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Delbert Mann

Delbert Mann

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Also Known As: Delbert Martin Mann Jr. Died: November 11, 2007
Born: January 30, 1920 Cause of Death: pneumonia
Birth Place: Lawrence, Kansas, USA Profession: director, producer, shoe salesman
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Biography CLOSE THE FULL BIOGRAPHY

Working in TV from 1947, Mann directed over 100 live plays, the best known of which was Paddy Chayefsky's "Marty" (1953). The following year he directed a big-screen version, starring Ernest Borgnine as the lonely Bronx butcher in search of love. The success of the film--it took the Palme d'Or at Cannes--paved the way for a number of low-budget films on "small" subjects that flourished in the mid-1950s. Mann's other successes include the finely acted "The Bachelor Party" (1956), also scripted by Chayefsky, and "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (1960). He made some deft comedies in the 1960s and later directed several competent TV adaptations, such as "Jane Eyre" (1972) and "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1979).

Working in TV from 1947, Mann directed over 100 live plays, the best known of which was Paddy Chayefsky's "Marty" (1953). The following year he directed a big-screen version, starring Ernest Borgnine as the lonely Bronx butcher in search of love. The success of the film--it took the Palme d'Or at Cannes--paved the way for a number of low-budget films on "small" subjects that flourished in the mid-1950s.

Mann's other successes include the finely acted "The Bachelor Party" (1956), also scripted by Chayefsky, and "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (1960). He made some deft comedies in the 1960s and later directed several competent TV adaptations, such as "Jane Eyre" (1972) and "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1979).

Filmographyclose complete filmography

DIRECTOR:

1.
  Incident in a Small Town (1994)
2.
  Lily in Winter (1994) Director
3.
  Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992)
4.
  Ironclads (1991)
5.
  April Morning (1988)
6.
  Ted Kennedy Jr. Story, The (1986) Director
7.
  Last Days of Patton, The (1986) Director
8.
  Gift of Love: A Christmas Story, The (1983) Director
9.
  Bronte (1983) Director
10.
  Night Crossing (1981) Director

CAST: (feature film)

1.
 Burt Lancaster: Daring To Reach (1996) Interviewee
2.
 Grace Kelly: The American Princess (1987)
3.
 The Iron Horse (1925) Charles Crocker
4.
 Deborah Kerr: Getting to Know Her (2000)
5.
 Rock Hudson: The E! True Hollywood Story (1999) Interviewee
6.
 Angela Lansbury: A Balancing Act (1998) Interviewee
7.
 Searchers for a Special City (1966)
8.
 Milton Fox, Esq. (1964)
VIEW THE FULL FILMOGRAPHY

Milestones close milestones

:
Raised in Nashville, Tennessee
:
Became involved with the Nashville Community Players; became friends with Fred Coe
1941:
Worked for General Shoe Corporation
:
Served as B-24 bomber pilot with Eighth Air Corps; then as Squadron Intelligence Officer
:
After graduating Yale with an MFA, worked as a director at the Town Theatre of Columbia in South Carolina
1949:
Invited by Coe to NYC to direct TV dramas
1949:
Helmed live programs for "Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse"
:
During the 'Golden Age of Television', directed numerous productions for such esteemed series as "Playhouse 90", "Producers Showcase" and "DuPont Show of the Month"
1953:
Helmed the well-received TV drama "Marty", starring Rod Steiger and Nancy Marchand
1954:
Made feature film debut as director with "Marty", starring Ernest Borgnine; won Best Director Academy Award
1956:
Earned Emmy nomination for directing "Our Town" (NBC)
1958:
Guided David Niven and Wendy Hiller to Oscars in "Separate Tables"
1960:
Helmed "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs"
1961:
First teaming with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, "Lover Come Back"
1962:
Reunited with Day and Hudson for the comedy "That Touch of Mink"
1964:
Helmed the effective romance "Dear Heart", pairing Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page
1968:
Was director of the notorious TV production of "Heidi" (NBC), which caused controversy when the network cut away from a football game in progress to air the movie
1970:
Helmed a well-received TV adaptation of "David Copperfield" (NBC)
1973:
Won acclaim for direction of "The Man Without a Country" (ABC)
1975:
First of four TV-movies featuring actress Lee Remick, "A Girl Named Sooner" (ABC)
1976:
Was director of the NBC drama "Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident"
1976:
Returned to feature filmmaking with "Birch Interval", about a young girl sent to live with the Amish
1978:
Helmed the well-acted drama about a crumbling marriage, "Breaking Up" (NBC), starring Remick; received Emmy nomination
1979:
Reunited with Remick for "Torn Between Two Lovers" (CBS)
1979:
Garnered good critical notices for direction of the CBS movie remake "All Quiet on the Western Front"; received third career Emmy nomination
1981:
Directed a live NBC telecast of the play "All the Way Home", starring Sally Field and William Hurt
1982:
Helmed the NBC live telecast of the small screen remake of "The Member of the Wedding", starring Pearl Bailey
1983:
Last collaboration with Lee Remick, "The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story" (CBS)
1983:
Last feature film, "Bronte", a one-woman show about Charlotte Bronte starring Julie Harris
1985:
Helmed the ABC miniseries "A Death in California"
1986:
Was director of the NBC biopic "The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story"
1987:
Directed the documentary "Grace Kelly -- The American Princess" for Cinemax's "Crazy About the Movies"
1988:
Produced and directed the TV adaptation of Howard Fast's novel "April Morning"
1991:
Was director of the TNT period drama "Ironclads"
1992:
Produced and directed the CBS sequel "Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore", with Walter Matthau reprising his role as laywer Horace Cobb
1994:
Directed and produced the second sequel, "An Incident in a Small Town" (CBS), with Matthau again playing Cobb
1994:
Last TV film (to date), "Lily in Winter", a USA Network drama that marked the acting debut of singer Natalie Cole
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Education

Hume-Fogg High School: Nashville , Tennessee -
School of Drama, Yale University: New Haven , Connecticut -
Vanderbilt University: Nashville , Tennessee - 1941

Companions close complete companion listing

wife:
Ann Caroline Mann. Mother is second wife; survived him.
wife:
Ann Caroline Mann. Met while both attended Vanderbilt University.

Family close complete family listing

father:
Delbert M Mann. Second wife; survived him.
father:
Delbert M Mann. Teacher. Worked at Scarritt College.

Bibliography close complete biography

"Looking Back ... at Live Television and Other Matters" Directors Guild of America

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