Jay Mann had such a talent for disguising his voice that even his best friends couldn’t recognize him when he phoned.
“Jay and I were sitting in my old apartment, and he said, ‘Watch this, McKee,” said former Atlanta radio star Gary McKee, 66, of east Cobb. “He calls a friend, says, ‘This is the Cobb Fire Department and your house is fully inflamed.’ The guy gets there and sees Jay sitting on the steps, smiling.”
Mr. Mann was a promoter, ad man and part-time actor whose best-known role was as the pitchman in national commercials for Shake ‘N Bake a couple of decades ago. He also appeared in TV ads for a variety of companies, including Orkin, Sears and JC Penney.
Renee Mann Merback of Atlanta said her brother had no accent, but he sounded like a true Southerner when he uttered the phrase, “It’s not fried! It’s Shake ‘N Bake.”
In his career, Mr. Mann developed many award-winning promotions, including one for Stroh’s beer that also was seen nationally, Mrs. Merback said. He had his own promotional company, Jay Mann & Associates, and put on swimwear contests across the country that launched the careers of hundreds of models, including Karen McDougal, best known as Playmate of the Year in 1998.
In 1988, Mr. Mann launched the Venus International Model Search that thrust him from local fame to national celebrity. A passion was attracting customers to upscale lounges and restaurants, creating a “beauty pageant” atmosphere, Mrs. Merback said.
Mr. Mann, 72, died Aug. 30 after suffering a stroke while exercising.
This spring, Mr. Mann moved from Jacksonville, Fla., to Waynesville, N.C., to join his friend, Joe Laird. They planned to retire to the Dominican Republic.
“He helped a lot of people in his life and he’s going to be terribly missed,” Mr. Laird said.
McKee said Mann was always up for a laugh, and he’d be upset about missing the big send-off party family and friends are holding in his memory in an Atlanta hotel Oct. 2, complete with a Power Point presentation, family, friends, cocktails and pretty girls.
“Jay was my big brother, my hero, my good friend,” Mrs. Merback said. “We talked every week. He was there for me when I was happy and sad. He gave me away at my wedding. Jay was fun and loved a good time with good friends. I want this celebration of his life to be a night to remember for everyone that knew him and loved him.”
Mr. McKee said Mr. Mann was handsome, which led him into modeling, and “would have been horrified if anyone knew he was 72.”
Ron Beasley, 68, of Miami, said Mr. Mann was “was everybody’s best friend” who “had a strong belief in God but wasn’t a church-going man.”
Mr. McKee said he’ll never forget a practical joke that the late Mr. Mann pulled on him.
“This guy called and said, ‘I need for you to tell me what to do with all these pies. I have 350 apple, cherry, pumpkin, banana.’ I remember getting off work and wondering what I was going to do with all these pies.”
Soon he realized the caller had been Mr. Mann. “He was quite a man,” Mr. McKee said.
He is also survived by another sister, Wendy Mann Bowen of Atlanta.
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