Cameron McDowell (Mitzell) Mitchell (1918 - 1994)

Born 4 Nov 1918 in Dallastown, York County, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Johanna (Mendel) Mitchell — married 17 Aug 1940 (to 3 May 1957) in Whitefield, Coos, New Hampshire, USA

Husband of Margaret (Johnson) Mozingo — married 9 May 1973 (to 19 Nov 1976) in Puerto Rico, United States

Died 7 Jul 1994 at age 75 in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California

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Biography

Biography

Cameron (Mitzell) Mitchell is Notable.

Born Cameron McDowell Mitzell in Dallastown, Pennsylvania to Rev. Charles and Kathryn Mitzel, young Cameron moved to Chicora, Pennsylvania in 1921 when his father was accepted as pastor of the St. John's Reformed Church of Donegal Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania.[2]

Between the first and second world wars, during his years as a young actor in Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne's National Theater Company, Fontanne suggested that Cameron's surname sounded "a bit too much like the Hun" and insisted he change it to "Mitchell".

Mitchell served as a bombardier with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

His film career began with minor roles in films dating back to 1945, including They Were Expendable (with John Wayne and Robert Montgomery), but Mitchell quickly rose to leading man status. He co-starred with Wallace Beery in The Mighty McGurk, with Doris Day and James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me, with Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward and Richard Widmark in Garden of Evil, with Lana Turner and Spencer Tracy in Cass Timberlane, with Clark Gable, Robert Ryan and Jane Russell in The Tall Men, with Marlon Brando, Merle Oberon and Jean Simmons in Désirée, and with Joanne Woodward and Sheree North in No Down Payment.

Some of his best known films were the 1951 adaptation of Death of a Salesman (he originated the role of Happy on Broadway), the 1952 version of Les Miserables (as Marius), the 1953 comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (with Marilyn Monroe), and 1956's film version of the stage musical Carousel. He voiced Jesus of Nazareth in The Robe. Mitchell also played a Police Detective in the 1983 film, Dixie Ray, Hollywood Star.[3]

During the 1960s, Mitchell starred in numerous Italian sword and sandal, horror, fantasy, and thriller films, several of which were directed by Mario Bava, including Erik the Conqueror (1961), Blood and Black Lace (1964), and Knives of the Avenger (1966). He also participated in Spaghetti westerns, like Minnesota Clay by Sergio Corbucci. Mitchell played the leader of a white gang in the 1972 film Buck and the Preacher, also starring Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.

Mitchell with Patricia Barry in The High Chaparral Mitchell achieved success on television during the latter part of his career, where he is best remembered for starring as Uncle Buck in the 1960s NBC western series, The High Chaparral. He also appeared on an episode of Bonanza and ABC's S.W.A.T.. He guest starred on the brief Swiss Family Robinson TV series and the 'Landslide' episode of "Movin' On" in 1975. He appeared on Gene Evans's short-lived Spencer's Pilots on CBS in the fall of 1976. He also had roles in horror films and in many exploitation films such as the 1978 The Toolbox Murders, the 1978 creature feature The Swarm, the 1979 slasher film The Demon, the 1980 slasher Silent Scream, and the 1987 anthology film From a Whisper to a Scream.

He played a comedic role as a '50s gangster in the 1982 comedy My Favorite Year and portrayed right-wing General Edwin A. Walker in Prince Jack (1985).

Personal Life

In 1940, Mitchell married Johanna Mendel, the daughter of self-made Canadian business tycoon Fred Mendel. The Mendel family was based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where Fred Mendel founded Intercontinental Packers, a major family-owned meat packing operation.

Johanna Mitchell gave birth to their first son, Robert Cameron Mitchell, in New York on July 4, 1941. Although Mitchell and Johanna divorced in 1960, he maintained close ties to Canada. Their daughter, Camille Mitchell, and son, Cameron Mitchell, Jr., are both actors. Another son, Fred Mitchell, was president of Intercontinental Packers for many years working alongside his mother, Johanna Mitchell, who was Chairwoman of the Board. Today the company is known as Mitchell's Gourmet Foods and still operates out of Saskatoon, now owned by Maple Leaf Foods.

Death

Mitchell died of lung cancer, aged 75, on July 7, 1994, in Pacific Palisades, California. He is buried in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Mitchell_(actor)
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6480279

Cameron was born in 1918. He passed away in 1994.

• Cameron Mitchell (born Cameron McDowell Mitzell; November 4, 1918 – July 6, 1994) was an American film, television, and stage actor. He began his career on Broadway before transitioning into feature films in the 1950s, appearing in several major motion pictures. Late in his career, he became known for his roles in numerous exploitation films in the 1970s and 1980s. A native of Pennsylvania, Mitchell began acting on Broadway in the late 1930s before signing a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, after which he appeared in several films with Lana Turner and Clark Gable, such as Cass Timberlane (1945) and Homecoming (1948). He subsequently originated the role of Happy Loman in the Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949), a role he reprised in the 1951 film adaptation. He subsequently signed a contract with 20th Century Fox, which cast in him in lead roles in Les Misérables (1952) and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), opposite Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe. He then co-starred opposite Doris Day and James Cagney in the musical Love Me or Leave Me (1955). Throughout the 1960s, Mitchell transitioned to roles in spaghetti Westerns and Italian films, including several collaborations with Mario Bava, namely Erik the Conqueror (1961), Blood and Black Lace (1964), and Knives of the Avenger (1966). From 1967–71, Mitchell appeared in the Western television series The High Chaparral. From the mid-1970s, Mitchell appeared in numerous exploitation and horror films, such as Slaughter (1972), Haunts (1976), and The Toolbox Murders (1978). Mitchell continued to appear in film and television throughout the 1980s, including in supporting parts in the anthology horror films Night Train to Terror (1985) and From a Whisper to a Scream (1987), and the science-fiction film Space Mutiny (1988), which was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. He died in 1994 of lung cancer, aged 75.

Sources

• *Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/6480279/cameron-mitchell : accessed 21 July 2021), memorial page for Cameron Mitchell (4 Nov 1918–7 Jul 1994), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6480279, citing Desert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, Riverside County, California, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
• Find A Grave: Memorial #6480279 Cameron Mitchell
• "United States Public Records, 1970-2009", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KTQK-32T : 18 December 2019), Cameron Mitchell, 1991.
• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M619-JBV : 3 February 2021), Cameron M Mitzll in entry for Charles M Mitzll, 1920.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHC8-Y23 : accessed 25 August 2021), Cameron N Mitzell in household of Charles Mitzell, Shrewsbury, York, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 69, sheet 1A, line 39, family 12, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2166; FHL microfilm 2,341,900.
• "New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL63-FWK : 22 February 2021), Cameron Mcdowell Mitchell and Johanna Mendel, 17 Aug 1940; citing Lancaster, Coos, New Hampshire, Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Concord; FHL microfilm 2,294,448.
• "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPYP-N3W : 15 May 2014), Lissa J Gertz and Cameron M Mitchell, Oct 1972; from "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles City, California, Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
• National Archives World War II Army Enlistment Records.
• Together We Served 2nd Lt. Cameron McDowell Mitchell.
• New Freedom High School Alumni Spotlight Cameron Mitchell ‘37.
• Social Security Death Index.