Hank Mann

Hank Mann (born David William Lieberman, May 28, 1887 – November 25, 1971) was a Russian Empire-born and American comedian and silent screen star who was a member of the Keystone Cops, and appeared as a supporting player in many of Charlie Chaplin's films.

Hank Mann
Mann in 1925
Born
David William Lieberman

(1887-05-28)May 28, 1887
Russia
DiedNovember 25, 1971(1971-11-25) (aged 84)
South Pasadena, California, U.S.
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1912–1960
Spouses
Estelle Olmsted
​
​
(m. 1920; div. 1921)​
    Rachel (Rae) Max
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1924; died 1947)​
      Dolly Myers Robinson
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1948)​

      Career

      Hank Mann was born in the Russian Empire[1][2][3] but emigrated to New York City with his parents and siblings in 1891.[3]

      "Barney Oldfield's A Race for a Life" [1913] with left to right:Hank Mann; Ford Sterling; Al St John and in foreground Mabel Normand
      Left:Ford Sterling as Keystone Cops Police chief [seated}; 4th from right AL St John; 3th from right: Hank Mann; in "In the Clutches of the Gang (1914)

      Mann was one of the earliest of film comedians, working first for Mack Sennett as an original Keystone Cop,[4] and later for producers William Fox and Morris R. Schlank 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 more sizable talkie roles was as a flustered hotel manager in the 1944 comedy-mystery Crime by Night, and he reunited with fellow Keystone player Chester Conklin as bartenders in the 1952 Bob Hope comedy Son of Paleface.

      Hank Mann in 1920
      Mann (right) as Charlie Chaplin's boxing opponent in City Lights (1931)

      One of Mann's 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.

      Death

      Mann died on November 25, 1971, at the Braewood Convalescent Hospital[4] in South Pasadena, California.[5] He is interred in the Hall of David Mausoleum in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.[6]

      Awards

      For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Hank Mann has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard.[7]

      Selected filmography

      References
      1. "David William Or Hank Lieberman Or Mann", United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, FamilySearch, retrieved February 11, 2010
      2. "Hank Mann", United States Census, 1920, FamilySearch, retrieved February 11, 2010
      3. "Hank Mann", United States Census, 1930, FamilySearch, retrieved February 11, 2010
      4. "Hank Mann, 84, Member Of Keystone Kops, Dead". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 27, 1971. p. 34. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
      5. "Hank Mann", United States Social Security Death Index, FamilySearch, retrieved February 11, 2010
      6. Interactive Site Map Archived 2017-07-08 at the Wayback Machine. Hollywood Forever. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
      7. Hank Mann. Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 2012-02-11
      8. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era. Midnight Marquee Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
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