Background
Mantee was born Paul Marianetti in San Francisco, California.
Mantee was born Paul Marianetti in San Francisco, California.
A journalism major at San Mateo Junior College, Mantee enlisted in the United States. Navy for four years during the Korean War that made him decide on acting as a career. His stage name was changed from an Italian sounding name to the name of Humphrey Bogart"s character in The Petrified Forest. He made a great number of guest appearances in well-known television shows and starred in a handful of films, including a cult classic, Robinson Crusoe on Mars.
A restored version of the film was released in 2007 by The Criterion Collection.
Mantee authored two novels, In Search of the Perfect Ravioli (Ballantine Books, 1991) and a semi-autobiographical Bruno of Hollywood (Ballantine Books, 1994).