The husband and wife team play the sanctified talkin’, uncoordinated dressin’ Leroy Brown and his quiet, devoted daughter Cora, (whose mother is the well-known character Madea). Prior to their amazing rise to stardom with the popular Perry, the couple had gained attention singing with “Kirk Franklin and the Family” and working with gospel playwright David Talbert.

The Manns recently visited Pittsburgh to help their friends, pastors Karl and Keith Edmonds, celebrate their third anniversary of Millennial Reign Family Worship Center in Homewood.

The Courier spoke with David and Tamela.

Q: I understand that you have worked with pastors Keith and Karl over the years.

David: Yes. We toured with them on the road with “Kirk Franklin and the Family” and we’ve known them for years. They came and celebrated with us when we did our live recording. So we were like: “Hey, anytime you guys need us, just give us a call and we’ll be right there.”

Q: Their church is located in one of the toughest sections in this city. Do you have a word for Pittsburgh and its churches?

Tamela: Well, first of all, we just have to rebuke the hands of the devourer that comes to steal, kill and destroy, but we also want to let the people know that there is still hope in the land—just like we thank God for the newly elected president. But we also have to remember that he’s not our savior. We put our trust and faith in our Heavenly Father, and, you know, if we are pleasing Him, God will give us the desires of our heart. So, even though things may look crazy right now, there is still hope for that area.

David: Yes, and during these tough economic times, people have lost hope. That’s why when you come to see us—leave all those worries, all those cares at the door. Come ready to laugh, worship and just celebrate the God that we serve.

Q: I hear a little “Mr. Brown” coming through there. Tell me, Sister Mann, I read that you were one of 14.

Tamela: Yes, I’m the baby of 14.

David: There was a tribe of them.

Q: How about you, Brother Mann?

Tamela: There’s five of them—all boys.

David: I’m the second oldest.

Q: And how long have you been married?

Tamela and David (in unison): 20 years.

Q: And how many children?

Tamela: We have four, but we raised five.

David: Tamela had a sister that passed away and we took her oldest daughter in at 14—in our first year of marriage. We were 21.

Q: How about church denomination?

David: New Breed Christian Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Tamela: Pastor Darrell Blair.

Q: Favorite scriptures?

Tamela: “All things are possible, if you just believe.”

David: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

Q: I understand that you worked with Kirk Franklin first, and then David Talbert, and later on Tyler Perry. But where did marriage fit in?

Tamela: It came first before all of that.

TAMELA AND DAVID MANN

Q: How did you meet?

Tamela: Well, my best friend went to school with him and sang in the choir with him, and one day she told them: “I’ve got somebody who can sing better than all of you.”

So she took me back to the school, where they were having a rehearsal and I sang for the choir and the music teacher (whom I knew). That same weekend, David and our pastor, Darrell Blair, heard me sing and it kind of kicked up from there. Then, we started singing in the group together.

David: We just were friends for a while and I kissed her, she fell in love, and the rest is 20 years later.

Q: Now how about your sitcom that’s coming up on TBS in January.

David: The first two episodes will air Jan. 7. Then, for five weeks they’ll run two episodes each week, right after “House of Payne” on TBS.

Tamela: But we just need everybody to support us because they’re testing the market with those first 10.

David: And if the ratings are where they want them to be, they will automatically order 70 more.

Q: What’s your appeal? My parents watch the shows with me, as well as my nephew who’s 13.

Tamela: Well, the show incorporates some young people, middle-aged and seniors; so we’re hitting every aspect.

David: I think the appeal with Cora and Brown is that you see a bit of those two in people in your family. Everybody has a Cora—that person who encourages the family and keeps the family together and keeps them glued. Everybody has that family member like Mr. Brown that’s kind of wacky.

Tamela: That dresses real out there and is really holy.

David: Too saved to be saved.

Q: Speaking of which, is your clothing something that you and the costume director work on together?

David: I basically say, “Hey, I want to put this with that and put this with that.”

Tamela: And he usually is the one who picks it all out.

Q: How about the ad-libs in your plays, do you have quite a bit of latitude?

David: Yes a lot. They’ll write a scene and I’ll just kind of see what every body else is doing and we’ll go from there.

Tamela: They give him the skeleton and he puts the meat on it.

David: Exactly.

Q: And Sister Mann, from what I’ve read, whereas singing was your forte; you were a little timid about acting, at first. But now you’re out there doing it.

Tamela: I’m out there doing it, but I’m still timid. I really am—no joke. But to me, it’s just a little icing on the cake. It’s a gift in me—that I didn’t know I had—that the Lord has stirred up. And I’m just really grateful to God how it’s kind of took off, took wings. Tyler [Perry] saw something in me years ago. I told him I would sing for him and then he said, “Before it’s over, I’ll have you acting.” And it just kind of came to pass.

 Q: When you see people on the street, do they relate to you as ‘The Browns’?

Tamela: Yes, they say, “Hi, Ms. Brown.” A lady in the store yesterday said, “Do people ever tell you that you look like that lady?” And it happened to us earlier today. I was in the store and then he walks in and she said, “Man, you look like that lady and he looks like that man.”

David: She just kept looking and laughing.  

Tamela: And she said, “It has to be y’all. It has to be.” Then she just started cracking up and could barely help me do what I was trying to do. But it happens a lot.

Q: How do your personalities differ from the Browns?

David: I can’t dress like this and do all this stuff.

Tamela: My character, Cora, is really Tamela.

Q: I can see that, but I don’t know about Mr. Brown.

Tamela: As far as being comical, he’s like that all the time. He’s always making jokes about everything. He constantly does things to make me laugh.

Q: You not only live with each other, but you work with each other. What’s your secret to the success of your marriage.

David: She ties me up at night and beats me. No, I’m just kidding.

Tamela: First of all, we’re really in love. We enjoy each other’s company and, you know, it’s something that I prayed for. I asked God for someone who would be in the same line of work that I was in so that I wouldn’t have to try to explain what I was doing all the time and the reason why I was coming in late, or the reason why I was gone so long. So it really works out for us in so many areas that we just have so much fun together.

Q: What about your secrets to raising a good family?

Tamela: Well, it’s really no secret. We try to teach them to do right. My husband and I always tell them: “You do right and right’ll come to you.” And even with us—the years of being gone—we talk to them, as much as we can, all day. And thank God when the webcam came along, we started talking and seeing each other through that. But there’s no secret.

David: We just try to be straight up with them, and let them know.

Tamela: What goes on in the real world.

(Visit the Manns’ websites: TamelaMann.com and DavidAMann.com.)