Actor. Solid character player of stage and screen. In films, he was usually cast as humorless authority figures, sometimes for comic effect. He is best remembered for his role as R.F. Simpson, the 1920s movie studio mogul facing the talkie crisis, in the classic musical "Singin' in the Rain" (1952). Mitchell was born in Havana, Cuba, to American parents. He made his Broadway debut in 1925 and appeared in over 30 plays, notably the smash hits "Broadway" (1926) and "Three Men on a Horse" (1935), racking up over 1400 performances in those two shows alone. In films sporadically from 1931, he divided his career between the East and West Coasts until he settled in Hollywood in 1948. Mitchell is also memorable as Gregory Peck's commanding officer in "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949), in the top-billed role in "My Six Convicts" (1952), for which he won a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor, and as James Stewart's grizzled sidekick in "The Naked Spur" (1953). His other films include "Mr. and Mrs. North" (1941), "Kiss of Death" (1947), "A Double Life" (1947), "The Gunfighter" (1950) and "Winchester '73" (1950). He died of lung cancer at the age of 50.
Actor. Solid character player of stage and screen. In films, he was usually cast as humorless authority figures, sometimes for comic effect. He is best remembered for his role as R.F. Simpson, the 1920s movie studio mogul facing the talkie crisis, in the classic musical "Singin' in the Rain" (1952). Mitchell was born in Havana, Cuba, to American parents. He made his Broadway debut in 1925 and appeared in over 30 plays, notably the smash hits "Broadway" (1926) and "Three Men on a Horse" (1935), racking up over 1400 performances in those two shows alone. In films sporadically from 1931, he divided his career between the East and West Coasts until he settled in Hollywood in 1948. Mitchell is also memorable as Gregory Peck's commanding officer in "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949), in the top-billed role in "My Six Convicts" (1952), for which he won a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor, and as James Stewart's grizzled sidekick in "The Naked Spur" (1953). His other films include "Mr. and Mrs. North" (1941), "Kiss of Death" (1947), "A Double Life" (1947), "The Gunfighter" (1950) and "Winchester '73" (1950). He died of lung cancer at the age of 50.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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