Mitch Vogel

Mitchel L Vogel (born January 17, 1956) is an American former child actor, musician and director. As of 2021, he is one of two surviving main cast members from ''Bonanza'', next to Tim Matheson.

Having begun his professional acting career at age ten, Vogel is widely known for his role as the red-headed orphan, Jamie Hunter-Cartwright on the NBC western series ''Bonanza'', as well as for his feature film roles: as Tommy North in '' Yours, Mine and Ours'' and as Lucius McCaslin in '' The Reivers''.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Alhambra, California, Vogel began his acting career at the age of ten, appearing in stage productions of ''Tom Sawyer'', ''Heidi'', ''Peter Pan'' and '' The Wizard of Oz''. As his acting career progressed, he attended Heinz Kaiser Junior High School in Costa Mesa, California, from 1969 to 1970 and later attended Jordan Junior High School in Burbank, California.

Acting career

Vogel made his feature film debut at the age of 12, appearing in the 1968 comedy '' Yours, Mine and Ours'', as one of Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda's brood. He rose to prominence the following year as Lucius McCaslin in the feature film '' The Reivers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination as the Best Supporting Actor of 1969.

Having established himself in feature films, Vogel briefly appeared on an episode of ''Bonanza'' broadcast on October 6, 1968, entitled "The Real People of Muddy Creek". Two years later he joined the ''Bonanza'' cast, co-starring as Jamie Hunter, an adolescent orphan taken in and eventually adopted by the Cartwrights during the last three seasons of the series.

In addition to his role on ''Bonanza'', Vogel also guest-starred on several other western television series of the time, including '' The Virginian'', ''Here Come the Brides'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''Dundee and the Culhane'', as well as appearing in a recurring role as "Johnny Johnson" on the western frontier series ''Little House on the Prairie'' from 1974 to 1975, after which he had a starring role in the 10th episode of the Saturday morning live-action show, ''The Secrets of Isis'' and guest starred on ''Wonder Woman'' in 1978.

In addition to his guest-starring roles on episodic television series, Vogel also appeared in lead roles in the ''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'' films, ''Menace on the Mountain'' in 1970 and ''The Boy from Dead Man's Bayou'' in 1971, as well as co-starring in the made-for-television films '' Born Innocent'' in 1974 and ''State Fair'' in 1976.

In 1975 he played the character “Dink” on the TV Western ''Gunsmoke'' in the episode “The Hiders” (S20E15).

After acting

In 1978, Vogel left show business and began a life away from the limelight. He formed a rock band and moved to Pittsburgh. He married in 1985 and the couple have two daughters. Vogel lives in the Southern California area and has spent time directing and appearing in church plays, as well as singing in a band.

In 2002, Vogel returned to ''Bonanzas locations for the Travel Channel's ''TV Road Trip'', in which he narrated an account of his visit to the Ponderosa Ranch in Incline Village near Lake Tahoe, Nevada. In 2004, he was featured in an interview in ''Bonanza Gold'' magazine. He participated in both the 2005 Bonanza Convention and the 2010 Bonanza Weekend in Liverpool, England. Vogel was featured in an interview published online on January 19, 2017, in which he described how he had been cast for his part on Bonanza.

References

Bibliography

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External links

*
Mitch Vogel
at The New York Times

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Mitch
1956 births
20th-century American male actors
Male actors from California
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Living people
People from Alhambra, California