Bertha Mann

{{Short description|American actress (1893–1967)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Bertha Mann | image = BerthaMann1914.tif | image_size = | alt = | caption = Mann {{circa}}1914 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1893|10|21}} | birth_place = [[Atlanta, Georgia]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1967|12|20|1893|10|21}} | death_place = [[Los Ángeles, California]], U.S. | resting_place = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1914{{ndash}}1932 | known_for = | spouse = {{Marriage|[[Raymond Griffith]]|1928|1957|end=died}} | children = 2 }}

'''Bertha Mann''' (October 21, 1893 – December 20, 1967) was an American stage and film actress.

==Early life== Mann was born in [[Atlanta, Georgia]].<ref name="Wed">"Raymond Griffith to Wed Actress" ''New York Times'' (January 4, 1928): 31. </ref> She trained as a dancer in childhood, but soon found that drama was a better fit for her talents.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17940343/bertha_mann_1920/ "Her Miss a Hit"] ''Evening Public Ledger'' (February 7, 1920): 12. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref>

==Career== [[File:The Blindness of Divorce (1918) - 1.jpg|thumb|left|A still from the silent film ''The Blindness of Divorce'' (1918), showing Mann, [[Charles Clary]], and [[Nancy Caswell]]]] Mann started touring with stock companies as a young actress.<ref>Johnson Briscoe, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LHMhAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA24 "New Blood in Theatreland"] ''Green Book'' (January 1914): 24.</ref> Broadway appearances by Mann included roles in ''[[When Claudia Smiles]]'' (1914),<ref>"When Blanche Ring Smiles and Sings" ''New York Times'' (February 4, 1914): 9. </ref> ''When the Young Vine Blooms'' (1915), ''The Weavers'' (1915–1916), ''One of Us'' (1918),<ref name="Bordman">Gerald Bordman, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mmr35sTB0AoC&dq=Bertha+Mann&pg=PA87 ''American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1914–1930''] (Oxford University Press 1995): 87, 285. {{ISBN|9780195090789}}</ref> ''The Crimson Alibi'' (1919),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5MEOAQAAIAAJ&dq=Bertha+Mann&pg=PA151 "The Crimson Alibi"] ''Theatre Magazine'' (September 1919): 151.</ref> ''The Man with the Load of Mischief'' (1925),<ref>Thomas S. Hischak, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GzeiySJZXF4C&dq=Bertha+Mann&pg=PA283 ''Broadway Plays and Musicals''] (McFarland 2012): 283. {{ISBN|9780786453092}}</ref> and ''The Virgin'' (1926).<ref name="Bordman" /> Films featuring Bertha Mann include ''The Blindness of Divorce'' (1918),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gwxKAQAAMAAJ&dq=Bertha+Mann&pg=PA849 "'The Blindness of Divorce' Has Remarkably Good Cast"] ''Motography'' (May 4, 1918): 849.</ref> ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' (1930),<ref>John Howard Reid, ''Silent Films & Early Talkies on DVD: A Classic Movie Fan's Guide'' (2008): 5. {{ISBN|9781435710733}}</ref> ''[[The Little Accident]]'' (1930), ''[[Free Love (film)|Free Love]]'' (1930), ''[[Caught Cheating]]'' (1931), ''[[Father's Son (1931 film)|Father's Son]]'' (1931), ''[[A Woman of Experience]]'' (1931), ''The Final Edition'' (1932), and ''[[Behind the Mask (1932 film)|Behind the Mask]]'' (1932).<ref>"On Broadway's Screens" ''New York Times'' (February 28, 1932): X5. </ref>

During [[World War I]] Mann learned to knit to make "mufflers" for American troops, took a basic nursing course, and was active with the Stage Women's War Relief organization.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17940256/bertha_mann_1918/ "Busy Bertha Mann"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (August 9, 1918): 13. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref> She suggested that the young film industry in Los Angeles might follow the example of the theatre community in New York in supporting the war effort.<ref>Paul Hubert Conlon, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17939563/bertha_mann_1917/ "Bertha Mann's Idea; Favorite Actress Works to Aid our Soldiers"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (October 6, 1917): 13. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1918|| ''The Blindness of Divorce'' || Claire Langdon || |- |rowspan=3 | 1930|| ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' || Sister Libertine || Uncredited |- | ''[[The Little Accident]]'' || Miss Hemingway || |- | ''[[Free Love (film)|Free Love]]'' || Helena || |- |rowspan=3 | 1931|| ''[[Caught Cheating]]'' || Lena Harris || |- | ''[[Father's Son (1931 film)|Father's Son]]'' || Mrs. Stewart || |- | ''[[A Woman of Experience]]'' || Red Cross Nurse || |- |rowspan=2 | 1932|| ''[[The Final Edition]]'' || Jane Conroy || |- | ''[[Behind the Mask (1932 film)|Behind the Mask]]'' || Nurse Edwards || (final film role) |}

==Personal life== Mann married fellow actor [[Raymond Griffith]] in 1928.<ref name="Wed" /> They lived in Los Angeles<ref>Alma Whitaker, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17940042/bertha_mann_1928/ "Bertha Mann Here to Stay"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 30, 1928): 55. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref> and raised two children together.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17939853/bertha_mann_1929/ "Stork Visit to Actress Scheduled"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (February 15, 1929): 44. via [[Newspapers.com]]{{open access}}</ref> She was widowed when Griffith died in 1957. She died ten years later, aged 74 years, in Los Angeles.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDB name|0542661}} * [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/bertha-mann-51229 Bertha Mann's listing at IBDB.] * [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12375/bertha-mann Bertha Mann Griffith's gravesite] on Find a Grave. * [http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com/bertha_mann.htm Two publicity photos of Bertha Mann], at Silent Film Still Archive.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Bertha}} [[Category:1893 births]] [[Category:1967 deaths]] [[Category:American stage actresses]] [[Category:Actresses from Atlanta]] [[Category:American women in World War I]] [[Category:American film actresses]] [[Category:20th-century American actresses]]