Hi Rush, Is there any info on the late great, MANTAN MORELAND? I heard he was kind of blackballed from the film industry because of pressure from the NAACP because of his depiction of a nervous black man? And that most of what he did after the Charlie Chan films were mostly Low Budget Independents. I recently saw a DVD of Jack Hill's SPIDER BABY (1964) in which MANTAN had a small part. what was most shocking about this part was that he was savagely killed within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Have you ever seen this movie Rush? Very Unusual to say the least. It also stars LON CHANEY,JR. Back to MANTAN, did he have any family like wife and kids and what theirs memories are?
I think that this book may provide information that could answer the original questions posed by Sam. It is possible that Mantan Moreland, who was seen as funny by all audiences, including blacks "back in the day," could have been shunned as more politically correct times dawned. This is even more interesting in that Monogram included Mr. Moreland in its films in measure to appeal to black audiences.
I just ordered the book ("Mantan Moreland: Mantan the Funnyman") at Amazon.com. It seems that they have the best price ($35.00), and I got free delivery. If anyone else wants to do the same, please hurry, as only "two" copies are still available.
