Randolph Mantooth - History

History

Mantooth, the oldest of four children, was born in Sacramento, California, to Sadie and Donald (Buck) Mantooth. He is half Seminole. Because of his father's job in the construction industry, Mantooth's family lived in 24 states, finally settling in Santa Barbara, California, where he grew up. Even as a child, Mantooth was fascinated with acting. He attended San Marcos High School, where he further cultivated his passion in drama, which led him to become an actor. He graduated from high school in 1964 and then the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, with a major in drama. One of his earlier jobs was as an elevator operator at the Madison Ave. Baptist Church and as a page at NBC Studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City. His very first paying job in life was as a newspapers boy for the local paper, the Coatesville Record, in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

Mantooth was spotted by Universal Studios Talent agent Eleanor Kilgallen playing the lead in the play Philadelphia Here I Come, in New York. His performance as Gar earned him the Charles Jehlenger Award for Best Actor, an honor he shared with fellow actor Brad Davis. In 1970, he was offered a contract with Universal Studios. He left New York and moved back to California, where he guest-starred in a variety of shows.

Producer Robert A. Cinader saw him in a small role on The Bold Ones opposite Hal Holbrook that led to his decision to cast him as Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedic Johnny Gage on the long-running TV series, Emergency!, which shot him to stardom in 1972 to 1979, starring opposite Robert Fuller, Julie London, Bobby Troup and Kevin Tighe, who would become best friends for life. Mantooth said in one interview that when he was growing up, his dad was a big fan of Julie's music. On the set, he and co-star Tighe both developed a close relationship with London and Bobby Troup, while off the Emergency! set, he and Tighe spent a lot of time with Julie and Bobby's family on weekends. On October 18, 2000, his longtime friend and co-star London died, one year after her husband and co-star Bobby Troup had died.

After Emergency!, Mantooth appeared in the mini series adaptation of "The Seekers" in 1979-80, based on the John Jakes novel. Afterwards, wanting to break the pigeon-hole he felt he was in playing the very popular Johnny Gage he decided to make a move back to where his career started. He moved back to New York where he appeared as Clay Alden (later Alex Masters) on the soap Loving, which he played from 1987 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1995, reprising his role as Alex Masters on The City from 1995 to 1997.

In 2003, Mantooth joined the cast of As the World Turns as a temporary replacement for Benjamin Hendrickson in the role of Hal Munson. When Hendrickson left the show in 2004, Mantooth was again cast as Munson, also in a recurring position; Hendrickson returned to the program in 2005. In 2007, Mantooth landed the recurring role of Kirk Harmon on One Life to Live'.

Mantooth also guest-starred in the 1978 Battlestar Galactica episode "Greetings from Earth" as Michael, Baywatch episode "Dead of Summer" (1993) as Secret Service Agent Sam Dietz and JAG (1997) as Col. Ron Barret.

IN POPULAR CULTURE: Mantooth is cited in "The Tubes" 1975 song "What Do You Want From Life ?" from their first album "The Tubes" in the closing section of the song the line "A personally autographed picture of Randy Mantooth" indicating that he was a sub-culture sex symbol of sorts, but somewhat "tongue-in-cheek.

Mantooth serves as honorary chairman and spokesperson for the non-profit County of Los Angeles Fire Museum Association, and recently received an award for his efforts from the International Association of Fire Chiefs' EMS section. He also serves as spokesperson for the IAFF (International Association of Firefighters) on Health and Safety.

Mantooth has a brother Donald (born June 20, 1952) and two sisters Nancy (born January 4, 1947) and Tonya (born June 12, 1959). On August 10, 2002, Mantooth married Kristen Marie Connors at the Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens. He and his Emergency co-star Kevin Tighe have remained close friends since the series.

Mantooth is a much sought after national speaker for Firefighter and EMS conferences and symposiums across the United States, while still maintaining an active acting career.

In 2011, the actor appeared in two episodes of Sons of Anarchy on the FX channel.