Amherst Magazine In Memory

Emanuel “Manny” Marritt worked in three medical specialties during his lifetime. He died February 26 at his home in Denver.

After graduating New York University Medical School in 1967, he undertook a residency in psychiatry at the University of Colorado. He worked for a time in Los Angeles where he met Ellen Orecchio of New Jersey—to whom he would be married 43 years. They moved to Camarillo, California, where Manny worked at the State Psychiatric Hospital.

In 1975 Manny switched to dermatologic surgery and hair transplantation.  He returned to Colorado and was in private practice in Denver for 30 years.

He once said he found applications for his psychiatric training in his new practice. "A guy who isn't bald doesn't think about it, while a guy who is bald thinks about nothing else."

Manny was a member of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery and other professional organizations. He wrote several articles and books and co-authored The Hair Replacement Revolution: A Consumer's Guide. 

After retirement Manny delved into oncology to find drugs that might help the body’s immune system fight cancer.

He was born May 30, 1941, in in Watertown, New York, son of physician Samuel Marritt and Ruth Miller Marritt.  He attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Majoring in biology at Amherst, he pledged Beta Theta Pi and sang in the Glee Club.

Wythe Holt fondly remembers spending Thanksgiving holiday with Manny and his family.  

“Manny energetically took me under his wing and we saw lots of New York City and some of Long Island over that long weekend… My fondest memory is of the Thanksgiving dinner Mrs. Marritt served – she made a Brooklyn version of southern fried chicken for me,” Wythe wrote.

Manny is survived by Ellen, a daughter and a stepson, and two grandchildren.