Mark Mitchell (born 29 September 1954) is an Australian actor, comedian and contemporary artist, best known for his character

Con the Fruiterer Con Dikaletus aka Con the Fruiterer is a fictional character created by Australian actor and comedian Mark Mitchell. Mitchell created the character after being served by two Greek Australian stall holders at Glenferrie Markets in 1984. The charac ...

Early life

Mark Mitchell was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. He studied English and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

and then completed a Diploma of Education at State College of Victoria Rusden Campus (now part of

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

). He taught secondary school (Ararat high school) English for five years before becoming an advertising copy-writer and then a professional actor.

Career

Mitchell starred in the pioneering sketch comedy show ''The Eleventh Hour'', a predecessor to his hit sketch show '' The Comedy Company''. His best known character is Con Dickaletus aka '

' whom he created after being served by two

Greek Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek an ...

stall holders at Glenferrie Markets in 1984. The character became known nationally from regular appearances in '' The Comedy Company'', for which he also created the character of Con's wife, Marika. He has made many guest appearances on Australian television series such as ''

SeaChange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...

'', ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'', '' Something in the Air'', ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'', ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'', ''

Dogwoman ''Dogwoman'' is a series of Australian television telemovies screened on the Nine Network in 2000. The telemovies were created by and starred Magda Szubanski as Margaret O'Halloran. Margaret, a professional dog trainer, is drawn into a world of m ...

'' and ''

Upper Middle Bogan ''Upper Middle Bogan'' is an Australian television comedy program created by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope. It began screening on ABC on 15 August 2013. The series is directed by Hope and Tony Martin. ''Upper Middle Bogan'' was renewed for a secon ...

''. He has also starred in children's television programs such as '' Round the Twist'', '' Lift Off'' and '' The Genie From Down Under''. He played the part of Chief Quimby in the 2003 film ''

Inspector Gadget 2 ''Inspector Gadget 2'' (sometimes called ''Inspector 2 Gadget'' and ''IG2'') is a 2003 American superhero comedy film released direct-to-video on VHS and DVD on March 11, 2003. The film is based on the 1983 cartoon series created by DIC Enterta ...

''. He has also lent his voice to the children's animated series ''

Li'l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers ''Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers'' is an animated musical children's television series and the Australian Children's Television Foundation's (ACTF's) first joint venture under the Distinctly Australian Program introduced by the Australian Pr ...

'' and '' The Flamin' Thongs''. Mitchell voices commercial radio advertising campaigns, playing a dim-witted fool who interviews various people about radio advertising, with amusing consequences resulting from his character's lack of understanding the interviewees. He also portrayed fictional museum exhibit figure "Max Muck" for some of the video reel and photos used and depicted in the exhibit "The Muck Bunker Constipation Experience" at Scienceworks Museum in Melbourne housed in the Spotswood Pumping Station. He has had supporting lead roles in various US movies made in Australia including '' The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas'' and ''The Strange Case of Sharte Keams'', and voiced the character of 'Buck Cluck' for the Australian release of '' Chicken Little''. He has also portrayed

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

in the 1994 New Zealand video game mini-series ''Fallout''.

References

External links

Mark Mitchell Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Mark Living people 1954 births Australian male film actors Australian male soap opera actors Comedians from Melbourne Male actors from Melbourne 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors