Joe Mantell

Joe Mantell ( 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 1953 live television play of the same name.

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 television plays directed by Delbert Mann for The Philco Television Playhouse, including Arnold in The Bachelor Party and as Angie, best friend of the title character, in the 1953 live broadcast of Marty. 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.

In 1955, Mantell reprised the role of Angie in the film adaptation of Marty, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. 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.

Partial filmography