Paul Mann (December 2, 1913 – September 24, 1985) was a Canadian film and theater actor, as well as founder of the Paul Mann Actor's Workshop. His brother was the actor Larry D. Mann.

Biography

Mann was influential in developing the concept of

Method acting Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...

in America. While many other Method advocates (including

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

) shared their knowledge at the Actors Studio, Mann taught his own classes at his Actor's Workshop, founded in 1953. Along with

Lloyd Richards Lloyd George Richards (June 29, 1919 – June 29, 2006) was a Canadian-American theatre director, actor, and dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus. Biography Richards was born in Toron ...

(a fellow

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

native and chief assistant director of the school), Mann also managed to create a comfortable atmosphere for actors of all races. Alumni of his school include Ruby Dee,

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...

Ossie Davis Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...

, Sidney Poitier, Al Lewis, and

Vic Morrow Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series '' Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstand ...

. Mann's own acting career was based primarily in theatre, beginning when he was sixteen. His onscreen appearances were limited to an episode of the 1950s television serial ''

Danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to: Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Isla ...

'' and two feature film roles. The first was that of merchant Aleko Sinnikoglou in ''

America, America ''America America'' (British title ''The Anatolian Smile''—a reference to an ongoing acknowledgment of the character Stavros' captivating smile) is a 1963 American drama film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan, adapted from his own b ...

'' (1963) (directed by his friend Elia Kazan) and the last was the village butcher Lazar Wolf in the screen adaptation of '' Fiddler on the Roof'' (1971). He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for both films. Mann also was professor of acting and director of the theater arts program at the

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. A year before his death, Mann was found liable in a civil suit brought in Manhattan by eight female former students accusing him of sexual abuse and harassment and was ordered to pay them a total of $12,000.

Filmography

Theatre credits

In most recent order: *''Danton's Death'' / evival, Play/ ''?'' / Oct 21, 1965 - Nov 1965 *''Incident at Vichy'' / riginal, Play, Drama/ ''Marchand'' / Dec 3, 1964 - May 7, 1965 *''The Changeling'' / riginal, Play/ ''?'' / Oct 29, 1964 - Dec 23, 1964 *''After The Fall'' / riginal, Play, Drama/ ''Quentin's Father'';

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

portrayed ''Quentin'' / Jan 23, 1964 - May 29, 1965 *''Too Late the Phalarope'' / riginal, Play/ ''Japie Grobler'' / Oct 11, 1956 - Nov 10, 1956 *''Flight Into Egypt'' / riginal, Play, Drama/ ''Freund'' / Mar 18, 1952 - Apr 19, 1952 *'' Macbeth'' / evival, Play, Tragedy/ ''Menteith'' and ''Murderer'' / Mar 31, 1948 - Apr 24, 1948 *''Flight to the West'' / riginal, Play/ ''Thomas Hickey'' / Dec 30, 1940 - Apr 26, 1941 *''Johnny Johnson'' / riginal, Play, Play with music, Comedy/ ''German Priest'' and ''Orderly'' / Nov 19, 1936 - Jan 16, 1937 *''Bitter Oleander'' / riginal, Play, Drama/ as ''Second Man'' / Feb 11, 1935 - Mar 1935 *''Follow Thru'' / riginal, Musical, Comedy/ as ''Gentleman'' / Jan 9, 1929 - Dec 21, 1929

References

Bibliography

*Goudsouzian, A. (2004). ''Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon'', UNC Press,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Paul 1913 births 1985 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Jewish Canadian male actors Male actors from Toronto 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian expatriates in the United States