Ewing Young Mitchell (December 29, 1910 – September 3, 1988) was an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

of film and television best known for his role as Sheriff Mitch Hargrove in 26 episodes between 1956 and 1959 of the

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

adventure series with a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

theme, ''

Sky King ''Sky King'' is an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. Cattle rancher King usually captured criminals and spies and found ...

''. He also played Sheriff Powers on another western series, '' The Adventures of Champion''.

Early years

Mitchell was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. His Episcopal minister father headed Porter Military Academy before he was appointed Episcopal Bishop of Arizona, which took the family to that state. In 1938, Mitchell left Arizona to study singing in Hollywood. He attended

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

and Sewanee: The University of the South. He appeared and sang

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

during the 1930s. He also appeared on Broadway in ''Song of Norway'' (1944).

Acting career

Mitchell made his television debut at the age of 40 on January 1, 1951, in the syndicated western series, ''

The Range Rider ''The Range Rider'' is an American Western television series that was first broadcast in syndication from 1951 to 1952. A single lost episode surfaced and was broadcast in 1959. In 1954, the BBC purchased rights to show the program in the UK . ...

''. On that series through January 1, 1953, he made ten other appearances, mostly as a law-enforcement officer, the genre in which he specialized. He was also cast in 1951 as a waiter in the episode "Bad Man of Brisco" of another syndicated western series, ''

The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that aired from 1951 to 1955 and consisted of 104 episodes. While airing, the show was shown in over 130 markets and was sold to the Coca-Cola Bott ...

.'' He appeared in that same series twice in 1952, both times as a marshal, in the episodes "Trouble in Tuscarora" and "Golden Trap". He was cast in April 1952 in the episode "The Case of the Cold Neck" of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

Racket Squad ''Racket Squad'' is an American TV crime drama series that aired from 1951 to 1953. The format was a narrated anthology drama, as each individual episode featured various ordinary citizens getting ensnared in a different confidence scheme. Ep ...

'', starring

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas. Career Before moving to Hollywood, he acted in ''Hamlet'' on stage in N ...

. In 1953, he appeared as Mr. Collins in the episode "Defense Plant Security" of the syndicated

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

drama, ''

I Led Three Lives ''I Led 3 Lives'' (also known as ''I Led Three Lives'') is an American drama series syndicated by Ziv Television Programs from October 1, 1953, to January 1, 1956. The series stars Richard Carlson. The show was a companion piece of sorts to ...

''. He also had roles in several films, mostly uncredited, before and after those particular television appearances. By 1965, he had appeared in 20 films. Ewing was cast in seven episodes each of ''

The Gene Autry Show ''The Gene Autry Show'' is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum. Overview Series star Gene Autry h ...

'' (1951–1953) and

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

's related ''The Adventures of Champion'' (1955–1956). He appeared four times on '' The Roy Rogers Show'' and on the syndicated ''

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, throug ...

'', with Guy Madison and

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in American frontier, Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers ...

, and '' Buffalo Bill, Jr.'', starring Dick Jones. On May 20, 1955, he played Adam Greer in the first-season episode "Farewell to Fort Apache" of ''

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin ''The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin'' is an American children's Western television series that aired 164 episodes from October 1954 to May 1959 on the ABC television network. The show starred Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian rai ...

''. In 1956, he was cast in an episode of the CBS fantasy drama, '' The Millionaire'', in the episode "The Jane Carr Story", with

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

in the lead guest-starring role. He appeared twice in 1956 as Preacher Homer Wilkins in the CBS western series, ''

The Adventures of Jim Bowie ''The Adventures of Jim Bowie'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1956 in television, 1956 to 1958 in television, 1958. Its setting was the 1830s-era Louisiana T ...

'', starring

Scott Forbes Conrad Scott Forbes (11 September 1920 – 25 February 1997), popularly known as Scott Forbes, was a British film and television actor and screenwriter. In his later career as a screenwriter, he was credited as C. Scott Forbes. Early year ...

in the title role. In 1956, he played a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the episode "Enemies" of

Ronald W. Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

's CBS anthology series, ''

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition show ...

''. His other appearances, mostly on westerns, include ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and '' Bronco'' (both second and fo ...

'', ''

Tales of the Texas Rangers ''Tales of the Texas Rangers'' is a 20th century Western old-time radio and television police procedural drama which originally aired on NBC Radio from 1950 to 1952 and later on CBS Television from 1955 to 1958. Film star Joel McCrea voiced the ...

'', ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Dale Robertson in 201 episodes that aired from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until i ...

'', ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'', ''

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...

'', and ''

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults.Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

1954 western film, ''Black Horse Canyon''. In 1958, he was cast as Fred Gerlock in "The Red Flannel Shirt" of the syndicated

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', hosted by

Stanley Andrews Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...

. That same year, he made two appearances on John Payne's NBC western, ''

The Restless Gun ''The Restless Gun'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne (actor), John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Ci ...

'', as Dawson in "Gratitude" and as Sheriff Frank Kemper in "Bonner's Squaw". It was ''Sky King'', a contemporary western which originated on

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

, with which Mitchell was most identified. He played the sheriff of fictional Grover County, Arizona. The series starred

Kirby Grant Kirby Grant (November 24, 1911 – October 30, 1985), born Kirby Grant Hoon Jr., was a long-time B movie and television actor, mostly remembered for having played the title role in the Western-themed adventure television series '' Sky King''. B ...

as rancher Sky King who spent more time in his plane, the ''Songbird,'' than riding his horse.

Gloria Winters Gloria Winters (November 28, 1931 – August 14, 2010) was an actress most remembered for having portrayed the well-mannered niece, Penny King, in the 1950s–1960s American television series '' Sky King''.Ron Hagerthy Ronald F. Hagerthy (born March 9, 1932) is an American actor on television and in films. Early years Hagerthy was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, but moved to Glendale, California, before he started school. He attended Glendale City College and ...

was cast as the nephew, Clipper King. The episodes on which Mitchell appeared began with "Manhunt" and "The Neckerchief" and included "Geiger Detective", "Land o'Cotton", "Rodeo Round-up", "Bad Actor", "A Dog Named Barney", "Sky Robbers", "Bounty Hunters", and "Dead Giveaway", his last appearance having been on March 1, 1959. The series filmed 72 total episodes. Mitchell was one of the Silver Riders, expert equestrians who appeared in parades throughout the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. In his later years, Mitchell managed several ranches he owned in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. He died in 1988 at the age of 77 of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

caused by a fall from a ladder in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

, where he had resided. Mitchell was married and had two sons.

Partial filmography

*''Shades of Gray'' (1948) - U.S. Army Soldier *''Life of St. Paul Series'' (1949) - James the Just *''

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

'' (1950) - Elroy *'' The Last Outpost'' (1951) - Maj. Riordan (uncredited) *''

Francis Goes to the Races ''Francis Goes to the Races'' is a 1951 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Arthur Lubin, that stars Donald O'Connor, Piper Laurie, and Cecil Kellaway. The distinctive ...

'' (1951) - Board Member (uncredited) *'' I'll See You in My Dreams'' (1951) - Doctor (uncredited) *'' Rancho Notorious'' (1952) - Suitor (uncredited) *''

Without Warning! ''Without Warning!'' is a 1952 American film noir crime film directed by Arnold Laven and starring Adam Williams, Meg Randall, and Ed Binns. The film is shot in a semidocumentary style with police procedural voice-over narration in parts. ''W ...

'' (1952) - Mr. Kent (uncredited) *'' Sudden Fear'' (1952) - Bridge Party Guest (uncredited) *'' Horizons West'' (1952) - Poker Player (uncredited) *''

Springfield Rifle The term Springfield rifle may refer to any one of several types of small arms produced by the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the United States armed forces. In modern usage, the term "Springfield rifle" most commonly ref ...

'' (1952) - Capt. Spencer (uncredited) *'' Above and Beyond'' (1952) - Gen. Kenneth Bonner Wolfe (uncredited) *''

The Blazing Forest ''The Blazing Forest'' is a 1952 American lumberjack adventure film directed by Edward Ludwig and written by Lewis R. Foster and Winston Miller. The film stars John Payne, William Demarest, Agnes Moorehead, Richard Arlen, Susan Morrow, Ros ...

'' (1952) - Walt, a Ranger *'' Winning of the West'' (1953) - Ranger Captain Tom Hickson (uncredited) *'' Those Redheads from Seattle'' (1953) - Mr. Fawcett (uncredited) *'' Drums Across the River'' (1954) - The Colonel (uncredited) *'' Black Horse Canyon'' (1954) - Sheriff *'' Man Without a Star'' (1955) - Ben Johnson (uncredited) *'' The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell'' (1955) - Court-Martial Judge (uncredited) *'' Behind the High Wall'' (1956) - Judge Robert Pryor (uncredited) *''

Band of Angels ''Band of Angels'' is a 1957 American psychological drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the 1955 novel of the same title by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo and Sid ...

'' (1957) - Old Gentleman (uncredited) *''

'' (1958) - Episode "Gratitude" *''

Gunman's Walk ''Gunman's Walk'' is a 1958 American CinemaScope Western (genre), Western film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Van Heflin and Tab Hunter. Plot Davy Hackett (James Darren) and his hot-tempered, arrogant older brother Ed (Tab Hunter) are ab ...

'' (1958) - Mr. Johnson (uncredited) *'' The Gunfight at Dodge City'' (1959) - Townsman (uncredited)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Ewing 1910 births 1988 deaths American male television actors American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American baritones Male actors from Charleston, South Carolina Ranchers from California Male actors from Los Angeles People from La Jolla, San Diego Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in California 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers Western (genre) television actors