Mantan Moreland: The First Black Person To Die In A Horror Movie

In this episode, we take a look at Mantan Moreland, who became the first Black person to die in a modern mainstream horror movie. Moreland has a complicated legacy rooted in vaudeville and as the poster child for Black stereotypes in cinema, but his death in 1968's "Spider Baby," was symbolic of Hollywood's, and by extension, the world's troubling relationship with Black Lives in real life, and on film. We also explore how the erosion of censorship under the Hays Code and the end of the Civil Rights Era played roles in his career as well. Black Horror Journal On InstagramListen & Subscribe Available on all major podcast platforms. Apple Podcasts Spotify Google PodcastsiHeartRadioSEO KeywordsMantan Moreland, Bamboozled, Spider Baby, Duane Jones, Night of the Living Dead, Vaudville, Spook, Coon, Minstrel, Horror Movies, Black Horror, Black Guy Dies First, Horror Movie Tropes, Black History, Cinema History, Hays Code, CensorshipResearch  On The Film That Introduced the Trope Of The Black Guy Dying FirstThe Hays CodeLucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Fought to Keep 'I Love Lucy' on Air Throughout Her PregnancySpider BabyHorror Noir: Blacks In American Horror From The 1890s To Present10 Horror Movies That Shaped Black Horror HistoryMantan the Funny Man: The Life and Times of Mantan MorelandThe Black Guy Dies First