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Jack Manning, Character Actor, Dies at 93

Jack Manning, a character actor familiar to theater, film, television and radio audiences for more than a half-century, died on Aug. 31 at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. He was 93.

Mr. Manning, who in later years was also known as a stage director and acting teacher, died of natural causes, his wife, Francie, said.

On Broadway Mr. Manning appeared with Helen Hayes in “Harriet,” a drama about Harriet Beecher Stowe that opened in 1943; as Roderigo in the 1943 production of “Othello” starring Paul Robeson, José Ferrer and Uta Hagen; and as the Gryphon and Tweedledee in Eva Le Gallienne’s adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” in 1947.

He also appeared in the role of Mr. McIlhenny in the original Broadway cast of “Do I Hear a Waltz?,” the 1965 musical by Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents.

On television Mr. Manning attracted wide notice for his one-man serial version of “Hamlet,” broadcast in 10 installments of 15 minutes each on the DuMont network in 1953. Reviewing the production in The New York Times, Jack Gould called Mr. Manning’s performance “inventive, versatile and, above all, natural,” adding, “He knows his Shakespeare and truly catches the meaning of the lines.”

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Jack Manning in a 1953 television broadcast of "Hamlet."Credit...The New York Times

Mr. Manning’s other television roles include Dean Rutherford, a recurring character on the law-school drama “The Paper Chase.” He made guest appearances on many other shows, among them “Studio One,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Here’s Lucy,” “Kojak” and “The Waltons.”

His films include “Walk East on Beacon” (1952), “Where’s Poppa?” (1970), “The Owl and the Pussycat” (1970), “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid” (1972) and “The Great Waldo Pepper” (1975).

Jack Wilson Marks was born in Cincinnati on June 3, 1916, and began acting on local radio shows in college. (He changed his surname to Manning early in his career, after being advised that Jack Marks was too short to look good on a theater marquee.) He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Cincinnati in 1938.

After moving to New York in 1941, Mr. Manning was heard on a spate of radio serials, among them “The Aldrich Family,” “The Green Hornet,” “The Shadow” and “The Goldbergs.” He made his Broadway debut in 1941 in the hit comedy “Junior Miss.”

His other Broadway credits include “Man and Superman” (1947), “Billy Budd” (1951), “The Tender Trap” (1954) and “Say, Darling” (1958). With Ms. Hayes, he was a producer of the Helen Hayes Repertory Company, a touring ensemble founded in 1964. Mr. Manning directed all the company’s productions, among them a tour of “The Circle,” by W. Somerset Maugham, starring Ms. Hayes.

Mr. Manning taught acting at his own studios, first in New York and later in Los Angeles. He also taught at HB Studio in Greenwich Village and at colleges and universities across the country.

Mr. Manning’s first marriage, to Virginia Schuchardt, ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife, the former Frances Ann Smith, whom he married in 1967; their son, Colin, and daughter, Brook Manning; a daughter from his first marriage, Gale Nichols; three grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

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