Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay of the same name which he had also directed. From 1967 to 1971, he was president of the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

. In 2002, he received the DGA's honorary life member award. Mann was credited to have "helped bring TV techniques to the film world."

Early life and education

Delbert Martin Mann Jr. was born on January 30, 1920, in Lawrence, Kansas, to Delbert Mann Sr. and Ora (Patton) Mann (died 1961). His father taught sociology at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

from 1920 to 1926. In 1926, the Manns left Lawrence and moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and then

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

before finally settling in Nashville in 1931.George R. Zepp
''Hidden History of Nashville''
The History Press, 2009 page 77 There, his father continued to teach sociology at the

Scarritt College for Christian Workers Scarritt College for Christian Workers was a college associated with the United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The campus is now home to Scarritt Bennett Center. History of Scarritt College (1892–1988) The Scarritt College for C ...

. His mother was also a schoolteacher. Mann was head of his high school drama club when he met

Fred Coe Frederick Hayden Hughs Coe (December 23, 1914 – April 29, 1979) was an American television producer and director most famous for '' The Goodyear Television Playhouse''/''The Philco Television Playhouse'' in 1948-1955 and '' Playhouse 90'' from ...

, the future television producer and director, who was leading a church-sponsored acting society. Coe would later figure prominently in Mann's career as a director. Coe would also serve as Mann's mentor. Mann studied political science in

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. He graduated there in 1941 with a bachelor's degree on political science. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Mann served with the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

as a B-24 bomber pilot and then as an intelligence officer with the

8th Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

stationed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Mann also attended the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

, where he earned a master's fine arts degree in directing.

Career

Television

Mann took a directing job at the

Town Theatre Town Theatre is a historic community theatre located at Columbia, South Carolina. It was built in 1924, and is a rectangular brick building with a two-story glazed central arch with Art Deco influences. A brick annex was added to the rear of the ...

, a community playhouse in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. Mann was affiliated with the Town Theatre from 1947 to 1949, before moving to New York to work with Coe in television. In 1949, at Coe's invitation, Mann joined him in New York, where he became a stage manager and assistant director at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. Within months, he became an alternating director of the anthology series, ''

The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golde ...

''. Between 1949 and 1955, Mann directed more than 100 live television dramas. But even after turning to films, he returned to television and directed productions for '' Playhouse 90'', ''

Ford Star Jubilee ''Ford Star Jubilee'' is an American anthology series that originally aired monthly on Saturday nights on CBS at 9:00 P.M., E.S.T. from the fall of 1955 to the fall of 1956 (With a summer hiatus). The series was approximately 90 minutes long, broa ...

'' and other dramatic television anthology series. He also directed more than two dozen films for television from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, including ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...

'' (1968), ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' (1969), ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' (1970) and '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1979).

Film

In addition to ''Marty'' (1955), other films directed by Mann include ''

The Bachelor Party "The Bachelor Party" is a 1953 television play by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by Chayefsky for a 1957 film. The play premiered to critical acclaim. Plot Charlie Samson is a hard-working married bookkeeper in Manhattan, struggling to advanc ...

'' (1957), ''

Desire Under the Elms ''Desire Under the Elms'' is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', ''Desire Under the Elms'' signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. ...

'' (1958), ''

Separate Tables ''Separate Tables'' is the collective name of two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. The first play, titled ''Table by the Window'', focuses on the ...

'' (1958), ''

Middle of the Night ''Middle of the Night'' is a 1959 American drama film directed by Delbert Mann, and released by Columbia Pictures.'' Variety'' film review; May 20, 1959, page 6.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; May 23, 1959, page 82. It was entered into th ...

'' (1959), '' The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' (1960), '' The Outsider'' (1961), ''

That Touch of Mink ''That Touch of Mink'' is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Delbert Mann and starring Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young, and Audrey Meadows. Plot Cathy Timberlake, an unemployed New York City career woman, goes to the unemploymen ...

'' (1962), '' A Gathering of Eagles'' (1963), ''

Dear Heart ''Dear Heart'' is a 1964 American romantic-comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page as lonely middle-aged people who fall in love at a hotel convention. It was directed by Delbert Mann, from a screenplay by Tad Mosel. Its theme song " ...

'' (1964), '' Fitzwilly'' (1967), ''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

'' (1971) and ''

Night Crossing ''Night Crossing'' is a 1982 British-American drama film starring John Hurt, Jane Alexander and Beau Bridges. The film is based on the true story of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families, who on September 16, 1979, attempted to escape from East Germa ...

'' (1982).

Personal life and death

Mann was married to Ann Caroline Gillespie from 1942 until her death by Alzheimer's disease in 2001. They had four children: Fred, David, Steven and Susan. Susan died in a car accident in 1976. During the 1980s and 1990s, Mann served on the advisory board of the

National Student Film Institute The National Student Film Institute (NSFI), formerly the Los Angeles Student Film Institute (LASFI), was founded in 1978 by Brenda Norman, Dave Master, Jutti Marsh and Ralph Rogers as a festival for films made by children from kindergarten through n ...

. He also served as honorary chairman of the institute for a one-year term. On November 11, 2007, Mann died of pneumonia at the

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

in Los Angeles, at age 87.

Filmography

*'' Marty'' (1955) *''

'' (1957) *''

'' (1958) *''

'' (1959) *'' The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' (1960) *'' Lover Come Back'' (1961) *'' The Outsider'' (1961) *''

'' (1962) *'' A Gathering of Eagles'' (1963) *''

'' (1964) *''

Quick, Before It Melts ''Quick, Before It Melts'' is a 1964 Panavision and Metrocolor comedy film directed by Delbert Mann, written by Dale Wasserman, starring Robert Morse, George Maharis, and Anjanette Comer and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on a nov ...

'' (1964) *''

Mister Buddwing ''Mister Buddwing'' is a 1966 American film drama directed by Delbert Mann and starring James Garner. The film depicts a well-dressed man who finds himself on a bench in Central Park with no idea who he is. He proceeds to wander around Manhatta ...

'' (1966) *'' Fitzwilly'' (1967) *''

The Pink Jungle ''The Pink Jungle'' is a 1968 American adventure comedy film directed by Delbert Mann starring James Garner, Eva Renzi, George Kennedy and Nigel Green. "I made this thing for the money and I'm lucky it didn't wreck my career," Garner wrote in h ...

'' (1968) *''

'' (TV adaptation, 1968) *''

'' (1969) *''

'' (TV adaptation, 1970) *''

'' (1971) *'' No Place to Run'' (1972 TV movie) *''

The Man Without a Country "The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published in ''The Atlantic'' in December 1863. It is the story of American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for t ...

'' (TV adaptation, 1973) *''

Birch Interval ''Birch Interval'' is a 1976 American drama film written by Joanna Crawford, directed by Delbert Mann and starring Eddie Albert, Rip Torn, Ann Wedgeworth, Anne Revere and Susan McClung. It is based on Crawford's novel of the same name. Cast * ...

'' (1976) *'' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (TV adaptation, 1979) *''

'' (1982) *'' The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story'' (1983 TV movie) *'' Love Leads The Way'' (1984 Disney Channel original film) *''

The Last Days of Patton ''The Last Days of Patton'' is a 1986 American made-for-television biographical drama film and sequel to the 1970 film ''Patton'', which portrays the last few months of the general's life. George C. Scott reprises the role of General George S ...

'' (1986 made-for-television movie) *'' Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore'' (1992 made-for-television movie) *''

Incident in a Small Town ''Incident in a Small Town'' is a 1994 American made-for-television drama film directed by Delbert Mann, and starring Walter Matthau, Harry Morgan and Stephanie Zimbalist. This is the third and final film featuring the characters Harmon Cobb ...

'' (1994 made-for-television movie) *''Lily in Winter'' (1994 TV movie)

References

External links

*
Hollywood Reporter: Director Delbert Mann dies at 87Archive of American Television Interview With Delbert Mann
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Delbert 1920 births 2007 deaths Presidents of the Directors Guild of America Best Directing Academy Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in California People from Lawrence, Kansas Directors Guild of America Award winners Vanderbilt University alumni United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Yale School of Drama alumni Yale University alumni Directors of Palme d'Or winners Film directors from Kansas United States Army Air Forces officers