Thomas Mitchell was one of the great American character actors, whose credits read like a list of the greatest films of the 20th century: Lost Horizon (1937); Stagecoach (1939); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); Gone with the Wind (1939); It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and High Noon (1952). His portrayals are ...
December 17, 1962, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Profession
Actor, Writer, Soundtrack
Education
University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford
Nationality
American
Spouse
Ann Stuart Breswer, Rachel Barnes Hartzell
Children
Anne Mitchell
Parents
Janet Wilson, John Mitchell
Awards
Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical, Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Single Performance
Movies
Gone with the Wind, It's a Wonderful Life, Stagecoach, High Noon, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Only Angels Have Wings, Lost Horizon, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocketful of Miracles, The Outlaw, The Hurricane, The Long Voyage Home, The Black Swan, The Fighting Sullivans, The Dark Mirror, While th...
TV Shows
Glencannon, The O. Henry Playhouse, Tales of Tomorrow, Mayor of the Town
A lot of people say I've deserted my art because I left Broadway and the stage. Hell, I'm no artist. I'm a working man. I've got a trade just like any other mechanic, and I follow my trade where the work is. Just now it's in Hollywood, but I'm not tied to Hollywood.
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A man looks bigger in the bathtub than he does in the ocean.
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Fact
1
He remarried his first wife, Anne Stewart Brewer, after her divorce from Frederick Philip Hier Jr.. She had married him on October 23, 1936, and then divorced him on May 22, 1941.
2
In 1939, in addition to appearing in three movies nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, he appeared in two other films that received nominations in other categories: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939).
The youngest of seven children born to Irish immigrants who settled in New Jersey, his father James Mitchell, worked in the newspaper industry and died when Thomas was a young boy; his mother's name was Mary.
5
Attended Elizabeth (New Jersey) High School and had his first job as a newspaper reporter while a student there. Following graduation, he continued working as a reporter and was hired by newspapers in Newark, Washington, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
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Daughter Anne, born of his first marriage, was his only child.
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He was interred at the Vaultage of the Chapel of the Pines in Los Angeles.
8
Was an avid collector of fine art, which included a Rembrandt panel acquired in 1940 from a Polish prince.
9
Was originally cast in The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) [aka "The Devil and Daniel Webster"], but while filming he lost control of a horse-drawn carriage in which he and young actor Lindy Wade were riding and it crashed. He was thrown from the carriage and suffered a fractured skull. Edward Arnold replaced him and all his scenes had to be reshot. Wade recovered enough to continue in his film role.
1939: Appeared in three out of the 10 movies nominated for a Best Picture Oscar: Gone with the Wind (1939) (which won), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and Stagecoach (1939) (for which he won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor).
He was cremated and his ashes are stored at a crematorium in California.
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1953: When he claimed the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for "Hazel Flagg", a musical version of the film Nothing Sacred (1937), he became the first performer to claim the Triple Crown of acting awards: Tony, Emmy (as TV's Best Actor of 1953) and Oscar (for Stagecoach (1939)).
$9 Million
