Thomas Mitchell (actor)
Thomas John Mitchell was an American actor, writer, and theatre director. He is considered one of the great character actors of Golden Age of Hollywood and a leading man on Broadway, and was the first male actor to gain the Triple Crown of Acting by winning an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award.
He appeared in over 115 film and television roles between 1923 and 1961, along with numerous stage appearances. Among Mitchell's most famous film roles in a long career are those of Scarlett O'Hara's father Gerald O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, alcoholic 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 won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Stagecoach, with a previous nomination in the same category for The Hurricane. He was nominated for three Emmy Award|Primetime Emmy Awards] for Best Actor in a Drama Series: in 1952 and 1953 for his role in the medical drama The Doctor—winning in 1953—and in 1955 for an appearance on a weekly anthology series. He won a Tony [Award for Best Actor in a Musical] in 1953 for his role as Dr Downer in the musical comedy Hazel Flagg.
Early life
Thomas John Mitchell was born on July 11, 1892, to Irish immigrants, James Mitchell and Mary Donnelly, 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. 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 theatrical skits much more than chasing scoops. In 1927 Mitchell joined The Lambs.Career
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 continued to write. One of the plays he co-authored, Little Accident, was eventually made into a film by Hollywood. Mitchell's first credited screen role was in the 1923 film Six Cylinder Love. Mitchell's breakthrough role was as the embezzler in Frank Capra's film Lost Horizon.Following this performance, he was much in demand in Hollywood. 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 59 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, in 1939 alone he had key roles in Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Only Angels Have Wings, The [Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame], and Gone with the Wind. 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, 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 (film)|The Keys of the Kingdom] and High Noon 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 with James Stewart.File:Tyrone power thomas mitchell black swan 1.jpg|thumb|Mitchell with Tyrone Power in trailer for The Black Swan
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, 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 (The 20th Century Fox Hour)|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.
Mitchell's last role was on the stage, portraying Columbo, a detective character previously played by Bert Freed on an episode of The Chevy Mystery Show and later made famous on NBC and ABC television by Peter Falk.
Death
Mitchell died on December 17, 1962, at age 70 from peritoneal mesothelioma in Beverly Hills, California. He was cremated at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory and, at his request, his ashes were placed in private vaultage.Acting credits
Film
Writer- Little Accident – play Little Accident
- Papa Sans le Savoir – play Little Accident
- All of Me – Dialogue Director
- All of Me – Screenplay
- Life Begins with Love – Screenplay
- Little Accident – play Little Accident
- Casanova Brown – play Little Accident
- Peter's Baby – play ''Little Accident''
Theatre
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 |
Awards and nominations
In 1953, Mitchell became the first male actor to win the Triple Crown of Acting.| Year | Award | Category | Project | Result |
| 1937 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Hurricane | Nomitated |
| 1939 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Stagecoach | Won |
| 1939 | National Board of Review | Best Actor | Stagecoach | Nomitated |
| 1940 [New York Film Critics Circle Awards|1940] | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | The Long Voyage Home | Nomitated |
| 1940 | National Board of Review | Best Actor | The Long Voyage Home | Won |
| 1942 | National Board of Review | Best Actor | Moontide | Won |
| 5th [Primetime Emmy Awards|1952] | Primetime Emmy Awards | Best Actor | Nomitated | |
| 1953 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Best Actor | Won | |
| 1955 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Best Actor in a Single Performance | The Ford Television Theatre | Nomitated |
| 1953 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical|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.