Delbert Mann

He married Ann Caroline Gillespie in 1942, whom he met during his graduation days at the ‘Vanderbilt University’.

The couple were blessed with four children - Susan, Steven, Fred and David. In 1976 a car accident took away the life of their daughter Susan.

On October 10, 2001, Ann died of Alzheimer's disease.

He was born on January 30, 1920, in Lawrence Kansas to Delbert Mann, Sr. and his wife Ora Mann. At that time his father used to teach sociology at the ‘University of Kansas’. Ora worked as a school teacher.

His family relocated to Pennsylvania in 1926 and thereafter to Chicago and ultimately settled in Nashville in 1931 where his father served the ‘Scarritt College for Christian Workers’ as a teacher of sociology.

During his high school days at the ‘Hume-Fogg High School’ in Nashville, Tennessee, when he used to head the drama club of the school, he met Fred Coe at the Nashville Community Playhouse. Coe who became a TV director and producer guided Mann as a mentor and also played an instrumental role in Mann’s professional life.

Mann attended ‘Vanderbilt University’ in Nashville, Tennessee, and earned his graduation in political science from the university in 1941.

At the time of the ‘Second World War’, he was enlisted in the Army Air Corps where he eventually served as a B-24 bomber pilot. Later he was made an intelligence officer stationed in England with the 8th Air Force.

He joined a community playhouse called ‘Town Theatre’ in Columbia, South Carolina as a director and remained associated with it from 1947 to 1949.

He accepted an offer from Coe, who was then serving as a producer at ‘NBC’ and joined the TV network in 1949 in New York as an assistant director and stage manager.

After a few months he got the opportunity to work as alternating director of the live anthological drama series ‘The Philco Television Playhouse’. He directed several of the dramas of the series.

Till 1955 he contributed to directing over 100 live TV dramas. He worked for shows like ‘NBC Repertory Theatre’ (1949), ‘Playwrights '56’ (1955) and ‘Ford Star Jubilee’ (1955).

The 1953 teleplay ‘Marty’ by Paddy Chayefsky directed by Mann needs a special mention. The teleplay which was telecast live on May 24, 1953, on ‘The Philco Television Playhouse’ starring Rod Steiger in the title role was produced by Coe. This extraordinary cultural phenomenon was later adapted into a 1955 feature film again directed by Mann and written by Chayefsky. The legendary Hollywood film became the first smashing hit of independent cinema and also received a pat from the critics. It bagged ‘Palme d'Or’ award at the ‘Cannes Film Festival’ and also the ‘Academy Award for Best Picture’ and earned Mann ‘Academy Award for Best Director’.