Mantan Moreland

Actor Sep 3 (died age 71) Monroe, Louisiana, USA 1933–1973 (40 year career)

5.4 avg rating

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 …

Known For

Film

Spider Baby

Messenger

Film

Tarzan's New York Adventure

Sam, the Nightclub Janitor (uncredited)

Film

Watermelon Man

Joe the Counterman

Film

Cabin in the Sky

First Idea Man

Film

The Patsy

Barber Shop Porter

Film

It Started with Eve

Railway Porter (uncredited)

Film

A-Haunting We Will Go

Porter (uncredited)

Film

Eyes in the Night

Alistair

Filmography

Acting (111)

Movies (107)

The Young Nurses

1973

as Old Man

3.4

Watermelon Man

1970

as Joe the Counterman

6.3

The Comic

1969

as Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled)

Spider Baby

as Messenger

Enter Laughing

as Subway Rider

The Patsy

as Barber Shop Porter

6.2

Rockin' the Blues

1956

as Self

Sky Dragon

1949

as Birmingham Brown

7.7

Come On, Cowboy!

1949

as Mantan

The Feathered Serpent

as Birmingham Brown

The Golden Eye

as Birmingham Brown

The Shanghai Chest

as Birmingham Brown

Docks of New Orleans

as Birmingham Brown

What a Guy

The Dreamer

She's Too Mean for Me

1948

Return of Mandy's Husband

1947

as Mantan

The Chinese Ring

1947

as Birmingham Brown

4.9

Shadows Over Chinatown

as Birmingham Brown

The Trap

as Birmingham Brown

Mantan Messes Up

Dark Alibi

as Birmingham Brown

Riverboat Rhythm

as Mantan

Mantan Runs for Mayor

1946

Tall, Tan and Terrific

1946

as Mantan Moreland

The Jade Mask

1945

as Birmingham Brown

6.1

Captain Tugboat Annie

1945

as Pinto

The Shanghai Cobra

1945

as Birmingham Brown

5.8

The Scarlet Clue

1945

as Birmingham Brown, Chauffeur

5.9

She Wouldn't Say Yes

1945

as Porter (uncredited)

5.9

The Spider

1945

as Harry

5.3

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

1944

as Birmingham Brown

5.9

South of Dixie

1944

as The Porter

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat

1944

as Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver

6.4

See Here, Private Hargrove

1944

as Train Porter (uncredited)

Black Magic

as Birmingham Brown

Pin Up Girl

as Train Station Porter (uncredited)

6.1

Chip Off the Old Block

1944

as Porter

4.0

Bowery to Broadway

1944

as Alabam

Moon Over Las Vegas

1944

as Porter

He Hired the Boss

1943

as Bootblack

3.7

You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith

as Porter

Swing Fever

as Woody

Cabin in the Sky

as First Idea Man

Sarong Girl

as Maxwell

Slightly Dangerous

1943

as Waiter at Swade's (uncredited)

6.0

Hit the Ice

1943

as Porter with Snowshoes (uncredited)

5.9

Melody Parade

1943

as Skidmore

Revenge of the Zombies

1943

as Jefferson 'Jeff' Johnson

5.1

Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher

1943

as Eustace Smith

4.0

We've Never Been Licked

1943

as Willie

Tarzan's New York Adventure

1942

as Sam, the Nightclub Janitor (uncredited)

6.3

Phantom Killer

1942

as Nicodemus

4.5

Andy Hardy's Double Life

1942

as Prentiss - The Benedict Butler (uncredited)

4.8

Four Jacks and a Jill

1942

as Cicero - Wash Room Attendant (uncredited)

Girl Trouble

as Flint's Chauffeur

Eyes in the Night

as Alistair

Law of the Jungle

as Jefferson "Jeff" Jones

Treat 'Em Rough

as 'Snake-Eyes'

Lucky Ghost

as Washington

Footlight Serenade

as Amos

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx

1942

as Horatio B.Fitz Washington

5.1

Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost

1942

as Lightnin'

4.4

A-Haunting We Will Go

1942

as Porter (uncredited)

6.0

Freckles Comes Home

1942

as Jeff the porter

5.0

Mr. Washington Goes to Town

1942

as Schenectady Washington

3.0

Professor Creeps

1942

as Washington

Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery

as Roy

You're Out of Luck

as Jeff Jefferson

Dressed to Kill

as Rusty

Sleepers West

as Porter (uncredited)

6.3

Cracked Nuts

1941

as Burgess

King of the Zombies

1941

as Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson

5.1

It Started with Eve

1941

as Railway Porter (uncredited)

7.2

Birth of the Blues

1941

as Black Trumpet Player (uncredited)

6.0

The Gang's All Here

1941

as Jefferson 'Jeff' Smith

5.0

Up Jumped the Devil

1941

as Washington

Sign of the Wolf

1941

as Ben

6.0

Marry the Boss's Daughter

1941

as Diner Cook

Let's Go Collegiate

1941

as Jeff

5.0

Laughing at Danger

1940

as Jefferson

City of Chance

1940

as Anxious Man

5.2

Four Shall Die

1940

as Beefus - Touissant's Chauffeur

Girl in 313

as Porter

Millionaire Playboy

as Bellhop

Drums of the Desert

as Sergeant 'Blue' Williams

Star Dust

as Waiter on Train

Maryland

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk

as Robbins

Up in the Air

as Jeff Jefferson

On the Spot

as Jefferson White

Chasing Trouble

as Thomas H. Jefferson

5.0

While Thousands Cheer

1940

as Nash

Viva Cisco Kid

1940

as Memphis - The Cook

5.5

Riders of the Frontier

1939

as Chappie, the Cook

Irish Luck

1939

as Jefferson

5.8

Tell No Tales

1939

as Sport Black at the Wake (uncredited)

4.6

One Dark Night

1939

as Samson Brown

Two-Gun Man from Harlem

1938

as Bill Blake

4.0

Gang Smashers

1938

as Gloomy

Next Time I Marry

1938

as Tilby

7.0

Spirit of Youth

1938

as Creighton 'Crickie' Fitzgibbons

5.5

Frontier Scout

1938

as Norris Family Butler

4.5

Harlem on the Prairie

1937

as Mistletoe

5.0

The Green Pastures

1936

as Angel Removing Hat (uncredited)

6.3

That's the Spirit

1933

as Night Watchman

2.0

Ebony Parade

as Mantan

Television (4)

Love, American Style

as Stranger

The Bill Cosby Show

as Uncle Dewey

Adam-12

as Philip Richards

Julia

as Harry James