Millard Mitchell
American character actor (1903–1953)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Millard Mitchell (August 14, 1903 – October 13, 1953) was a Cuban-born American character actor whose credits include roughly 30 feature films and two television appearances.
Millard Mitchell | |
|---|---|
Mitchell in Singin' in the Rain, 1952 | |
| Born | August 14, 1903 Havana, Cuba |
| Died | October 13, 1953 (aged 50) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1924–1953 |
| Spouse |
Peggy Gould
(m. 1942) |
| Children | 2 |
Career
His first film appearance was in Secrets of a Secretary (1931) and appeared as a bit player in eight films between 1931 and 1936. Mitchell returned to film work in 1942 after a six-year absence. Between 1942 and 1953, he was a successful supporting actor.
For his performance in the film My Six Convicts (1952), Mitchell won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. He is also remembered for his role as Col. Rufus Plummer in Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair (1948), as Gregory Peck's commanding officer in the war drama Twelve O'Clock High (1949), High-Spade Frankie Wilson in Winchester '73 (1950), as the fictional movie mogul R.F. Simpson in the musical comedy Singin' in the Rain (1952), and as a hapless old prospector in The Naked Spur (1953).
Mitchell appeared frequently on Broadway, often playing a fast-talking Broadway character. He played the starring role in The Great Campaign (1947).[1][2]
Personal life
Mitchell was born to American parents in Havana, Cuba. He married actress Peggy Gould in 1942; the couple had two daughters, Mary Ellis and Margaret. Their daughter Maggie Schpak is a noted Hollywood jewelry designer.[3][4] Their granddaughter Margaret Mitchell is a noted computer scientist.
Mitchell died at the age of 50 in 1953 from lung cancer at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California,[5][6][7] and was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Filmography
- Secrets of a Secretary (1931) as Policeman (uncredited)
- My Sin (1931) as Trooper (uncredited)
- A Lesson in Love (1931) as Freshman (uncredited)
- The Cheat (1931) as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- Dynamite Delaney (1936)
- Mr. and Mrs. North (1942) as Detective Mullins
- Grand Central Murder (1942) as Arthur Doolin
- The Mayor of 44th Street (1942) as Herman
- Little Tokyo, U.S.A. (1942) as George 'Sleepy' Miles (uncredited)
- The Big Street (1942) as Gentleman George (uncredited)
- Get Hep to Love (1942) as McCarthy
- Dixie Dugan (1943) as Accident Victim (uncredited)
- Slightly Dangerous (1943) as Baldwin
- Swell Guy (1946) as Steve
- Kiss of Death (1947) as Detective Shelby (uncredited)
- A Double Life (1947) as Al Cooley
- A Foreign Affair (1948) as Col. Rufus J. Plummer
- Thieves' Highway (1949) as Ed Kinney
- Everybody Does It (1949) as Mike Craig
- Twelve O'Clock High (1949) as Major General Pritchard
- The Gunfighter (1950) as Marshall Mark Strett
- Louisa (1950) as Photo of David Norton (uncredited)
- Winchester '73 (1950) as High-Spade Frankie Wilson
- Convicted (1950) as Malloby
- Mister 880 (1950) as "Mac" McIntire
- You're in the Navy Now (1951) as Chief George Larrabee
- Strictly Dishonorable (1951) as Bill Dempsey
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) as General (uncredited)
- My Six Convicts (1952) as James Connie
- Singin' in the Rain (1952) as R. F. Simpson
- The Naked Spur (1953) as Jesse Tate
- Here Come the Girls (1953) as Albert Snodgrass (released posthumously)
