Duke Mitchell (born Dominic Salvatore Miceli; May 9, 1926 – December 2, 1981) was an American film actor,

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

comedian, crooner and independent

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

of 1970s gangster movies starring himself. Mitchell often performed his nightclub act in and around

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, and anointed himself the "King of Palm Springs."

Early life and career

On May 9, 1926, Mitchell was born Dominic Salvatore Miceli in Farrell, Pennsylvania. In 1951, he teamed with comic Sammy Petrillo for a nightclub act. Mitchell's cabaret-style crooning and Petrillo's manic, rubber-faced clowning bore more than a passing resemblance to the popular team of Martin and Lewis (

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

and

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

, whom Mitchell and Petrillo physically resembled), which led to Lewis taking legal action.Sammy Petrillo obituary
'' The New York Times, August 24, 2009; accessed July 2, 2017. The suit was later dismissed. Movie producer

Jack Broder Realart Pictures was a motion picture distribution company founded in 1948 by Jack Broder and Joseph Harris. The company specialized in reissues of older pictures, particularly from the library of Universal Pictures, but also handled an occasion ...

intended to star Mitchell and Petrillo in a feature-length comedy. Petrillo later recalled his suspicion that Broder never really intended to make the film: Broder expected

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

to pay him off, but when Paramount dropped the lawsuit, Broder had to follow through. The resulting film was '' Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla'', a jungle-themed comedy. Mitchell had a small appearance in the Martin and Lewis film '' Sailor Beware'' (1952). After Mitchell and Petrillo parted ways, Mitchell stayed in show business, performing at nightclubs in New York, Las Vegas, Seattle, Palm Springs, Chicago (opening for his friend

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

), and The Cloisters, Crescendo and Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and began directing self-financed independent films such as ''

Massacre Mafia Style ''Massacre Mafia Style'' (also known as ''The Executioner'' or ''Like Father, Like Son'') is a 1974 independent film written, directed, produced by, and starring Italian-American crooner-actor Duke Mitchell. The tagline for the film was ''"You’ ...

'' (1974) and ''

Gone with the Pope ''Gone with the Pope'' (also known as ''Kiss the Ring'') is a 1976 independent film written, directed and produced by Italian-American crooner-actor Duke Mitchell that was first released in 2010 by Grindhouse Releasing. Plot The movie tells the ...

'' (1976), which have since developed a cult following. In 1960, Mitchell provided the singing voice of Fred Flintstone for his friends William Hanna and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian im ...

on '' The Flintstones'' episodes "Hot Lips Hannigan" and "Girls' Night Out". Mitchell was a regular on the scene in

, where he started the fad and trend of "Sunday Brunches" with shows including

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

, David Janssen, Cary Grant,

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, and his son, guitarist/songwriter Jeffrey Mitchell, who got his start at the Ranch Club brunches with his father, Doug McClure,

James Drury James Child Drury Jr. (April 18, 1934 – April 6, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for having played the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series '' The Virginian'', which was broadcast on NBC from 1962 ...

, and a myriad of stars including Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Vince Edwards, and acts from the world of show-biz. Stars would take the weekend plunge into the Palm Springs scene and join the brunch festivities on Sunday. Several of Mitchell’s projects originally weren't released, including his "Tribute to Durante" and his second feature film ''

'', which only existed as a work print when it was found in Mitchell's son Jeffrey Mitchell's garage by Grindhouse Releasing’s Bob Murawski and Sage Stallone. Sage wanted to purchase ''Gone with the Pope'' from Jeffrey Mitchell and he did, save for the musical rights, as Mitchell's music is published out of London. It was carefully restored and released theatrically in 2011 by Grindhouse Releasing, which has also restored and released Mitchell’s ''

'', owned by Jeffrey Mitchell and Bob Murawski, on Blu-ray in 2015.“Massacre Mafia Style Blu-ray Detailed”
Blu-ray.com, December 2, 2014."Weekend Weirdness: Gone with the Pope"
Slashfilm.com, November 15, 2009.Twitchfilm “DVD Review: MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE: Family Edition” (February 2011).

Personal life and death

Mitchell and his wife, Jo, had two children. On December 2, 1981, Mitchell died of lung cancer at the age of 55.

Filmography

Director

* ''

'' (1974, re-released in 2010 by Grindhouse Releasing) (a.k.a. ''Like Father Like Son'', a.k.a. ''The Executioner'') * ''

'' (1976, released in 2010 by Grindhouse Releasing)

Actor

* '' Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla'' (1952) * '' Sailor Beware'' (1952) (uncredited) * '' Crime in the Streets'' (1956) (uncredited) * '' Baby Face Nelson'' (1957) * '' Paradise Alley'' (1962) * ''

'' (1974) * ''

'' (1976)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Duke 1926 births 1981 deaths American male film actors American crooners Deaths from lung cancer in California Liberty Records artists People from Mercer County, Pennsylvania Film directors from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers