Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 â€" September 28, 1973) was an
American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.He was
born in Monroe, Louisiana, to Frank, an old-time Dixieland bandleader,
and Marcella. Moreland began acting by the time he was an adolescent;
some sources say he ran away to join a minstrel show in 1910, at age
eight, but his daughter told Moreland's biographer she doubts this
date is correct. She and other sources agree it is more likely he left
home when he was fourteen.After "nearly ten years of working the
small, small time", Moreland gained an opportunity in 1927 when he was
hired as a comedian in Connie's Inn Frolics in Harlem. He next worked
in the musical revue Blackbirds of 1928, which ran for 518
performances. By the late 1920s, Moreland had made his way through
vaudeville, working with various shows and revues, performing on
Broadway and touring Europe.Following the death of Aubrey Lyles, the
half of African American vaudeville act Miller and Lyles, in 1932,
Flournoy Miller asked Moreland to be teamed up with him for personal
appearances. With Moreland, Miller would perform old comedy routines
he had done with Lyles. The two would paired together for a one-reel
short That’s the Spirit (1933) as a pair of night watchmen and for
stage productions by Miller, Dixie Goes High Hat (1938) and Hollywood
Revue (1939). Moreland would appeared in low-budget "race movies"
aimed at African American audiences, including One Dark Night (1939)
with Bette Treadville and Lucky Ghost (1941), Mr. Washington Goes to
Town (1941) and Mantan Runs for Mayor (1946), again with Miller.
American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.He was
born in Monroe, Louisiana, to Frank, an old-time Dixieland bandleader,
and Marcella. Moreland began acting by the time he was an adolescent;
some sources say he ran away to join a minstrel show in 1910, at age
eight, but his daughter told Moreland's biographer she doubts this
date is correct. She and other sources agree it is more likely he left
home when he was fourteen.After "nearly ten years of working the
small, small time", Moreland gained an opportunity in 1927 when he was
hired as a comedian in Connie's Inn Frolics in Harlem. He next worked
in the musical revue Blackbirds of 1928, which ran for 518
performances. By the late 1920s, Moreland had made his way through
vaudeville, working with various shows and revues, performing on
Broadway and touring Europe.Following the death of Aubrey Lyles, the
half of African American vaudeville act Miller and Lyles, in 1932,
Flournoy Miller asked Moreland to be teamed up with him for personal
appearances. With Moreland, Miller would perform old comedy routines
he had done with Lyles. The two would paired together for a one-reel
short That’s the Spirit (1933) as a pair of night watchmen and for
stage productions by Miller, Dixie Goes High Hat (1938) and Hollywood
Revue (1939). Moreland would appeared in low-budget "race movies"
aimed at African American audiences, including One Dark Night (1939)
with Bette Treadville and Lucky Ghost (1941), Mr. Washington Goes to
Town (1941) and Mantan Runs for Mayor (1946), again with Miller.
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