# Howard Mann

Howard Mann (June 20, 1923 – September 18, 2008) was an American actor and comedian. Mann appeared on television, film and commercials during his 40-year-long career in the entertainment industry. Some of his most recent roles in the 2000s included Pushing Daisies and The Starter Wife. Despite his dozens of film and television credits in his resume, Mann wrote that he had "probably been turned down more times than a blanket," in a guest column in the Los Angeles Times in 2006.

## Early life

Mann was born Howard Mendelsohn in 1923 in New York City. He graduated from the City College of New York and studied acting and comedy with Zero Mostel, Herbert Berghof, and William Hickey.

## Career

Mann began his career in entertainment as a comedian after being laid off from his job as an advertising copywriter. Mann began performing in the Jewish entertainers circuit in resorts in New York's Borscht Belt region in the Catskill Mountains. His dozens of television appearances included Laverne & Shirley, Alice, Moonlighting and Murder, She Wrote. His film credits included Mr. Saturday Night in 1992 and the History of the World: Part I in 1981. Mann also appeared on the Merv Griffin Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. On stage, Mann toured the United States in a one-man show, in which he played George Washington, in 1976 in honor of the United States Bicentennial. He later portrayed the role of Oscar Madison in an off Broadway production of The Odd Couple. Beginning in the 1980s, Mann created and performed an original rap routine for senior citizens living in the San Fernando Valley.

## Personal life

Mann died of cancer on September 18, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 85. He was survived by his longtime girlfriend and companion, Bea Mitz.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1961 | Blast of Silence | Body Guard |
| 1980 | Wholly Moses! | High Priest |
| 1981 | Going Ape! | Jules Cohen |
| 1981 | History of the World, Part I | Disciple |
| 1982 | O'Hara's Wife | Moving man |
| 1982 | They Call Me Bruce? | Joe The Finger |
| 1992 | Mr. Saturday Night | Stage Manager |
| 2001 | The Medicine Show | Mr. Melanoma |
| 2003 | Malibu's Most Wanted | Uncle Louie |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959, 1963 | Naked City | Officer Dorkin / Comptometer | 2 episodes |
| 1963, 1964 | The Defenders | Police Sargeant / Patrolman Burke | 2 episodes |
| 1966 | Hawk | Cop #1 | Episode: "The Shivering Pigeon" |
| 1978 | Laverne & Shirley | The Grand Bass | Episode: "Playing the Roxy" |
| 1978 | Watch Your Mouth | Mr. Welsh | Episode: "Mary and Melvin" |
| 1979 | Salvage 1 | Kramer | 3 episodes |
| 1979 | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo | Henchman | Episode: "The Mob Comes to Orly" |
| 1980 | Alice | Customer / Trucker | 3 episodes |
| 1981 | Barney Miller | Lou Carlisle | Episode: "Lady and the Bomb" |
| 1981 | Crazy Times | Mr. Candosta | Television film |
| 1983 | Inspector Perez | Dr. Mirakin | Television film |
| 1983 | American Playhouse | Thomas | Episode: "Wings" |
| 1983 | Happy | Councilman Brady | Television film |
| 1984 | The Jeffersons | Torqovich | Episode: "The Command Post" |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote | New Holvang Cabbie | Episode: "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" |
| 1985 | Space | Lawyer / Tycoon | Episode: "Part III" |
| 1985, 1987 | Moonlighting | Gas Station Cashier / Man on Elevator | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Cagney & Lacey | Paddy | Episode: "DWI" |
| 1986 | Hunter | Side | Episode: "Fagin 1986" |
| 1988 | Hooperman | Man at Morgue | Episode: "The Naked and the Dead" |
| 1988 | Webster | Galileo | Episode: "Heaven" |
| 1993 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Mr. Gorodetsky | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Crisis Center | Mort Fishman | Episode: "It's a Family Affair" |
| 1998 | Seinfeld | Willie, Sr. | Episode: "The Dealership" |
| 2000 | Becker | Fred | Episode: "The Film Critic" |
| 2001 | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Harvey, the Profit Prophet | Episode: "Making the Grade" |
| 2001 | Providence | Webster | Episode: "The Honeymoon's Over" |
| 2001 | Spin City | Anthony DeMatt | Episode: "Chinatown" |
| 2002 | The West Wing | Senior Citizen | Episode: "Election Night" |
| 2002 | The Bernie Mac Show | Mel | Episode: "The Sweet Life" |
| 2003 | CSI: Miami | Marty Gaines | Episode: "Bunk" |
| 2003 | Malcolm in the Middle | Elderly Man | Episode: "Day Care" |
| 2004 | Without a Trace | Garden Center Manager | Episode: "Shadows" |
| 2006 | I Did Not Know That | Thomas 'The Schnoz' Lipinski | Television film |
| 2007 | Pushing Daisies | Elderly Man | Episode: "The Fun in Funeral" |
| 2008 | The Starter Wife | Karl | 3 episodes |