A New Sybil Bruncheon's "WHO'Z DAT?"... THOMAS MITCHELL (July 11, 1892 – December 17, 1962)

Darlings! Mummy has made a decision! After reading dozens of posts and having hundreds of conversations with well-meaning folks who just don't know about the great CHARACTER actors who gave films the depth and genius that surrounded and supported the so-called "stars", I am going to post a regular, special entry called SYBIL'S "WHO'Z DAT?"....there'll be photos and a mini-bio, and the next time you see one of those familiar, fabulous faces that you just "can't quite place".......well, maybe these posts will help. And feel free to share them with your friends! Some of these actors worked more, had longer and broader careers, and ended up happier, more loved, and even wealthier than the "stars" that the public "worships". (I think there may be a metaphor in that! What do you think???)… Well, this actor qualifies absolutely as an icon of the "Character STAR" set.... bumbling, wise, a smart aleck, a doddering fool, comedies, dramas, even tragedies! His face, and voice are unforgettable and irreplaceable.... he's one of the folks that I hope is waiting to sit and have coffee ‘n’ croissants with me in a Heaven-For-Actors cafe.... He’s Thomas Mitchell (July 11, 1892 – December 17, 1962). In addition to being an actor, he was also a director, playwright, and screenwriter.

         Born Thomas John Mitchell was born to Irish immigrants in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the youngest of seven children. 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 comic theatrical skits much more than chasing late-breaking scoops. He became an actor in 1913, at one point touring with the Charles Coburn Shakespeare Company. Coburn provided young Mitchell with some much-needed experience in the works of William Shakespeare. In late 1916 Mitchell debuted on Broadway in the original play UNDER SENTENCE and would be a fixture on the Great White Way steadily from then to 1935, working on a total of 29 plays. Even while playing leading roles on Broadway into the 1920s Mitchell would continue to write. One of the plays he co-authored, LITTLE ACCIDENT, was eventually made into a film (three times) by Hollywood, and with CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS (1931).

          Although, Mitchell's first credited screen role was in the 1923 silent film SIX CYLINDER LOVE, his first breakthrough role was as the embezzler in Frank Capra’s film LOST HORIZON (1937). Over the next few years, Mitchell appeared in many significant films. Known for his amazing range in both comedy and drama, and even in tragedy, Thomas Mitchell was respected by directors Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, and John Ford as one of the great American character actors, whose credits read like a list of the greatest films of the 20th century. Forty-three of the fifty-nine films in which he acted, were made in the 10-year period from 1936-1946. In 1939 alone he had key roles in STAGECOACH, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON with James Stewart, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS with Cary Grant, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME with Charles Laughton, and GONE WITH THE WIND with Vivien Leigh. He has the distinction of having performed in three of the Oscar nominated films of that year….an unbroken record. Having been nominated for an Oscar for his complex and very sympathetic Dr. Kersaint in THE HURRICANE (1938), and 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 (in Wayne's breakthrough role), 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, (as an atheist doctor) and HIGH NOON (1952) 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 (1946) again with James Stewart.

         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 (in a pilot episode that became the CBS series JOHNNY RINGO), and HALLMARK HALL OF FAME productions. In 1954, he starred in the television version of the radio program, MAYOR OF THE TOWN. And in 1955, he played Kris Kringle in THE 20TH CENTURY-FOX HOUR version of THE MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET opposite Teresa Wright and MacDonald Carey. In 1959, he starred in thirty-nine episodes of the syndicated television series, GLENCANNON, which had aired two years earlier in the United Kingdom. In the early 1960s, Mitchell originated the stage role "Columbo", later made famous on NBC and ABC television by Peter Falk. Columbo was Mitchell's last stage role. His last film role was in POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961) with Bette Davis and again directed by Frank Capra.

          In 1953, Mitchell became the first man to win the "triple crown" of acting awards (Oscar, Emmy, Tony); the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 1939's STAGECOACH, an Emmy 1952 for Best Actor for TV’s THE DOCTOR, and the following year a Tony Award for best performance by an actor, for the musical HAZEL FLAGG, based on the Carole Lombard film NOTHING SACRED (1937).

          Mitchell died at age 70 from peritoneal mesothelioma in Beverly Hills, California. He had been married twice; Rachel Hartzell (1937 to 1939) and Ann Stuart Breswer, first from 1915 to 1935, and remarried to her 1941 to 1962, by whom he had one daughter, Anne. 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.

[Want to read other fun and funny stories here on SybilSez.com? Just enter any topic that pops into your head in the "search" window on the upper right! Who knows what might come up?...and feel free to share them with your friends!] 

A New Sybil Bruncheon's "WHO'Z DAT?"... FRIEDA INESCORT (June 29, 1901 - February 26, 1976)

Darlings! Mummy has made a decision! After reading dozens of posts and having hundreds of conversations with well-meaning folks who just don't know about the great CHARACTER actors who gave films the depth and genius that surrounded and supported the so-called "stars", I am going to post a regular, special entry called SYBIL'S "WHO'Z DAT?"....there'll be photos and a mini-bio, and the next time you see one of those familiar, fabulous faces that you just "can't quite place".......well, maybe these posts will help. And feel free to share them with your friends! Some of these actors worked more, had longer and broader careers, and ended up happier, more loved, and even wealthier than the "stars" that the public "worships". (I think there may be a metaphor in that! What do you think???)… Our Birthday girl tonight has one of those faces you never forget!... and one of those voices you never, ever, ever forget!!

Frieda Inescort (June 29, 1901 - February 26, 1976) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland as Frieda Wrightman. She was the daughter of Scots-born journalist John "Jock" Wrightman and actress Elaine Inescort, who was of German and Polish descent. Her parents initially met when he came to review a play she was appearing in. They married in 1899 but eventually parted ways while Frieda was still young. Her impulsive mother, who had strong designs on a theater career and placed it high on her priority list, sent young Frieda off to live with other families and in boarding schools in England and Wales while she avidly pursued her dreams. Although her father divorced Elaine in 1911 charging his wife with abandonment and adultery, Frieda ended up moving to America with her mother. Again, when Elaine found occasional roles in touring shows, Frieda wound up being carted off to convents or boarding schools.

Mother and daughter eventually returned to London following World War I and the young girl, now solely on her own, managed to find employment as a personal secretary to British Member of Parliament Waldorf Astor (2nd Viscount Astor), who was then Parliamentary Secretary to British Prime Minister David Lloyd-George. She also assisted the American-born Lady (Nancy) Astor. While accompanying Lady Astor on a trip to the United States in July 1919, Frieda decided to stay in the States and terminated her position with the Astors. In New York she continued finding secretarial work that supported both her and her unemployed actress-mother. She worked at one point with the British consulate in New York.

Noticing a number of American actors cast in British parts on Broadway, Frieda was encouraged in the early 1920s to test the waters as British actresses were in short supply. By chance, she was introduced to producer/director Winthrop Ames, who gave the unseasoned hopeful a small but showy role in his Broadway comedy THE TRUTH ABOUT BLAYDS (1922) at the Booth Theatre. The play turned out to be a hit. Playwright Philip Barry caught her stage performance and offered her a starring role in his upcoming comedy production YOU AND I (1923). The show proved to be another winner and Frieda, a star on the horizon, finally saw the end of her days as part of a secretarial pool.

With her classic bone-structure and deep mellifluous voice and demeanor, Frieda was most often cast as very sophisticated, wealthy, and even arrogant society doyennes.

Other Broadway credits followed quickly in succession with THE WOMAN ON THE JURY (1923), WINDOWS (1923), THE FAKE (1924), ARIADNE (1925), HAY FEVER (1925), LOVE IN A MIST (1926), MOZART (1926), TRELAWNY OF THE "WELLS" (1927), and ESCAPE (1927-1928). While working in the late 1920s as an assistant for Putnam's Publishing Company in New York, Frieda met assistant editor Ben Ray Redman. They married in 1926 and Redman later became a literary critic for the New York Herald Tribune. Frieda, in the meantime, continued to resonate on the New York and touring stage with such plays as NAPI (1931), COMPANY'S COMING (1931), SPRINGTIME FOR HENRY (1931-1932), WHEN LADIES MEET (1933), FALSE DREAMS, FAREWELL (1934), and LADY JANE (1934). Frieda's happenstance into acting and her sudden surge of success triggered deep envy and jealousy within her mother, who was unemployed. This led to a bitter and long-term estrangement between the two that never managed to heal itself.

For over a decade, Frieda had resisted the cinema, having turned down several offers in silent and early talking films. When her husband was offered a job with Universal Studios as a literary adviser and author, however, and the couple had to relocate to Hollywood, she decided to take a difference stance.

Frieda Wrightman adopted her mother's surname as her professional name. Discovered by a talent scout while performing in a Los Angeles play, Frieda was signed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company and made her debut supporting Fredric March and Merle Oberon in the dewy-eyed drama THE DARK ANGEL (1935) in which she received attractive notices and rare sympathy as blind author March's secretary. She did not stay long at Goldwyn, however, and went on to freelance for various other studios. During the course of her movie career, Frieda could be quite charming on the screen playing a wronged woman (as she did in GIVE ME YOUR HEART (1936)), but she specialized in haughtier roles and played them older and colder than she really was off-camera. She soon gained a classy reputation for both her benign and haughty sophisticates. Some of her other films include MARY OF SCOTLAND (1936) starring Katharine Hepburn and Frederick March. After Warner Bros. signed her up, she showed promise in ANOTHER DAWN (1937) with Errol Flynn, a leading role in CALL IT A DAY (1937) with Olivia de Havilland and Bonita Granville, and THE GREAT O’MALLEY (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, three films in one year. Surprisingly after such an impressive start, however, Warner Bros. lost interest in her career and loaned her out more and more to other studios. When she would be given leading roles, they were mostly in “B” pictures. But her character work continued to excel, especially in THE LETTER (1940) starring an Oscar nominated Bette Davis and Herbert Marshall,) YOU’LL NEVER GET RICH (1941), a Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth hit musical, and the iconic A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) as Elizabeth Taylor’s mother with Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters. One of her most famous roles was the conniving Caroline Bingley in the 1940 film version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson. Although she continued to work in off and on in Hollywood, Inescort returned to Broadway a few more times with A SOLDIER'S WIFE (1944-1945), THE MERMAIDS SINGING (1945-1946), AND YOU NEVER CAN TELL (1948). Her last appearances in film included a few low-budget clunkers and the two horror-camp-classics THE SHE CREATURE (1956) and THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (1959) with Lon Chaney, Jr.

 She appeared on television in at least one episode of PERRY MASON as Hope Quentin in "The Case of the Jealous Journalist" (season 5, 1961).  Inescort was one of those distinguished actresses who was valued greatly by her directors and costars and had the distinction of being surrounded by Oscar nominated and winning coworkers though never nominated herself.

On August 2nd, 1961, she and her husband since 1926, Ben Ray Redman, dined out. Redman had been despondent for some time. Returning home, he went upstairs to bed. He then called Frieda, informing her that he was depressed over the state of the world and had taken 12 sedative pills. By the time the paramedics arrived, he had died, a suicide at the age of 65. He had been working as a writer for the Saturday Review Magazine and was also involved in the translation of European classic literature into English.

Inescort herself had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the 1930s and had suffered periodically as the years went by. Her disease accelerated after her husband's death, and she was using a wheelchair by the mid 1960s. On July 7th, 1964, her estranged mother, British actress Elaine Inescourt, died in Brighton, England, aged 87. Though unable to work in either film or onstage, Frieda Inescort worked as much as possible for the multiple sclerosis association. Often seen in the Hollywood area seated in her wheelchair, she collected donations outside supermarkets and in malls for several years. Inescort died on February 26th, 1976 at the Motion Picture Country Home at Woodland Hills, California from the disease she had battled since 1932. She was 74.

[Want to read other fun and funny stories here on SybilSez.com? Just enter any topic that pops into your head in the "search" window on the upper right! Who knows what might come up?...and feel free to share them with your friends!]

A New Sybil Bruncheon's "WHO'Z DAT?"... NED SPARKS (November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957)

            Darlings! Mummie has made a decision! After reading dozens of posts and having hundreds of conversations with well-meaning folks who just don't know about the great CHARACTER actors who gave films the depth and genius that surrounded and supported the so-called "stars", I am going to post a regular, special entry called SYBIL'S "WHO'Z DAT?"....there'll be photos and a mini-bio, and the next time you see one of those familiar, fabulous faces that you just "can't quite place".......well, maybe these posts will help. Some of these actors worked more, had longer and broader careers, and ended up happier, more loved, and even wealthier than the "stars" that the public "worships". (I think there may be a metaphor in that! What do you think???). Well, while you’re mulling it over, that ruckus you here in Mummie’s foyer is none other than the irreplaceable NED SPARKS (November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957).

             Known for being a nasal-toned, deadpan, cigar chewing comedian, Sparks was born Edward Arthur Sparkman in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He left home at age 16 and attempted to work as a gold prospector in the Klondike Gold Rush. After running out of money, he quickly abandoned the hard work and cold, and took advantage of his mellifluous tenor voice to sing in saloons, carnivals, tent theatricals, medicine shows, and the like, where he was billed as the “Singer of Sweet Southern Songs,” performing in a straw hat, bare feet and short pants. At age 19, he briefly attended a Toronto seminary but left almost immediately to work for the railroad and then in a theater in Toronto. In 1907, he left for New York City to try his hand in the Broadway theatre, where he appeared in his first show in 1912. While working on Broadway, Sparks developed his trademark deadpan expression while portraying the role of a desk clerk in his first film LITTLE MISS BROWN (1915). His successes both in the film and onstage soon caught the attention of MGM’s Louis B. Mayer who signed Sparks to a six picture deal in silent films. Off the stage, Sparks stood up for better working conditions for his fellow actors. He deplored the low wages, abuse and demeaning treatment of actors, joining in New York’s theatre strike in 1919 against the big producers for better wages. These actions led to his being blacklisted for months. His career took a short tumble for participating, but he became one of the founders of the Actors Equity Union. Sparks returned to the stage by 1920, appearing with such comic performers as Robert Woolsey, Leon Errol, Joe E. Brown, and Harry Langdon. In October 1920, Sparks, Brown, Langdon, and Frank Fay starred in JIM JAM JEMS, a musical pastime proclaimed for its “exhilarating humor” and “enjoyable entertainment.” The show sold out four weeks in advance.

            In 1923, Sparks moved West. He acted in shorts that fall, and performed with the Lambs’ Club at the Hollywood Bowl in the summer of 1924. Joining the Masquers’ Club, filmdom’s version of the Lambs’, Sparks performed in REVELS with director Fred Niblo, and comedians Lloyd Hamilton and Roscoe Arbuckle. In the 1920s, his silent-movie career had been going full steam, but with the advent of sound, his “talkie” debut in THE BIG NOISE (1928) was a big hit. It was Ned's cynical delivery, nasal tone, raspy whines, and sour disposition that clinched his iconic film niche. The Hollywood Filmograph called him, “undeniably, the shining light of the cinema.” When Sparks signed a long-term contract with RKO in early 1930, it stipulated that he could sit in on story conferences and make suggestions regarding comedy situations and lines in both the Masquers Club two-reelers and features in which he appeared. Thanks to his squawky voice and gaunt, glaring face Sparks finally came into his own. It was during this time that he secretly married Mercedes Caballero, sister of Charles Caballero, head of Fox Studios’ Purchasing Department, on Oct. 10, 1930, keeping quiet for months about it. They seldom appeared in public, but Sparks was never a social butterfly away from work anyway.

          The marriage soured by 1933, with Mercedes suing for cash, claiming that he was making $6,000 a month. Sparks countersued, claiming Mercedes’ dog bit him and  his friends, and that the dog chased him out of bed. He claimed she thought more of the dog than him. In early December, Sparks was ordered to pay her $200 a month. (Their acrimonious suits and countersuits back and forth continued to plague them both through to 1936 and strained their finances.)

          Throughout the 1930s, Sparks became known for his dour-faced, sarcastic, cigar-chomping characters. His appearances in big 1930s musicals like 42ND STREET , GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, and GOING HOLLYWOOD, all released in 1933(!) cemented his reputation as the beloved “grouchy sidekick”. He also appeared in 1933 in ALICE IN WONDERLAND as the hookah-smoking caterpillar with Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Edna May Oliver, May Robson, W.C. Fields, and Edward Everett Horton. Fellow comedians like Jack Oakie called him the greatest scene stealer, noting, “Ned was deadly.”  In 1934, he appeared with Claudette Colbert in IMITATION OF LIFE, one of his few dramas.

           He became so associated with the type that, in 1936, The New York Times reported that Sparks had his face insured for $100,000 with Lloyd's of London. The market agreed to pay the sum to any photographer who could capture Sparks smiling (Sparks later admitted that the story was a publicity stunt and he was only insured for $10,000). Sparks was also caricatured in cartoons including the Jack-in-the-Box character in the Disney short BROKEN TOYS (1935), and the jester in MOTHER GOOSE GOES HOLLYWOOD (1938), a hermit crab in both Tex Avery’s FRESH FISH (1939) and Bob Clampett’s GOOFY GROCERIES (1941), a chicken in Bob Clampett’s SLAP HAPPY PAPPY (1940) and brief unnamed appearances as himself in Friz Freleng’s Warner Brothers cartoon MALIBU BEACH PARTY (1940), and Tex Avery's HOLLYWOOD STEPS OUT (1940). A radio favorite over the years, he performed alongside Bing Crosby quite frequently. His last Hollywood role would be alongside Jimmy Stewart in MAGIC TOWN (1947).

          Before retiring to a ranch in Victor Valley, California to write his memoirs, Sparks did make a few guest appearances on television in 1950, as his agents at William Morris looked for a possible TV starring vehicle for him. During his life, Sparks had appeared in ten stage productions on Broadway and over 80 films. At the time of his retirement, he apparently cut off virtually all contact with his friends and associates. He died on April 3, 1957, of an intestinal blockage, supposedly survived by a daughter Laura, though there was never any earlier mention of her. When he died only seven people attended his funeral. He was buried in Victor Valley Memorial Park.

[Want to read other fun and funny stories here on SybilSez.com? Just enter any topic that pops into your head in the "search" window on the upper right! Who knows what might come up?...and feel free to share them with your friends!]