# Joe Mantell

Joe Mantell (né Joseph Mantel; December 21, 1915 – September 29, 2010) was an American film and television actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as best friend Angie in the 1955 film Marty, which he reprised from the original live teleplay with the same creative team. The teleplay was a surprise hit and the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

## Early life

Joseph Mantel was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City to Jewish immigrant parents from the Kingdom of Galicia, a region in Eastern Europe controlled by the Emperor of Austria. His father was a butcher, the family name originally was spelled Mantel and accented on the first syllable, but at the beginning of his acting career, Mantell added the extra "L" and changed the pronunciation to "Man-TELL".
He served in the army during the World War II.

## Career

Early in his career, Mantell worked on Paddy Chayefsky teleplays directed by Delbert Mann for The Philco Television Playhouse, including Arnold in The Bachelor Party. He also appeared in the anti-censorship episode "Storm Center" of the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, as well as the 1956 film adaptation by Daniel Taradash.
Mantell was featured in the pilot of the crime drama, The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack that originally aired as a 2 part episode of the WDP. He later guest-starred in The Untouchables series itself, in the 2 part episode, "The Unhired Assassin", where he played Giuseppe Zangara, the would-be assassin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who ended up accidentally assassinating Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak instead.
Mantell appeared frequently in series television, including two episodes each of The Twilight Zone: "Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room" (in a starring role) and "Steel" (co-starring with Lee Marvin); The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ironside, and Maude. Mantell also appeared as a betrayed husband in the "Guilty Witness" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
He had a recurring role from 1961 to 1962 as Ernie Briggs in six episodes of the CBS sitcom, Pete and Gladys, starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. Mantell also starred in season one, episode five ("Far from the Brave") of the TV series Combat! and in a 1963 episode of the sitcom Don't Call Me Charlie!. From 1967 to 1969 Mantell appeared five times on Mannix, four of which were in his recurring role of private detective Albie Loos.
Mantell had a small but pivotal role in the gas station scene of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds. In the 1974 film Chinatown, he played Lawrence Walsh, associate of private eye Jake Gittes, and delivered the film's famous last line, "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown." Mantell reprised the character of Walsh in the 1990 film The Two Jakes.

## Personal life

He and his wife, Mary, had two daughters and a son.
He retired from acting in 1990 and on September 29, 2010, died in Tarzana, California, at the age of 94.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | The Undercover Man | Newsboy | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Barbary Pirate | Dexter Freeman | |
| 1949 | Port of New York | Messenger | Uncredited |
| 1949 | And Baby Makes Three | Newsboy | uncredited |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Stanley Crane | Season 1 Episode 11: "Guilty Witness" |
| 1955 | Marty | Angie | |
| 1956 | Storm Center | George Slater | |
| 1957 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | (Lodge) Brother Harry Brown | Season 2 Episode 37: "The Indestructible Mr. Weems" |
| 1957 | Beau James | Bernie Williams, Broadway Producer | |
| 1957 | The Sad Sack | Private Stan Wenaslawsky | |
| 1958 | Onionhead | Harry 'Doc' O'Neal | |
| 1960 | The Crowded Sky | Louis Capelli | |
| 1960 | Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room | Jackie / John | Episode: "The Twilight Zone" |
| 1963 | Steel | Pole | Episode: "The Twilight Zone" |
| 1963 | The Birds | Traveling Salesman at Diner's Bar | |
| 1966 | Mister Buddwing | first Cab Driver | |
| 1970 | Kelly's Heroes | General's Aide | Uncredited |
| 1974 | Chinatown | Lawrence Walsh | |
| 1984 | Blame It on the Night | Attorney | |
| 1985 | Movers & Shakers | Larry | |
| 1990 | The Two Jakes | Lawrence Walsh | (final film role) |