James Mitchell

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James Mitchell (February 29, 1920 – January 22, 2010) was an American actor and dancer.

Despite being one of Agnes de Mille's most well-known dancers, Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children (1979-2010), theatre and dance historians honor him as one of the country's top dancers.

Mitchell's ability to mix dance and acting was considered a novelty in 1959; the critic Olga Maynard selected him as "an important example of the next dancer-actor-singer in American ballet," referring to his interpretive skills and "masculine" methods.

Early life

Mitchell was born in Sacramento, California, on Leap Day, 1920. His parents immigrated from England to Northern California, where they operated a fruit farm in Turlock. Mitchell's brother and sister died in 1923 and returned to England with Mitchell's brother and sister; Mitchell and Mitchell had no further contact. Mitchell's father was unable to raise his remaining son alone, and he fostered him out for many years to vaudevillians Gene and Katherine King.

Mitchell's mother died, but not his daughter, who was the father's, returned to Turlock after his father remarried and brought both of his sons, but not his daughter. Mitchell left Turlock for Los Angeles, where he remained close to the Kings at age seventeen.

Personal life

Albert Wolsky, an Oscar-award-winning costume designer, was Mitchell's partner for thirty-nine years.

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Stage and film career

Mitchell was introduced to modern dance at the school of the celebrated teacher and choreographer Lester Horton. After receiving his associate degree, he joined Horton's firm, where he remained for nearly four years. He became a close friend of dancer Bella Lewitzky while working with Horton in the 1970s and later became President of the Board of Directors of her Dance Foundation, as well as a "longtime [...] supporter" of hers. Horton brought Mitchell and Mitchell to New York in 1944 to establish a new dance company, but the venture abruptly ended.

As it happened, Horton's demise in New York marked a major turning point in Mitchell's career: as he was unable to find any acting or dancing opportunities, he auditioned for Agnes de Mille, who was choreographing her first musical since Oklahoma! When faced with De Mille's ballet pairing, Mitchell, who did not study ballet until he was in his mid-twenties, was at a loss. Agnes yelled "Well, I hadn't got much more familiarity with it," as he entered the audition, "I really didn't have a clue," but later on, Agnes yelled "Where on earth did you get your dance training?" De Mille has still offered him the distinction of principal dancer and assistant choreographer. Given the choice between touring with Helen Hayes and dancing for de Mille, he selected de Mille.

Bloomer Girl (1944), a British artist who lived from 1944 to 1969, developed film, television, and concert dance. Carol Easton, De Mille's biographer, calls him the "intessential male de Mille dancer" and de Mille's "closest confidant" in her artistic life. De Mille herself said of Mitchell that he had "probably the best arms in the industry," and that the adagio style developed by him and his partners has become a welcome addition to ballet vocabulary.

I was primarily an actor [...] and I think what Agnes was referring to was my acting and admiration for the woman I was partnering," Mitchell said nearly thirty years later. Because I was truly a partner at the end. When I take a look at today's dancers or I take a look at the outstanding dance films, such as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, I couldn't do any of this! I knew I was a dancer but I didn't have the skills. At least, I was an actor-dancer."

Mitchell's work with de Mille:

Mitchell's other close friends included Eugene Loring (with whom he also trained) and Jerome Robbins.

Gower Champion:

Eugene Loring:

Jerome Robbins:

Mitchell appeared on stage in both musicals and straight dramas until the late 1970s, with some in numerous regional theatres around the country. His other appearances include performances in Carousel, First Impressions, and The Deputy; off-Broadway appearances in Winkelberg, Livin's Life, and The Father; and The Rainmaker's National Tours include The King and I, Funny Girl, and The Threepenny Opera; and The Deputy. In Anderson Ferrell's biographical dance performance Dance/Speak: The Life of Agnes De Mille, which premiered at New York Theatre Ballet in 2009, a character based on Mitchell appears.

Mitchell, as a film actor, had only modest success. He did both chorus dancing and extra work in a number of minor musicals and westerns in the early 1940s. He appeared in The House Across the Street in 1949. He was scouted by producer Michael Curtiz and signed to a Warner Brothers deal after being praised for his award-winning work in Brigadoon. Curtiz had intended to photograph Mitchell in a portrait with Doris Day but it didn't turn up.

Mitchell made two films for Warner Brothers, including Raoul Walsh's Colorado Territory, before moving from Curtiz to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He appeared in six films between 1949 and 1955, most notable Anthony Mann's Border Incident, Jacques Tourneur's Stars in My Crown, and Vincente Minnelli's critically acclaimed The Band Wagon (1953), in which he loathed so much that he refused to watch the film. Since appearing in the notoriously overbudgeted flop The Prosecutors (1955), he did not work for the studio again. Mitchell's film career came to an end when he appeared in Hal R. Makelim's Western The Peacemaker (1956), the first time he was ever billed above the title, although he played lead, gunfighter Terrall Butler. It took over two decades before he made his next and what was to be his last appearance on the big screen, The Turning Point (1977). In the legendary sponsored film A Touch of Magic directed by GM at the 1961 Motorama, he co-starred with Thelma "Tad" Tadlock.

Mitchell occasionally served as a producer and choreographer, especially in the late 1960s and 1970s. Among other theaters, he performed musicals at the Paper Mill Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, and The Muny. He and Katherine Litz co-staged The Enchanted for American Ballet Theatre in 1956.

Television career

Mitchell was much more popular on television, particularly in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In addition to performing regularly as a dancer, he appeared in a number of television films and prime-time series, as well as in the anthologies that were once popular, such as Play of the Week, Gruen Guild Playhouse, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. In 1964, he took his first contract role on a soap opera in The Edge of Night as Captain Lloyd Griffin. In 1966, he appeared in an episode of the espionage drama Blue Light. This was followed by his participation in the entire run of the soap opera Where the Heart Is (1969–73), in which he played the male lead, Julian Hathaway.

Mitchell's performing career came close to an end entirely after Mack & Mabel's career collapsed in 1974. He obtained a Bachelor's degree and an MFA from Goddard College in order to teach full-time at the college level, as well as taught actors at Juilliard, Yale University, and Drake University. After a few years of virtually no work, he once summed up the 1970s as "I cried and did a lot of gardening" during his time as a guest star on Lou Grant and Charlie's Angels in the late 1970s.

Palmer Cortlandt, a self-made millionaire who appeared on ABC's long-running soap opera All My Children, was hired in 1979. He was hired for only one year and then transferred to 2009 and then stayed on the job until 2009. Palmer, a ruthless murderer utterly jealous of his son, Nina, and aggressively threatening his ex-wife Daisy when she returned from the dead, for a significant portion of his first decade on the show. Palmer remained ruthless in company dealings until his arrival in December 1983 as Adam Chandler, but less so in romantic affairs. His old ways returned several times, including when he was discovered to be hoarding stolen artwork and when he attempted to murder Vanessa's last wife, who was mistakenly believing she had cheated on him. His last game as a contract player was September 19, 2008, but his resignation was not announced until September 30, 2009.

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Awards and nominations

• Theatre World Award, 1947: Brigadoon
• Donaldson Award:
  • Best Male Dancer of the Year, 1947: Brigadoon
  • Nominee, Best Male Dancer of the Year, 1946: Billion Dollar Baby (third place)
  • Nominee, Best Male Dancer of the Year, 1951: Paint Your Wagon (second place)
• Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, 1985, Drake University
• Daytime Emmy Award nominations, Outstanding Actor, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989: All My Children
• Soapy Awards: Best Villain 1980 (All My Children)