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 bro...
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King of the Zombies
As Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson
It Started with Eve
As Railway Porter (uncredited)
Spider Baby
As Messenger
Watermelon Man
As Joe the Counterman
Footlight Serenade
As Amos
The Spider
As Harry
Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
As Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver
The Shanghai Cobra
As Birmingham Brown
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service
As Birmingham Brown
Black Magic
As Birmingham Brown
The Scarlet Clue
As Birmingham Brown, Chauffeur
Shadows Over Chinatown
As Birmingham Brown
Charlie Chan in The Jade Mask
As Birmingham Brown
Dark Alibi
As Birmingham Brown
The Trap
As Birmingham Brown
Sleepers West
As Porter (uncredited)
Docks of New Orleans
As Birmingham Brown
The Chinese Ring
As Birmingham Brown
Shanghai Chest
As Birmingham Brown
The Feathered Serpent
As Birmingham Brown
Horrible Horror
As Jefferson Jackson in 'King of the Zombies'
Eyes in the Night
As Alistair
The Golden Eye
As Birmingham Brown
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
As Horatio B.Fitz Washington
Lucky Ghost
As Washington
Tarzan's New York Adventure
As Sam, the Nightclub Janitor (uncredited)
Up in the Air
As Jeff Jefferson
Cabin in the Sky
As First Idea Man
Birth of the Blues
As Black Trumpet Player (uncredited)
She Wouldn't Say Yes
As Porter (uncredited)
On the Spot
As Jefferson White
Frontier Scout
As Norris Family Butler
Phantom Killer
As Nicodemus
Sign of the Wolf
As Ben
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
As Eustace Smith
Melody Parade
As Skidmore
Swing Fever
As Woody
Freckles Comes Home
As Jeff the porter
The Gang's All Here
As Jefferson 'Jeff' Smith
Revenge of the Zombies
As Jefferson 'Jeff' Johnson
Mantan Messes Up
You're Out of Luck
As Jeff Jefferson
Four Jacks and a Jill
As Cicero - Wash Room Attendant (uncredited)
Next Time I Marry
As Tilby
Spirit of Youth
As Creighton 'Crickie' Fitzgibbons
Two-Gun Man from Harlem
As Bill Blake
Mr. Washington Goes to Town
As Schenectady Jones
Irish Luck
As Jefferson
Pin Up Girl
As Train Station Porter (uncredited)
Sarong Girl
As Maxwell
Let's Go Collegiate
As Jeff
Riverboat Rhythm
As Mantan
Andy Hardy's Double Life
As Prentiss - The Benedict Butler (uncredited)
Dressed to Kill
As Rusty
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
As Roy
Captain Tugboat Annie
As Pinto
Rockin' the Blues
As Self
Enter Laughing
As Subway Rider
Chip Off the Old Block
As Porter
Harlem on the Prairie
As Mistletoe
Return of Mandy's Husband
As Mantan
Professor Creeps
As Washington
Up Jumped the Devil
As Washington
Girl Trouble
As Flint's Chauffeur
Tell No Tales
As Sport Black at the Wake (uncredited)
Law of the Jungle
As Jefferson "Jeff" Jones
Riders of the Frontier
As Chappie, the Cook
Moon Over Las Vegas
As Porter
Chasing Trouble
As Thomas H. Jefferson
Come On, Cowboy!
As Mantan
Millionaire Playboy
As Bellhop
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
As Robbins
Viva Cisco Kid
As Memphis - The Cook
Treat 'Em Rough
As 'Snake-Eyes'
Star Dust
As Waiter on Train
The Green Pastures
As Angel Removing Hat (uncredited)
Laughing at Danger
As Jefferson
Drums of the Desert
As Sergeant 'Blue' Williams
Four Shall Die
As Beefus - Touissant's Chauffeur
He Hired the Boss
As Bootblack
A-Haunting We Will Go
As Porter (uncredited)
Mantan Runs for Mayor
The Dreamer
Ebony Parade
As Mantan
She's Too Mean for Me
What a Guy
Girl in 313
As Porter
Maryland
City of Chance
As Anxious Man
Sky Dragon
As Birmingham Brown
Gang Smashers
As Gloomy
Cracked Nuts
As Burgess
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
As Lightnin'
Slightly Dangerous
As Waiter at Swade's (uncredited)
Bowery to Broadway
As Alabam
You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
As Porter
South of Dixie
As The Porter
We've Never Been Licked
As Willie
Hit the Ice
As Porter with Snowshoes (uncredited)
That's the Spirit
As Night Watchman
Tall, Tan and Terrific
As Mantan Moreland
See Here, Private Hargrove
As Train Porter (uncredited)
The Patsy
As Barber Shop Porter
The Young Nurses
As Old Man
Marry the Boss's Daughter
As Diner Cook
One Dark Night
As Samson Brown
While Thousands Cheer
As Nash
The Comic
As Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled)
The Bill Cosby Show
As Uncle Dewey
Julia
As Harry James
Adam-12
As Philip Richards