Larry D. Mann

 Larry D. Mann (December 18, 1922 – January 6, 2014)

He was best known as "The Boss" in a series of Bell Canada television commercials in the 1980s and for voicing the character of Yukon Cornelius in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Mann's film career spanned four decades. He first came to the attention of CBC audiences in 1953 when he kidded around with the puppet Uncle Chichimus on the show Let's See. According to a CBC Archives article, Mann got the job when his friend, actor Don Harron, pointed him out to producer Norman Jewison. Apart from his CBC work, he appeared in more than 20 movies, with roles in In the Heat of the Night, Bullitt and The Sting. On television, Mann's many credits included Get Smart, Gunsmoke, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Bewitched, Hogan's Heroes, Honey West, The Green Hornet, Green Acres, Columbo, Quincy, M.E. and Hill Street Blues. He also starred in a Bell Canada series of television commercials called "The Boss" in which he played the title role for ten years beginning in 1981. His brother was actor Paul Mann, who appeared in the films America America and Fiddler on the Roof. Larry Mann died of natural causes in January 2014 in Los Angeles. He was 91. Mann is buried at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, California.