David Manners as Jonathan Harker in Dracula (1931).

David Manners (April 30, 1901 – December 23, 1998) was a Canadian film actor. Image File history File links DavidMannersinDracula. ... Image File history File links DavidMannersinDracula. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Born Rauff de Rither Daun Acklom in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Manners came to Hollywood at the beginning of the talking films revolution after studying acting with Eva Le Gallienne, and acting on stage with Helen Hayes. Motto: Template:Unhide = E Mari Merces (Wealth from the Sea) Logo: Location City Information Established: April 1, 1996 Area: (former city) 79. ... Greetings from Hollywood Hollywood is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., that extends from Vermont Avenue on the east to just beyond Laurel Canyon Boulevard above Sunset and Crescent Heights Boulevards on the west; the north to south boundary east of La Brea Avenue... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... Eva Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a well-known actress, producer, and director, during the first half of the 20th century. ... Helen Hayes (October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress whose successful and award-winning career spanned almost 70 years. ...

In spite of his father's protestations of his thespian ambitions and his even having studied forestry (which bored him) at the University of Toronto, Manners resolutely pursued a stage career and appeared in both Broadway and out-of-town productions, one of which induced Le Gallienne to comment that he was "a very bad actor." The University of Toronto (U of T) is a coeducational public research university in Toronto, Ontario. ...

A Hollywood career

After excursions abroad and to Alberta and Arizona, Manners was serendipitously "discovered" by the film director James Whale at a Hollywood party, and within a few years, he was a popular leading man, playing opposite such up and coming actresses as Katharine Hepburn, Gloria Stuart, Myrna Loy, Loretta Young, and Ann Dvorak, and he was paired several times with Helen Chandler. This is a page about the film director James Whale. ... Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic four-time Academy Award-winning American star of film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ... Gloria Stuart (born July 4, 1910) is an American stage, television and film actress and artist. ... A publicity photo of Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American motion picture actress. ... Loretta Young in 1935 Loretta Young (January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... Ann Dvorak (born August 2, 1911; died December 10, 1979) was an American film actress. ... Helen Chandler (February 1, 1906 – April 30, 1965) was an American film and theater actress. ...

His very first film, directed by Whale, was unfortunately destroyed before h aving been released, but with his second movie, Journey's End, such august publications as The New York Times and Variety officially bestowed their imprimatur upon the fledgling film actor. His subsequent film appearance s at RKO and Warner Brothers were critically praised (including, yet again, by The New York Times, an early and prescient adherent of his acting abilities), and he was contracted by the latter studio. Journeys End is the seventh and most famous play by R. C. Sherriff. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... Variety is a daily magazine for the entertainment industry. ... RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ... Warner Bros. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ...

Numerous films followed, and Manners became more proficient and effective as an actor. In only his tenth movie, he co-starred with one of the "grand dames of the silver screen," Barbara Stanwyck, in Frank Capra's critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful The Miracle Woman, and the movie's failure to attract an audience disappointed Capra tremendously. But The New York Times, again lauding Manners, featured this tribute, "Manners does exceptionally well with this sympathetic assignment." Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American film/television actress. ... Frank Capra (May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Academy Award winning Italian-American film director and a major creative force behind a number of highly popular films of the 1930s and 1940s, including the classics Its a Wonderful Life and Mr. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ...

During his brief tenure at Wa rners, which loaned him out to other studios quite frequently, Manners progressed from callow featured actor and leading man to finally attaining star stature with the lead in Crooner. Shortly thereafter, he began to freelance with much success. And in a film just prior to the termination of his Warner Brothers contract, RKO's highly regarded A Bill of Divorcement, co-star Katharine Hepburn commented that, "David was a big star. I was so nervous working with him.... He was...just a dear to work with and a totally professional and talented actor." Crooner is an epithet given to a male singer of a certain style of popular songs, dubbed Pop standards. ... RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ... Katharine Hepburn and David Manners in A Bill of Divorcement A Bill of Divorcement was a British play written by Clemence Dane that debuted in 1921 in London. ... Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic four-time Academy Award-winning American star of film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ...

A year later, an ingenue with much potential remarked that "David wasn't in the one scene I did in Roman Scandals, but he watched every scene shot. He was tremendously enthusiastic, and he...invited me to supper. ... He was mobbed everywhere. All the time he kept telling me I had style and personality. He said if I persevered I'd get somewhere in Hollywood. Not once did he ever hint that he'd like to take me home to his boudoir. ... He was so utterly charming." That ingenue, who did persevere for many years, was Lucille Ball. Roman Scandals Roman Scandals is a 1933 film starring Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, and Gloria Stuart. ... Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an iconic American actress, comedian and star of the landmark sitcom I Love Lucy, a four time Emmy Award winner (awarded 1953, 1956, 1967, 1968) and charter member of the Television Hall of Fame. ...

Many studios vied for his talent and services, including the aforementioned RKO, as well as Columbia, Universal, Paramou nt, Fox, and United Artists, among several others. RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ... Look up universal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A fox is a member of any of 27 species of small omnivorous canids. ... The current United Artists logo (a variant was used during the 1980s). ...

His most widely seen role was as Jonathan Harker in Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi, though he commented throughout his life that he had never watched the film and did not intend to ^{[citation needed]}. In interviews towards the end of his life he was still urging well-wishing fans not to send him video copies of the film^{[citation needed]}. Charles Albert Browning, Jr. ... Dracula is a 1931 horror film produced by Universal Pictures Co. ... Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp. ...

Pursuit of other interests

After the success of "Dracula", Manners worked for several years as a romantic leading man, and was most often seen in a tuxedo in romantic comedies and light dramas. The Last Flight (1931) , a Lost Generation celebration of alcohol in Paris, and Karl Freund's The Mummy (1932) with Boris Karloff were two standouts. But by 1936 he had grown bored with Hollywood, and abandoned his film career. The Last Flight is a 1931 film starring Richard Barthelmess, David Manners, Johnny Mack Brown, and Helen Chandler. ... The term Lost Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of American literary notables who lived in Paris from the time period which saw the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. ... Karl W. Freund (January 16, 1890-May 3, 1969) was a German cinematographer who worked on over 100 films, including Metropolis (1927), Dracula (1931), and Key Largo (1948). ... The Mummy is the title of: a 1932 movie starring Boris Karloff: see The Mummy (1932 movie) a 1959 movie starring Christopher Lee: see The Mummy (1959 movie) a 1999 movie starring Brendan Fraser: see The Mummy (1999 movie) a novel by Anne Rice: see The Mummy (novel) This is... Boris Karloff (November 23, 1887 in East Dulwich, London, England – February 2, 1969) was an English actor best known for his roles in horror films. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Manners never acclimated to Hollywood, which he found to be "a false place." Although he seemed to be immersed in the film community with his contributions (along with those of James Cagney and Eddie Cantor, among several others) to the creation of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933, he returned to New York City. James Cagney was part of the Legends of Hollywood USPS stamp series. ... Eddie Cantor in the 1920s Eddie Cantor (January 31, 1892 - October 10, 1964) was a comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, and one of the most popular entertainers in the United States of America in the early and middle 20th century. ... The Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.) is the labor union representing over 120,000 film actors in the United States. ...

In 1940, he officially changed his name to David Joseph Manners and became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He returned to the theater where he worked regularly until his retirement in the 1950s. Appearing on Broadway, in summer stock, and on tour, Manners was cast in a variety of productions, some of which were ill-fated. Yet, the acclaimed actor Marlon Brando, who was cast along with Manners in Maxwell Anderson's Truckline Cafe, said of his colleague, "I owe him my entire career." 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... Marlon Brando, Jr. ... (James) Maxwell Anderson (15 December 1888 – 28 February 1959) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, poet, reporter and lyricist, and a founding member of The Playwrights Company (which included, at various times, Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Elmer Rice, Robert E. Sherwood, Sidney Howard, Roger L. Stevens, John F...

He spent the remainder of his life in private pursuits, such as writing (several of his novels, published by Dutton, sold over 100,000 copies each) and painting.

He died in Santa Barbara, California on December 23, 1998 at the age of 97. Santa Barbara is a city in California, United States. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

References

Much of the information appearing in this entry was gleaned from the following publications:

McMurchy D. "David Manners: A Perfect Gentleman." Classic Images, vol. 289, July 1999.

Ephraim and Katz. The Film Encyclopedia. Harper Perennial, New York.

Hirschhorn C. The Warner Bros. Story. Crown Publishers, New York, 1979.

External links

• David Manners at the Internet Movie Database