Louis Mann

Louis Mann (April 20, 1865 – February 15, 1931) was an American theatre actor, occasional director, and native of New York City, born to Daniel and Caroline Mann. His Broadway career spanned from 1896 to 1927, and in his later years he made several appearances in motion pictures. He was married to actress and playwright Clara Lipman, in whose theatrical works he was a frequent collaborator.

Mann's earliest stage experience came as a child actor, primarily in German-language productions. His Broadway debut came in 1896 at the Herald Square Theatre, where he appeared in The Girl from Paris, produced by George Dance and Ivan Caryll. The following year he played Hans Nix opposite Clara Lipman's Estelle Cookoo in The Telephone Girl, a musical comedy with music by Kerker and book by Morton. In 1899, Mann and Lipman appeared together in the original run of the farce The Girl in the Barracks, taking the lead roles to favorable reception.

In 1903, Mann took on a producing role, bringing Charles Nirdlinger's The Consul to the Princess Theatre on 29th Street. The production had a brief run, and later that same year Mann appeared in Whoop-Dee-Doo, the low comedy musical from Weber and Fields staged at the Weber and Fields' Broadway Music Hall. In 1906, he appeared in Julie Bonbon, a play written by his wife that opened at the Lew M. Field Theatre in New York. Mann ultimately appeared in all five of Lipman's theatrical works, and directed her final piece, Nature's Nobleman. Among his other Broadway credits were Elevating a Husband, That French Lady, Milgrim's Progress, and Give and Take.

In 1918, Mann took on what became his most celebrated stage role, portraying Karl Pfeifer in Aaron Hoffman's Friendly Enemies. His introduction to film came in 1914 with Your Girl and Mine: A Woman Suffrage Play, directed by Giles Warren. His most prominent film appearance came near the end of his life in The Sins of the Children (1930), in which he appeared alongside Robert Montgomery and Leila Hyams.

Mann came from a family with deep roots in show business. His brother Sam Mann worked as a comic actor, and his brother Nathaniel Mann was a theatrical composer and songwriter.