I wrote to David Manners in 1982, requesting he sign the photo I enclosed. He acted in several movies in the 1930s, but is best remembered for playing the lead in three of Universal's popular horror movies, "Dracula" (1931), "The Mummy" (1932), and "The Black Cat" (1934).
Mr. Manners wrote a brief note at the bottom of my letter, stating he lived here (Mt. Vernon), as a kid. This interested me, because I'd been spending some time in the Local History Room at the Mt. Vernon Public Library, looking through the clipping folders of "local celebrities". There was none for Mr. Manners. With the urging of the then-city historian, Virginia Moskowitz, I wrote to Mr. Manners again, asking him to provide some details of his life in this city "as a kid".
He replied with a detailed "mini-biography" in which he recalled addresses and names of places. A copy was given to Mrs. Moskowitz, who placed it in a folder, bearing the name "Manners, David", who'd become a "newly discovered" local celebrity.
David Manners befriended a young fan in the 1970s, who stayed in touch with him until his death at the ripe old age of 98 in 1998. In fact, he put up a very informative web site as a tribute to him:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.davidmanners.com