Thomas Mitchell (actor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell 1953.JPG
Mitchell in 1953
Born
Thomas John Mitchell

(1892-07-11)July 11, 1892
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedDecember 17, 1962(1962-12-17) (aged 70)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Resting placeChapel of the Pines Crematory
Occupation
  • Actor
  • writer
Years active1916–1962
Spouse(s)
Ann Stuart Breswer
​
​
(m. 1915; div. 1935)​

(m. 1941)
Rachel Hartzell
​
​
(m. 1937; div. 1939)​
RelativesJames P. Mitchell (nephew)

Thomas John Mitchell (July 11, 1892 – December 17, 1962) was an American actor and writer. Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, Doc Boone in Stagecoach, Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life, Pat Garrett in The Outlaw, and Mayor Jonas Henderson in High Noon. Mitchell was the first male actor to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award, better known as the Triple Crown of Acting.[1]

Mitchell was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the films, The Hurricane (1938), and Stagecoach (1939), winning for the latter. He was nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 1952 and 1953, for his role in the medical drama The Doctor, and won in 1953. While he was nominated again in 1955, for an appearance on a weekly anthology series, he did not win. Mitchell won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, in 1953, for his role as Dr Downer in the musical comedy Hazel Flagg, based on the 1937 Paramount comedy film Nothing Sacred, rounding out the Triple Crown of Acting. In addition to being an actor, he was also a director, playwright, and screenwriter.

Early life[]

Mitchell was born to Irish immigrants in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He came from a family of journalists and civic leaders. Both his father and brother were newspaper reporters, and his nephew, James P. Mitchell, later served as Dwight Eisenhower's Secretary of Labor.[2] Later on, in the 1952 presidential election, Mitchell, a Republican himself, would go on to support Eisenhower's campaign.[3] The younger Mitchell also became a newspaper reporter after graduating from St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth. However, Mitchell soon found that he enjoyed writing comic theatrical skits much more than chasing late-breaking scoops. In 1927 Mitchell joined The Lambs.[4]

Acting career[]

Trailer for High Barbaree (1947)

He became an actor in 1913, at one point touring with Charles Coburn's Shakespeare Company. Even while playing leading roles on Broadway into the 1920s Mitchell would continue to write. One of the plays he co-authored, Little Accident, was eventually made into a film (three times) by Hollywood. Mitchell's first credited screen role was in the 1923 film Six Cylinder Love.

Portraying Tom Blue in The Black Swan (1942)

Mitchell's breakthrough role was as the embezzler in Frank Capra's film Lost Horizon (1937).

Following this performance, he was much in demand in Hollywood.[5] That same year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Hurricane, directed by John Ford.

Over the next few years, Mitchell appeared in many significant films. Forty-three of the fifty-nine films in which he acted were made in the 10-year period from 1936 to 1946. Considered one of the finest character actors in film,[6] in 1939 alone he had key roles in Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Only Angels Have Wings, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Gone with the Wind.[6] While probably better remembered as Scarlett O'Hara's loving but doomed father in Gone with the Wind, it was for his performance as the drunken Doc Boone in Stagecoach, co-starring John Wayne (in Wayne's breakthrough role), that Mitchell won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. In his acceptance speech, he quipped, "I didn't know I was that good". Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Mitchell acted in a wide variety of roles in productions such as 1940's Swiss Family Robinson, 1942's Moontide, 1944's The Keys of the Kingdom (as an atheist doctor) and High Noon (1952) as the town mayor. He is probably best known to audiences today for his role as sad sack Uncle Billy in Capra's Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946) with James Stewart.

Mitchell (right) with Tyrone Power in trailer for The Black Swan (1942)

From the 1950s and into the early 1960s, Mitchell worked primarily in television, appearing in a variety of roles in some of the most well-regarded early series of the era, including Playhouse 90, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater (in a pilot episode that became the CBS series Johnny Ringo), and Hallmark Hall of Fame productions. In 1954, he starred in the television version of the radio program, Mayor of the Town. In 1955, he played Kris Kringle in The 20th Century-Fox Hour version of The Miracle on 34th Street opposite Teresa Wright and MacDonald Carey. In 1957 he hosted The O. Henry Playhouse. In 1959, he starred in thirty-nine episodes of the syndicated television series, Glencannon, which had aired two years earlier in the United Kingdom.

In the early 1960s, Mitchell originated the stage role "Columbo", later made famous on NBC and ABC television by Peter Falk (Bert Freed played the part on live television before Mitchell portrayed Columbo on stage); Columbo was Mitchell's last role.

Death[]

Mitchell died at age 70 from peritoneal mesothelioma in Beverly Hills, California. He was cremated at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory and his ashes are in vaultage.[7]

Work[]

Films[]

Year Title Role Director
1923 Six Cylinder Love Bertram Rogers (film debut) Elmer Clifton
1936 Craig's Wife Fergus Passmore Dorothy Arzner
1936 Adventure in Manhattan Phil Bane Edward Ludwig
1936 Theodora Goes Wild Jed Waterbury Richard Boleslawski
1937 Man of the People William J. Grady Edwin L. Marin
1937 When You're in Love Hank Miller Robert Riskin
Harry Lachman
1937 Lost Horizon Henry Barnard Frank Capra
1937 I Promise to Pay District Attorney J.E. Curtis D. Ross Lederman
1937 Make Way for Tomorrow George Cooper Leo McCarey
1937 The Hurricane Dr. Kersaint John Ford
1938 Love, Honor and Behave Dan Painter Stanley Logan
1938 Trade Winds Commissioner Blackton Tay Garnett
1939 Stagecoach Doc Josiah Boone John Ford
1939 Only Angels Have Wings Kid Dabb Howard Hawks
1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Diz Moore Frank Capra
1939 Gone with the Wind Gerald O'Hara Victor Fleming
1939 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Clopin William Dieterle
1940 Swiss Family Robinson William Robinson Edward Ludwig
1940 Three Cheers for the Irish Peter Casey Lloyd Bacon
1940 Our Town Dr. Gibbs Sam Wood
1940 Angels Over Broadway Gene Gibbons Ben Hecht
Lee Garmes
1940 The Long Voyage Home Driscoll John Ford
1941 Flight from Destiny Prof. Henry Todhunter Vincent Sherman
1941 Out of the Fog Jonah Goodwin Anatole Litvak
1942 Joan of Paris Father Antoine Robert Stevenson
1942 Song of the Islands Dennis O'Brien Walter Lang
1942 Moontide Tiny Archie Mayo
1942 This Above All Monty Anatole Litvak
1942 Tales of Manhattan John Halloway Julien Duvivier
1942 The Black Swan Tommy Blue Henry King
1943 Immortal Sergeant Sgt. Kelly John M. Stahl
1943 The Outlaw Pat Garrett Howard Hughes
1943 Bataan Cpl. Jake Feingold Tay Garnett
1943 Flesh and Fantasy Septimus Podgers Julien Duvivier
1944 The Fighting Sullivans Mr. Thomas F. Sullivan Lloyd Bacon
1944 Buffalo Bill Ned Buntline William A. Wellman
1944 Wilson Joseph Tumulty Henry King
1944 Dark Waters Mr. Sydney Andre DeToth
1944 The Keys of the Kingdom Dr. Willie Tulloch John M. Stahl
1945 Captain Eddie Ike Howard Lloyd Bacon
1945 Within These Walls Warden Michael Howland H. Bruce Humberstone
1945 Adventure Mudgin Victor Fleming
1946 Three Wise Fools Terence Alaysius O'Davern Edward Buzzell
1946 The Dark Mirror Police Lt. Stevenson Robert Siodmak
1946 It's a Wonderful Life Uncle Billy Frank Capra
1947 High Barbaree Capt. Thad Vail Jack Conway
1947 The Romance of Rosy Ridge Gill MacBean Roy Rowland
1948 Silver River John Plato Beck Raoul Walsh
1949 Alias Nick Beal Joseph Foster John Farrow
1949 The Big Wheel Red Stanley Edward Ludwig
1951 Journey Into Light Gandy Stuart Heisler
1952 High Noon Mayor Jonas Henderson Fred Zinnemann
1954 Secret of the Incas Ed Morgan Jerry Hopper
1954 Destry Rags Barnaby George Marshall
1956 While the City Sleeps Jon Day Griffith Fritz Lang
1958 Handle With Care Mayor Dick Williston David Friedkin
1960 Too Young to Love Judge Bentley Muriel Box
1961 By Love Possessed Noah Tuttle John Sturges
1961 Pocketful of Miracles Judge Henry G. Blake (final film) Frank Capra

Writer

  • Little Accident (1928) – play Little Accident
  • Papa Sans le Savoir (1932) – play Little Accident
  • All of Me (1934) - Dialogue Director
  • All of Me (1934) - Screenplay
  • Life Begins with Love (1937) - Screenplay
  • Little Accident (1939) – play Little Accident
  • Casanova Brown (1944) – play Little Accident
  • Peter's Baby (1961) – play Little Accident (uncredited)

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1950 Showtime, U.S.A. Performer Episode: American Red Cross Drive
1951 Celanese Theatre Uncle Sid Episode: Ah, Wilderness!
1951 Armstrong Circle Theatre Performer Episode: The Long View
1951-1952 Tales of Tomorrow Prof. Frederick Vaneck/Captain Nemo 3 episodes
1951-1952 Betty Crocker Star Matinee Performer 2 episodes
1951-1952 Pulitzer Prize Playhouse Mr. Antrobus 2 episodes
1951-1952 Studio One in Hollywood Various Roles 4 episodes
1951-1956 Lux Video Theatre Various Roles 6 episodes
1952 Robert Montgomery Presents Performer Episode: The Farmer's Hotel
1952 Lights Out Performer Episode: The Eyes from San Francisco
1952 Gulf Playhouse Performer Episode: Mr. Nothing
1952 Suspense Henry Brown/Dr. Paul Morgan 2 episodes
1953 The Doctor Matthew Day Episode: Desk of Matthew Day
1953 The Backbone of America Fred Tupple Television Movie
1953 Of Time and the River William Olivier Grant Television Movie
1953 Of Time and the River Part II Television Movie
1954 Omnibus Shark Wicks Episode: Nobody's Fool
1954 Medallion Theatre Performer Episode: The Gentle Deception
1954 Fireside Theatre Performer Episode: Afraid to Live
1954-1955 Mayor of the Town Mayor Thomas Russell 39 episodes
1954-1955 General Electric Theatre Mender McClure 2 episodes
1954-1955 The United States Steel Hour Scotty/Silas Lapham 2 episodes
1954-1957 The Ford Television Theatre Various Roles 6 episodes
1955 Damon Runyon Theater Sylvester Episode: It Comes Up Money
1955 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Pap Finn Television Movie
1955 Screen Directors Playhouse Dr. Joseph H. Walton Episode: The Final Tribute
1955 The Alcoa Hour Cap. Jarvis Episode: Undertow
1955 The 20th Century Fox Hour Kris Kringle Episode: The Miracle on 34th Street
1955-1956 The Star and the Story Various Roles 3 episodes
1955-1956 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Carl Smith/Sam Hawkins 2 episodes
1956 Celebrity Playhouse Cal Logan Episode: They Flee By Night
1956 Chevron Hall of Stars Performer 2 episodes
1956 Telephone Time Andrew Hamilton 2 episodes
1957 The O. Henry Playhouse O. Henry 45 episodes
1958 Shirley Temple's Storybook Emperor Episode: The Nightingale
1958 Kraft Television Theatre Whitehall Episode: The Velvet Trap
1958 Playhouse 90 Mr. Carson Episode: Natchez
1958-1961 Zane Grey Theater Various Roles 3 episodes
1959 Laramie Judge Matthew Hedrick Episode: Dark Verdict
1959 Goodyear Theatre Sarge Episode: The Lady Bug
1959 Glencannon Capt. Colin Glencannon
Sgt. Harry Mork		 39 episodes
1959 The Untouchables Milo Sullivan Episode: The Underworld Bank
1960 Sunday Showcase Performer Episode: The Secret of Freedom
1960 The Right Man Grover Cleveland Television Movie
1961 The Joke and the Valley Truman Winters Television Movie
1961 Adventures in Paradise Hubert Willis Episode: A Penny a Day
1961 Stagecoach West Ethan Blount Television Movie
1961 Our American Heritage Joseph Murray Episode: The Invisible Teddy

Theatre[]

Year Title Role Playwright Venue
1916 Under Sentence Performer Roi Cooper Megrue
Irvin S. Cobb		 Harris Theatre, Broadway
1917 Nju Performer Osip Dymov Bandbox Theatre, Broadway
1918 Crops and Croppers Performer Theresa Helburn Belmont Theatre, Broadway
1918 Redemption Artyomyeff Leo Tolstoy Plymouth Theatre, Broadway
1919 Dark Rosaleen Performer W. D. Hepenstall
Whitford Kane		 Belasco Theatre, Broadway
1920 Not So Long Ago Sam Robinson Arthur Richman Booth Theatre, Broadway
1921 The Playboy of the Western World Christy Mahon John Millington Synge Bramhall Playhouse, Broadway
1923 Kiki Adolphe David Belasco Belasco Theatre, Broadway
1926 The Wisdom Tooth Bemis Marc Connelly Little Theatre, Broadway
1926 Glory Hallelujah N/A Thomas Mitchell Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway
1927 Blood Money James Bolton George Middleton Hudson Theatre, Broadway
1927-28 Nightstick Tommy Glennon , J.C. Nugent
Elliott Nugent
Elaine Sterne Carrington		 Selwyn Theatre, Broadway
1928-29 Little Accident Norman Overbeck Thomas Mitchell Morosco Theatre, Broadway
1931 Cloudy with Showers Peter Hammill Thomas Mitchell
1932 Riddle Me This McKinley Daniel N. Rubin John Golden Theatre, Broadway
1932 Clear All Wires Buckley Joyce Thomas Bella Spewack
& Sam Spewack		 Times Square Theatre, Broadway
1933 Honeymoon Bob Taylor Samuel Chotzinoff
& George Backer		 Little Theatre, Broadway
Vanderbilt Theatre, Broadway
1935 Fly Away Home James Masters Dorothy Bennett
& Irving White		 48th Street Theatre, Broadway
1935 Stick-in-the-Mud Paw Meriwether Frederick Hazlitt Brennan
1941 Crazy with the Heat Performer Sam E. Werris, Mack Davis,
Max Liebman, Don Herold
& Arthur Sheekman,		 44th Street Theatre, Broadway
1947-49 An Inspector Calls Inspector Goole J.B. Priestly Booth Theatre, Broadway
1949 The Biggest Thief in Town Bert Hutchins Dalton Trumbo Mansfield Theatre, Broadway
1949-50 Death of a Salesman Willy Loman (replacement) Arthur Miller Morosco Theatre, Broadway
1953 Hazel Flagg Dr. Downer Ben Hecht Mark Hellinger Theatre, Broadway
1960 Cut of the Axe Rollie Evans Sheppard Kerman Ambassador Theatre, Broadway

Staged by

Year Title Venue
1931 Cloudy with Showers Morosco Theatre, Broadway
1932-33 Honeymoon Little Theatre, Broadway
Vanderbilt Theatre, Broadway
1933 Forsaking All Others Times Square Theatre, Broadway
1933 Twenty-five Dollars an Hour Theatre Masque, Broadway
1935 Fly Away Home 48th Street Theatre, Broadway
1935 Something Gay Morosco Theatre, Broadway
1935-36 At Home Abroad Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway
1935 Stick-in-the-Mud 48th Street Theatre, Broadway

Radio[]

Year Program Episode/source
1953 Theatre Guild on the Air A Square Peg[8]
1945 Suspense 1945-02-22 John Barby and Son

Awards and Nominations[]

In 1953, Mitchell became the first man to win the "triple crown" of acting awards (Oscar, Emmy, Tony). He remains one of only a handful of individuals to have won each of these awards.

Year Award Category Project Result
1937 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor The Hurricane Nominated
1939 Stagecoach Won
1939 National Board of Review Best Actor Nominated
1940 New York Film Critics Circle Best Actor The Long Voyage Home Nominated
1940 National Board of Review Best Actor Won
1942 Moontide Won
1952 Primetime Emmy Awards Best Actor N/A Nominated
1953 Best Actor N/A Won
1955 Best Actor in a Single Performance The Ford Television Theatre Nominated
1953 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical Hazel Flagg Won
  • He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his work in television at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard, and a second star for his work in motion pictures at 1651 Vine Street.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Riddle, Joe (May 8, 2020). "Thomas Mitchell's five-star career". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  2. ^ Life. October 19, 1953. "Labor gets a new secretary". p. 56.
  3. ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
  4. ^ "About The Lambs". The Lambs. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Monush, Barry. (2003) The Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 509. ISBN 1-55783-551-9.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Wilson, Steve (2014). The Making of Gone With the Wind. University of Texas Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-292-76126-1.
  7. ^ "Thomas Mitchell, Actor, Dead; Star of Stage and Screen, 70; Actor's Career in the Movies and in Theater Spanned a Half Century Appeared in Many Films". New York Times. 18 December 1962. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  8. ^ Kirby, Walter (March 15, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 46. Retrieved June 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  9. ^ "Walk of Fame Stars-Thomas Mitchell". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.

Further reading[]

  • Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Thomas Mitchell". The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 176–179. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""