandy's Husband (1947)- 0.00 ★Mantan
-
Charlie Chan no Bairro Chinês (1946)- 5.67 ★Birmingham Brown
-
O Segredo da Caixa (1946)- 6.67 ★Birmingham Brown
-
Dark Alibi (1946)- 6.10 ★Birmingham Brown
-
Mantan Messes Up (1946)- 0.00 ★
-
Riverboat Rhythm (1946)- 5.00 ★Mantan
-
Mantan Runs for Mayor (1946)- 0.00 ★
-
Tall, Tan and Terrific (1946)- 0.00 ★Mantan Moreland
-
The Spider (1945)- 5.30 ★Harry
-
A Cobra de Shanghai (1945)- 5.72 ★Birmingham Brown
-
A Máscara Verde (1945)- 6.06 ★Birmingham Brown
-
O Mistério do Rádio (1945)- 5.90 ★Birmingham Brown, Chauffeur
-
Chamam a Isto Amor (1945)- 5.90 ★Porter (uncredited)
-
Captain Tugboat Annie (1945)- 0.00 ★Pinto
-
Charlie Chan no Serviço Secreto (1944)- 5.87 ★Birmingham Brown
-
Charlie Chan na Macumba (1944)- 6.80 ★Birmingham Brown
-
Charlie Chan em ''O Gato Chinês'' (1944)- 6.37 ★Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver
-
A Preferida (1944)- 6.10 ★Train Station Porter (uncredited)
-
Chip Off the Old Block (1944)- 4.00 ★Porter
-
Moon Over Las Vegas (1944)- 0.00 ★Porter
-
Bowery to Broadway (1944)- 0.00 ★Alabam
-
South of Dixie (1944)- 0.00 ★The Porter
-
See Here, Private Hargrove (1944)- 6.00 ★Train Porter (uncredited)
-
Um Lugar No Céu (1943)- 6.30 ★First Idea Man
-
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher (1943)- 4.00 ★Eustace Smith
-
Um Mundo de Ritmos (1943)- 5.00 ★Woody
-
Revenge of the Zombies (1943)- 5.20 ★Jefferson 'Jeff' Johnson
-
Sarong Girl (1943)- 0.00 ★Maxwell
-
He Hired the Boss (1943)- 3.00 ★Bootblack
-
Senhorita Ventania (1943)- 5.80 ★Waiter at Swade's (uncredited)
-
You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith (1943)- 3.50 ★Porter
-
Jamais Foram Vencidos (1943)- 0.00 ★Willie
-
Pistoleiros Sem Pistola (1943)- 5.87 ★Porter with Snowshoes (uncredited)
-
Um Mundo de Ritmos (1943)- 5.00 ★Woody, Nick's Valet (uncredited)
-
Footlight Serenade (1942)- 0.00 ★Amos
-
Eyes in the Night (1942)- 6.00 ★Alistair
-
O Fatídico Caso do Doutor Rx (1942)- 5.00 ★Horatio B.Fitz Washington
-
Lucky Ghost (1942)- 6.20 ★Washington
-
Tarzan Contra o Mundo (1942)- 6.40 ★Sam, the Nightclub Janitor (uncredited)
-
Phantom Killer (1942)- 4.30 ★Nicodemus
-
Freckles Comes Home (1942)- 5.00 ★Jeff the porter
-
4 Valetes e Uma Dama (1942)- 6.00 ★Cicero - Wash Room Attendant (uncredited)
-
Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1942)- 3.00 ★Schenectady Jones
-
A Dupla Vida de Andy Hardy (1942)- 4.60 ★Prentiss - The Benedict Butler (uncredited)
-
Professor Creeps (1942)- 0.00 ★Washington
-
Girl Trouble (1942)- 6.50 ★Flint's Chauffeur
-
A Lei das Selvas (1942)- 5.10 ★Jefferson "Jeff" Jones
-
O Gordo e o Magro - Dois Fantasmas Vivos (1942)- 6.00 ★Porter (uncredited)
-
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942)- 4.40 ★Lightnin'
-
O Rei dos Zombies (1941)- 5.20 ★Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson
-
It Started with Eve (1941)- 7.10 ★Railway Porter (uncredited)
-
Testemunha Ocular (1941)- 6.30 ★Porter (uncredited)
-
Birth of the Blues (1941)- 5.30 ★Black Trumpet Player (uncredited)
-
Sign of the Wolf (1941)- 6.00 ★Ben
-
The Gang's All Here (1941)- 5.00 ★Jefferson 'Jeff' Smith
-
You're Out of Luck (1941)- 6.00 ★Jeff Jefferson
-
Let's Go Collegiate (1941)- 5.00 ★Jeff
-
Ceia Fatal (1941)- 6.30 ★Rusty
-
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941)- 5.30 ★Roy
-
Up Jumped the Devil (1941)- 0.00 ★Washington
-
Cracked Nuts (1941)- 0.00 ★Burgess
-
Up in the Air (1940)- 5.50 ★Jeff Jefferson
-
On the Spot (1940)- 5.30 ★Jefferson White
-
Chasing Trouble (1940)- 5.00 ★Thomas H. Jefferson
-
Millionaire Playboy (1940)- 2.70 ★Bellhop
-
Viva Cisco Kid (1940)- 5.50 ★Memphis - The Cook
-
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1940)- 4.00 ★Robbins
-
Star Dust (1940)- 4.70 ★Waiter on Train
-
Laughing at Danger (1940)- 0.00 ★Jefferson
-
Drums of the Desert (1940)- 5.50 ★Sergeant 'Blue' Williams
-
Four Shall Die (1940)- 0.00 ★Beefus - Touissant's Chauffeur
-
Girl in 313 (1940)- 5.60 ★Porter
-
Maryland (1940)- 6.20 ★
-
City of Chance (1940)- 5.20 ★Anxious Man
-
While Thousands Cheer (1940)- 0.00 ★Nash
-
Irish Luck (1939)- 5.80 ★Jefferson
-
Tell No Tales (1939)- 5.30 ★Sport Black at the Wake (uncredited)
-
Riders of the Frontier (1939)- 0.00 ★Chappie, the Cook
-
One Dark Night (1939)- 0.00 ★Samson Brown
-
Frontier Scout (1938)- 4.50 ★Norris Family Butler
-
Quando Me Casar Novamente (1938)- 6.80 ★Tilby
-
Spirit of Youth (1938)- 5.50 ★Creighton 'Crickie' Fitzgibbons
-
Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938)- 4.50 ★Bill Blake
-
Harlem on the Prairie (1937)- 5.00 ★Mistletoe
-
Mais Próximo do Céu (1936)- 6.29 ★Angel Removing Hat (uncredited)
-
That's the Spirit (1933)- 2.00 ★Night Watchman
-
Ebony Parade (1)- 0.00 ★Mantan