Hank man

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Hank Mann (top left) on a 1916 movie advert

Hank Mann (born May 28, 1887 in New York City , New York or May 28, 1888 in Russia as David William Lieberman , † November 25, 1971 in South Pasadena , California ) was an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter . The inventor of the Keystone Cops has appeared in over 400 films, including several Charlie Chaplin classics .

life and career

The origin of Hank Mann is unclear: Some sources say that he was born in Russia in 1888 and that he and his family emigrated to New York in 1891; other sources say he was born in New York in 1887. He probably grew up in a poor and crime-shaded area of ​​New York before joining a circus troupe as an acrobat as a young man. In 1912 Mann was signed by comedy producer Mack Sennett and his Keystone Studios . At Keystone Studios, Mann had the original idea for the legendary Keystone Kops , a bunch of chaotic and simple-minded cops who from then on appeared in numerous Sennett films and gained great popularity. The Keystone Cops exerted great film-historical influence on later slapstick comedies, especially chaotic chases ("Keystone Chase"). At first, Mann also appeared in the films as the leader of the Keystone Cops, before he was replaced in this role by Ford Sterling .

Because man, who was considered a great talent, rarely got his own leading roles at Sennett, he moved to Fox Studios . There the actor got his own short film comedy series, but it was canceled after a short time. Behind the camera, Mann mainly tried his hand at the end of the 1910s as a director (eight films) and writer (four films), but quickly switched back to the camera. Like many other silent film comedians, he had a trademark: a wide mustache and his eye play, which is why he was nicknamed Boy with the Bashful Eyes (German: "Boy with the shy eyes"). After his failure at Fox, Mann worked primarily as a supporting actor in the feature-length comedies of other comedians in the 1920s.

With the start of talkies at the end of the 1920s, Mann, like many other silent film colleagues, was only given small roles. In the 1930s, Mann starred in the Chaplin classics Modern Times , The Great Dictator and City Lights , in the latter film he had what is perhaps his best-known appearance as Chaplin's boxing opponent. His friend Frank Capra also used Mann regularly in short comedic appearances in his films, later Abbott and Costello as well as Jerry Lewis . From 1943 he became a makeup man for other fellow actors like Edward Everett Horton and later also had his own malt shop in Sierra Madre . Nevertheless, until 1960, Mann continued to act as an actor in more than 400 films and around two dozen television series.

When he died in 1971 he was the last surviving Keystone cop. He was married three times: from 1915 to Estelle, from 1924 to her death to Rae Max and from 1948 to his death to Dolly Myers Robinson. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his film work .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/45074/Hank-Mann
  2. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/45074/Hank-Mann
  3. ↑ http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/hank-mann/
personal data
SURNAME Man, Hank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lieberman, David William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH 19th century
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City or Russia
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 1971
Place of death South Pasadena , California