R.I.P. Chinatown and Marty actor Joe Mantell

R.I.P. Chinatown and Marty actor  Joe Mantell

Character actor Joe Mantell, who delivered one of filmdom’s most famous lines in Chinatown, has died. He was 94. Mantell racked up more than 70 film and TV credits in a career that spanned more than 40 years, including an Oscar-nominated turn as Ernest Borgnine’s friend in the 1955 Best Picture winner Marty. As Marty’s fellow loser pal, Mantell had one of the movie's most oft-quoted lines in “Well, what do you feel like doin’ tonight?” But it was his role in 1974’s Chinatown playing Jack Nicholson’s partner Walsh that truly became immortal, as Mantell spoke the film's famous line, “Forget it Jake. It’s Chinatown.” Mantell later reprised the role for 1990’s The Two Jakes—his final screen appearance to cap a busy career that included (among many other things) parts in The Birds and numerous TV shows like The Twilight Zone, Barney Miller, Mannix, and All In The Family.

 
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