Hank Mann
Encyclopedia
Hank Mann was a comedian and silent screen
star who is best known as the last surviving member of the Keystone Cops. According to fellow actor and original member of the ensemble Edgar Kennedy
, Mann was the originator of the idea for the Keysotne Cops. He was born in Russia
, emigrated to New York City with his parents and siblings as a baby, and died in South Pasadena
, California
. He was one of the earliest of film comedians, working first for Mack Sennett as an original Keystone Cop, and later for William Fox, in silent film comedies. With the advent of motion picture sound and the "talkies", he became a popular bit player and background extra in many quintessential motion picture dramas as well as comedies, including "The Maltese Falcon" (one of a group of reporters) and "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" (as a photographer). One of his most famous bits was as the "glass door man" in the Three Stooges' short "Men in Black". Later in his career he continued to play bit parts in TV comedies, and made some appearances in several Jerry Lewis film comedies in the 1960s. Although he never really retired completely from the film industry, his later years were spent as an apartment building manager with his wife, Dolly, in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.
He is interred in the Hall of David Mausoleum in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
star who is best known as the last surviving member of the Keystone Cops. According to fellow actor and original member of the ensemble Edgar Kennedy
Edgar Kennedy
Edgar Livingston Kennedy was an American comedic film actor, known as "the king of the slow burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper...
, Mann was the originator of the idea for the Keysotne Cops. He was born in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, emigrated to New York City with his parents and siblings as a baby, and died in South Pasadena
South Pasadena, California
South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in in the West San Gabriel Valley...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He was one of the earliest of film comedians, working first for Mack Sennett as an original Keystone Cop, and later for William Fox, in silent film comedies. With the advent of motion picture sound and the "talkies", he became a popular bit player and background extra in many quintessential motion picture dramas as well as comedies, including "The Maltese Falcon" (one of a group of reporters) and "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" (as a photographer). One of his most famous bits was as the "glass door man" in the Three Stooges' short "Men in Black". Later in his career he continued to play bit parts in TV comedies, and made some appearances in several Jerry Lewis film comedies in the 1960s. Although he never really retired completely from the film industry, his later years were spent as an apartment building manager with his wife, Dolly, in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.
He is interred in the Hall of David Mausoleum in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
Selected filmography
- Rock-A-Bye Baby (19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - The Dancing MastersThe Dancing MastersThe Dancing Masters is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature film. The plot involves the team running a ballet school, and getting involved with an inventor...
(19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Modern TimesModern Times (film)Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in...
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - City LightsCity LightsCity Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
(19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - as the prizefighter who boxes in the ring with Charlie Chaplin - Sinners' HolidaySinners' HolidaySinners' Holiday is a 1930 crime drama film starring Grant Withers, Evalyn Knapp, James Cagney , Lucille La Verne, and Joan Blondell. It is based on the play Penny Arcade by Marie Baumer. Both Cagney and Blondell reprised their Broadway roles...
(1930) - The Fighting HeartThe Fighting Heart (1925 film)The Fighting Heart is a 1925 drama film directed by John Ford. The film is now considered to be a lost film.-Cast:* George O'Brien - Denny Bolton* Billie Dove - Doris Anderson* J. Farrell MacDonald - Jerry* Victor McLaglen - Soapy Williams...
(19251925 in film-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
) - Hearts and SparksHearts and SparksHearts and Sparks is a 1916 silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Billie Bennett* Nick Cogley* Albert T. Gillespie* Tom Kennedy* Joe Lee* Hank Mann* Slim Summerville* Gloria Swanson...
(1916) - A Dash of CourageA Dash of CourageA Dash of Courage is a 1916 silent comedy film directed by Charley Chase, starring Gloria Swanson, and featuring Wallace Beery, to whom she was briefly married.-Cast:* Harry Gribbon as Police Commissioner* Guy Woodward* Gloria Swanson* Bobby Vernon...
(1916) - Fatty and the Broadway StarsFatty and the Broadway StarsFatty and the Broadway Stars is a 1915 short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Ivy Crosthwaite* Mack Sennett* Joe Weber* Lew Fields* Sam Bernard* William Collier Sr.* Joe Jackson* Brett Clark...
(19151915 in filmThe year 1915 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 8 : D.W Griffith's The Birth of a Nation premieres at Clune's Auditorium Los Angeles and breaks box office and film length records, running at a total length of 3 hrs 10 minutes.* June 18 : The Motion Picture Directors...
) - Fatty's Plucky PupFatty's Plucky PupFatty's Plucky Pup is a 1915 short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. A print of the film survives.-Plot:Fatty plays a somewhat lazy young man who disrupts his mother's life by causing a fire by smoking in bed, then ruins laundry day by dropping it in the mud. He has two loves of...
(1915) - Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San FranciscoMabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San FranciscoMabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco is a 1915 short comedy-documentary film both starring and directed by Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand.-Production background:...
(1915) - That Little Band of GoldThat Little Band of GoldThat Little Band of Gold is a 1915 short comedy film directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and starring Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, and Ford Sterling.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Hubby* Mabel Normand - Wifey* Ford Sterling - Gassy Gotrox...
(1915) - Fatty's New RoleFatty's New RoleFatty's New Role is a 1915 short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Hobo* Mack Swain - Ambrose Schnitz* Joe Bordeaux* Glen Cavender* Luke the Dog* Bobby Dunn* Billy Gilbert* Frank Hayes...
(1915) - Tillie's Punctured RomanceTillie's Punctured Romance (1914 film)Tillie's Punctured Romance is the first feature-length comedy film from Keystone Film Company and the Christie Film Company, produced in 1914. A silent film directed by Mack Sennett, the film stars Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, and the Keystone Cops...
(19141914 in filmThe year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.-Events:*The 3,300-seat Mark Strand Theatre opens in New York City....
) - Fatty's GiftFatty's GiftFatty's Gift is a 1914 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Minta Durfee* Hank Mann* Al St. John...
(1914) - The Face on the Bar Room FloorThe Face on the Bar Room Floor (1914 film)The Face on the Bar Room Floor is a short film written and directed by Charles Chaplin in 1914. Chaplin stars in this film, loosely based on the poem of the same name by Hugh Antoine d'Arcy.-Synopsis:...
(1914) - The Sky PirateThe Sky PirateThe Sky Pirate is a 1914 short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Minta Durfee* Hank Mann* Mabel Normand* Al St. John...
(1914) - Fatty's FinishFatty's FinishFatty's Finish is a 1914 short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Minta Durfee* Hank Mann* Al St. John...
(1914) - Mabel's Married LifeMabel's Married LifeMabel's Married Life is an American comedy silent film made by Keystone Studios starring and co-written by Charles Chaplin and Mabel Normand, and directed by Chaplin. As was so often the case during his first year in film, Chaplin's character is soon staggering drunk.-Synopsis:Mabel goes home...
(1914)
- The KnockoutThe KnockoutThe Knockout was Charlie Chaplin's seventeenth film for Keystone Studios. Chaplin only has a small role, and Fatty Arbuckle takes up the main role...
(1914) - The AlarmThe Alarm (film)The Alarm is a 1914 short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Minta Durfee* Hank Mann* Mabel Normand* Al St. John...
(1914) - Caught in a CabaretCaught in a CabaretCaught in a Cabaret is a short film from 1914 starring Charlie Chaplin and the film's writer/director Mabel Normand. Chaplin plays a waiter who fakes being a Greek Ambassador to impress a girl. He then is invited to a garden party where he gets in trouble with the girl's jealous boyfriend...
(1914) - Twenty Minutes of LoveTwenty Minutes of LoveTwenty Minutes of Love is a 1914 American comedy silent film made by Keystone Studios. It was the first film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin.-Cast:* Charlie Chaplin - Pickpocket* Minta Durfee - Edgar' Girl* Edgar Kennedy - Lover...
(1914) - Mabel's Strange PredicamentMabel's Strange PredicamentMabel's Strange Predicament is a 1914 American-made motion picture starring Mabel Normand and Charles Chaplin, notable for being the first film for which Chaplin donned the Tramp costume.-First "Tramp" appearance filmed:...
(1914) - In the Clutches of the GangIn the Clutches of the GangIn the Clutches of the Gang is a 1914 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Charles Avery* Nick Cogley* George Jeske - Keystone Kop* Edgar Kennedy* Hank Mann* Harry McCoy* Rube Miller* George Nichols...
(1914) - A Misplaced FootA Misplaced FootA Misplaced Foot is a 1914 short comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Minta Durfee* Hank Mann* Mabel Normand* Ford Sterling* Al St. John...
(1914) - He Would a Hunting GoHe Would a Hunting GoHe Would a Hunting Go is a 1913 short comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Alice Davenport* Billy Gilbert - * Grover Ligon* Hank Mann* Harry McCoy* Al St. John...
(19131913 in filmThe year 1913 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* The Squaw Man, the first Hollywood feature film, is made.* December 29, Charlie Chaplin signs a contract with Mack Sennett to begin making films at Keystone Studios.* D. W...
) - Fatty's FlirtationFatty's FlirtationFatty's Flirtation is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Minta Durfee* William Hauber* Hank Mann* Mabel Normand* Ford Sterling...
(1913) - Fatty Joins the ForceFatty Joins the ForceFatty Joins the Force is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. It features the Keystone Kops in a background role.-Plot:Fatty is an obese and timid man who rescues a little girl from drowning. The girl who turns out to be the daughter of the Police Commissioner. The grateful...
(1913) - The RiotThe RiotThe Riot is a 1913 short comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Phyllis Allen* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Alice Davenport* Hank Mann* Charles Murray* Mabel Normand* Ford Sterling* Al St. John...
(1913) - The Waiters' PicnicThe Waiters' PicnicThe Waiters' Picnic is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, and Al St. John.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Mabel Normand* Al St. John* Hank Mann* Ford Sterling...
(1913) - Barney Oldfield's Race for a LifeBarney Oldfield's Race for a LifeBarney Oldfield's Race for a Life is a silent comedy short, directed and produced by Mack Sennett and starring Sennett, Mabel Normand, and Barney Oldfield as himself...
(1913) - The GangstersThe GangstersThe Gangsters is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle as one of the Keystone Cops.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Nick Cogley* Fred Mace* Hank Mann* Ford Sterling* Al St. John...
(1913) - The Foreman of the JuryThe Foreman of the JuryThe Foreman of the Jury is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Mabel Normand.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Fred Mace* Hank Mann* Mabel Normand* Ford Sterling-See also:* List of American films of 1913* Fatty Arbuckle filmography* Jury foreman...
(1913) - His Chum the BaronHis Chum the BaronHis Chum the Baron is a 1913 short comedy film. Harold Lloyd is said to have appeared in this film, but this is unconfirmed.-Cast:* Ford Sterling* Hank Mann* Edgar Kennedy* Betty Schade* Vernon Smith* Harold Lloyd...
(1913) - That Ragtime BandThat Ragtime BandThat Ragtime Band is a 1913 short comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and featuring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Ford Sterling - Prof. Smelts* Mabel Normand - Mabel* Nick Cogley - Rival musician* Alice Davenport* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Raymond Hatton...
(1913) - The Bangville PoliceThe Bangville PoliceThe Bangville Police is a 1913 comedy short starring Mabel Normand and the Keystone Kops . The film, notable for being regarded as the seminal Keystone Cops short, was directed by Henry Lehrman...
(1913) - Murphy's I.O.U.Murphy's I.O.U.Murphy's I.O.U. is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Phyllis Allen* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Nick Cogley* Dot Farley* Henry Lehrman* Fred Mace - Murphy* Hank Mann* Charles Murray* Mack Sennett - Policeman* Ford Sterling...
(1913) - Safe in JailSafe in JailSafe in Jail is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Charles Avery* Edgar Kennedy* Hank Mann* Charles Murray* Ford Sterling...
(1913) - Hoffmeyer's LegacyHoffmeyer's LegacyHoffmeyer's Legacy is a 1912 comedy short directed by Mack Sennett and notable for being the first Keystone Cops comedy. However, the film many people consider the first real Keystone Cop comedy to be is The Bangville Police .-Cast:...
(1912)