Johnny Mann Passes Peacefully at Anderson Home
Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 8:31PM Legendary show business conductor Johnny Mann died peacefully at his home on Wednesday, June 18, 2014, according to his wife, Betty. Mr. Mann was 85. He had been active until the last, attending a two-hour rehearsal for the Concert of Hope and Remembrance on Tuesday night.
Mr. Mann, known as “John” to his friends, began his music career in the late 1940s in his native Baltimore, Maryland. He served in the army as a member of the U.S. Army Field Band and relocated to Los Angeles after his honorable discharge to continue his professional music career. In his career as a singer, entertainer, choral director, arranger, composer and producer, he worked with some of the biggest names in show business, including Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Danny Kaye, Joey Bishop, Regis Philbin and Kelsey Grammer. [Photo at left shows Regis, Johnny and Joey during his days as music director for “The Joey Bishop Show.”] He released 40 albums, won two Grammy awards, had his own television show, “Johnny Mann’s Stand Up and Cheer,” and performed at the White House twice with his Johnny Mann Singers. He was also the voice of Theodore in “Alvin and the Chipmunks” in the 1950s and early 1960s.
John and his wife Betty retired to Anderson, S.C., in 2005, where he continued to produce radio station jingles, guest conduct around the country and participate in local choirs. He was presented an honorary doctorate by Anderson University in 2010 and wrote the university’s new alma mater, “The Sounds of Anderson.”
In 2013, John released his memoir “The Music Mann: My Life in Song,” a rich telling of his experiences during the golden years of Hollywood choral music. Not only a show business memoir, it is the testimony of one man’s relationship with God and how his faith guided, nurtured and sustained him in very bleak times.
The Manns celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in August 2013. John has two daughters from a previous marriage, and Betty has a daughter and son from a previous marriage as well. Funeral arrangements are being made with McDougald Funeral Home, with a celebration of John’s life planned June 27 and 28th to allow out-of-town family and friends to travel to Anderson.
For more information about John’s life, visit his website, www.johnnymannsingers.com.
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