Gordon Mitchell

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Gordon Mitchell (born July 29, 1923 in Denver , Colorado , † September 20, 2003 in Marina del Rey , California ; actually Charles Allan "Chucky" Pendleton ) was an American body builder and actor .

Life

After a rather unhappy childhood (parents divorced in 1926), during which Mitchell often had to care for his chronically ill mother, Mitchell began weight training in 1939, after his mother remarried and the family moved to Inglewood , California. He graduated from high school in 1942 and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II . He fought in the repulse of the Ardennes ( Battle of the Bulge ) and participated in the liberation of the concentration camps Buchenwald part. After the failure of a first marriage and training as a teacher, Mitchell took part in the Korean War .

From 1954 (Mitchell had returned to California) he first appeared in public after Mae West discovered him on Muscle Beach . West hired him (and other famous bodybuilders like Mickey Hargitay , Joe Gold, Paul Novak, Richard DuBois, Irwin “Zabo” Koszewski, Armand Tanny, and Dominic Juliano) for the eight half-naked men choir on their nightclub show, paving the way Way for first appearances as an extra in Hollywood films.

In 1960, when Italian producers were on the lookout for bodybuilders who could act in sandal films as part of the Hercules success , Mitchell responded to a newspaper ad and was cast for the film Maciste, Son of Hercules . From then on, Mitchell played almost non-stop in almost 120 films in Europe, mostly in Italy. His impressive size and remarkable physiognomy made him appear often as a villain, but sometimes also as a hero.

After the wave of sandal films had subsided, he initially shot mainly spaghetti westerns, to which he remained loyal as the owner of Cave Studios (just outside Rome) until he had to sell them in 1975. About 50 films were made in these studios. However, Mitchell also made agent films, crime novels, war films, and comedies. Also, Federico Fellini , Gérard Oury and John Huston turned to him.

In 1989 Mitchell returned to the United States, where he became the manager of the World Gym in Santa Monica . However, he accepted occasional film offers until his death.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 2002: Los Angeles Italian Film Award for Lifetime Achievement

Web links

swell

  • Westerns all'Italiana Memorial Issue November 2003
  1. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1466933/Joe-Gold.html
  2. ↑ http://www.bbszene.de/board/showthread.php?t=49909
personal data
SURNAME Mitchell, Gordon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pendleton, Charles Allan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 29, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Denver
DATE OF DEATH September 20, 2003
Place of death Marina del Rey