Joe Mantell

A veteran character actor, Joe Mantell made his mark with an Oscar-nominated performance in the classic "Marty" (1955), a noted "buddy" role that he reprised from the celebrated 1953 television play by Paddy Chayefsky. The late 1950s and early 1960s were Mantell's busiest period in features, with roles in "Storm Center" (1956), "The Sad Sack" and "Beau James" (1957); he also contributed a memorable bit as a traveling salesman in Alfred Hitchcock's chilling "The Birds" (1963). Later in his career, Mantell made a notable impression playing Lawrence Walsh, an associate of Jack Nicholson's Jake Gittes in Roman Polanski's neo-noir, "Chinatown" (1974), as well as in the Nicholson-directed sequel, "The Two Jakes" (1990). The actor passed away on Sept. 28, 2010 at the age of 94.