Paul Mann (December 2, 1913 – September 24, 1985) was a Canadian film and theatre 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, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and expe ...

in America. While many other Method advocates (including

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

) shared their knowledge at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

, 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, and actor. While head of the National Playwrights Conference, he helped cultivate many of the most famous theater writers of the 20th century. He ...

(a fellow

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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 Ruby Dee (born Ruby Ann Wallace; October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, ...

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

Al Lewis Al Lewis (born Abraham Meister; April 30, 1923 – February 3, 2006) was an American actor and activist, best known for his role as Grandpa on the television series ''The Munsters'' from 1964 to 1966 and its film versions. He previously also co- ...

, and

Vic Morrow Vic 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 Outstandin ...

. 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 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 Island ...

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

America, America ''America America'' (British title ''The Anatolian Smile'') is a 1963 American drama film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan. It was inspired by the struggle of his uncle, Avraam Elia Kazantzoglou, to work his way to America, a land o ...

'' (1963) (directed by his friend

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

) and the last was the village butcher Lazar Wolf in the screen adaptation of ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'' (1971). He was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previ ...

for both films. Mann also was professor of acting and director of the theater arts program at the niversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay 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 for his roles on stage and screen, he gained a reputation as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Robards received numerous accola ...

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 ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' / 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 expatriate male actors in the United States