Mark Mitchell (born 29 September 1954) is an Australian actor, comedian and contemporary artist, best known for his roles in the sketch comedy series '' The Comedy Company'', most especially his character of Greek Australian fruit store proprietor Con the Fruiterer.

Early life and education

Mark Mitchell was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

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

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

). He taught secondary 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 Dikaletis aka ' Con the Fruiterer' whom he created after being served by two Greek Australian 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'', ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that 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 and ...

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

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

'', ''

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 or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'', '' Special Squad'', '' Willing and Abel'', '' Dogwoman'' and '' Upper Middle Bogan''. 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''. He has also lent his voice to the children's animated series '' Li'l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers'' 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 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 Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes'', 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. A member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Lange was also the Minister of Education ...

in the 1994 New Zealand miniseries ''Fallout''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video

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