Mildred Manning

Mildred Manning was a descendant of the Crane brothers, who obtained from the Indians the land on which the city of Newark, New Jersey was later situated. Miss Manning became a stage actress and appeared in numerous productions, including Dancing Around (with Al Jolson), Over the River (with Eddie Foy, Sr.), and Little Nemo. Miss Manning’s screen career began when she was on stage at the New Amsterdam Theatre, in New York City, in Oh, Oh, Delphine, and D.W. Griffith, then a director for Biograph, saw her perform, asked permission of the manager to interview her, and then at the end of the season gave her a small film role, after which she spent two years with the pioneer studio. Her numerous Biograph films included A Chance Deception (1913), The Girl Across the Way (1913), By Man’s Law (1913), The Chieftain’s Sons (1913), An Unjust Suspicion (1913), The Charity Ball (1914), Concentration (1914), Her Old Teacher (1914), and A Poor Relation (1915).

Mildred Manning worked with Thanhouser for a short time and was seen in a 1915 film. In 1916 and 1917 she was with Vitagraph, where she was first employed for a part in the December 1916 release, An Enemy to the King. For Vitagraph she was seen in films based on O. Henry’s fiction. An article in Motion Picture Classic, February 1917, noted that the actress was 5’4” tall, weighed 120 pounds, and had “brown hair and eyes and the olive complexion that properly accompanies such coloring.” Her pastimes included horseback riding and other outdoor sports.