Warren Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 Mitchell in 1978 | |
| Born | Warren Misell (1926-01-14)14 January 1926 Stoke Newington,London, England |
| Died | 14 November 2015(2015-11-14) (aged 89) Hampstead, London, England |
| Alma mater | University College, Oxford Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1951–2015 |
| Notable work | See below |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Warren Mitchell (bornWarren Misell;[1] 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was an English actor best known for playing bigotedcockneyAlf Garnett in television, film and stage productions from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was aBAFTA TV Award winner and twice aLaurence Olivier Award winner.
In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmesEducating Archie andHancock's Half Hour. He also performed minor roles in several films. In the 1960s, he rose to prominence in the role of Alf Garnett in theBBC television sitcomTill Death Us Do Part (1965–75), created byJohnny Speight, which won him aBest TV ActorBAFTA in 1967. He reprised the role in the television sequelsTill Death... (ATV, 1981) andIn Sickness and in Health (BBC, 1985–92), and in the filmsTill Death Us Do Part (1969) andThe Alf Garnett Saga (1972).
Mitchell's other film appearances includeThree Crooked Men (1958),Carry On Cleo (1964),The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965),The Assassination Bureau (1969) andNorman Loves Rose (1982). He held both British and Australian citizenship[2] and enjoyed considerable success in stage performances in both countries, winning Olivier Awards in 1979 forDeath of a Salesman and in 2004 forThe Price.
Mitchell was born and raised inStoke Newington, London. His father was a glass and china merchant. His family wereRussian Jews[3] (originally called "Misell").[4]
Mitchell was interested in acting from an early age and attended Gladys Gordon's Academy of Dramatic Arts inWalthamstow from the age of seven. He did well at Southgate County School (which becameMinchenden School),[5] a state grammar school atPalmers Green,North London. He then studied physical chemistry atUniversity College, Oxford, as aRoyal Air Force cadet student[6] on a six-month university short course which the armed services sponsored for potential officers.[7] There he met his contemporary,Richard Burton, and together they joined the RAF in October 1944.[8] He completed his navigator training in Canada just as theSecond World War ended.[9]
Richard Burton's description of the acting profession had convinced him that it would be better than completing his chemistry degree and so Mitchell attendedRADA for two years, performing in the evening with London'sUnity Theatre.[citation needed] After a short stint as a DJ onRadio Luxembourg, in 1951, Mitchell became a versatile professional actor with straight and comedy roles on stage, radio, film and television. His first broadcast was as a regular on the radio showEducating Archie, and this led to appearances in both the radio and television versions ofHancock's Half Hour.[citation needed]
By the late 1950s, Mitchell regularly appeared on television. These roles includedSean Connery's trainer in boxing dramaRequiem for a Heavyweight (1957), withCharlie Drake in the sitcomDrake's Progress (BBC, 1957) and a title role inThree 'Tough' Guys (ITV, 1957), in which he played a bungling criminal. He also appeared in several episodes ofArmchair Theatre. During the first of these,Underground (1958), one of the lead actors died during the live performance.[10] He also had roles inThe Avengers in addition to manyITC drama series including:William Tell,The Four Just Men,Sir Francis Drake,Danger Man and as a recurrent guest inThe Saint, as in the second episode of the first season, "The Latin Touch" in 1962, depicting an Italian taxi driver.[9]
Mitchell's cinema début was inGuy Hamilton'sManuela (1957), and he began a career of minor roles as sinister foreign agents, assisted by his premature baldness and facility withEastern European accents. He appeared inThe Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), the Hammer horrorThe Curse of the Werewolf (1961),Carry On Cleo (1964),Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? (Gerry Levy, 1964), andHelp! (Richard Lester, 1965) and played leads inAll the Way Up (James MacTaggart, 1970),The Chain (Jack Gold, 1984),The Dunera Boys (Ben Lewin, 1985) andForeign Body (Ronald Neame, 1986).[9]
In 1965, Mitchell was cast in the role for which he became best known, as theConservative-voting, bigotedcockneyWest Ham United supporterAlf Garnett in a play for the BBCComedy Playhouse series, broadcast on 22 July 1965. This was the pilot edition of the long-running seriesTill Death Us Do Part, withGretchen Franklin,Una Stubbs andAnthony Booth. The part of Mum, played by Franklin, was recast withDandy Nichols in the role when the programme was commissioned as a series.[11] Mitchell's real life persona was different from Alf Garnett, being Jewish,Labour-voting and a staunch supporter ofTottenham Hotspur. The show ran from 1966 to 1975, in seven series, making a total of 53 30-minute episodes. While the series aimed to satiriseracism, it actually also gained the support of many bigoted racists who perceived Alf as "the voice of reason".[12]
Mitchell reprised the role of Alf Garnett in the filmsTill Death Us Do Part (1969) andThe Alf Garnett Saga (1972), in theATV seriesTill Death... (1981), and in the BBC seriesIn Sickness and in Health (1985–92). He also reprised his role as Alf Garnett in 1983 in the television seriesThe Main Attraction where comedians recreated their famous acts from their past in front of a live and television audience (similar toAn Audience with... that began in 1976). In 1997 he played the role inAn Audience with Alf Garnett. The same year, ITV aired a series of mini-episodes calledA Word With Alf, featuring Alf and his friends. All the TV shows and both films were written byJohnny Speight. When Speight died in 1998, the character of Alf Garnett was retired at Mitchell's request.
Mitchell had a long and distinguished career on stage and television. Other small screen roles included a 13-episode series,Men of Affairs withBrian Rix (ITV, 1973–74), based on theWest End hitfarceDon't Just Lie There, Say Something! There were also performances in 1975 inPlay for Today (showing that he could play a serious character role in the episode,Moss[13]), as William Wardle, a crooked accountant inThe Sweeney episodeBig Spender (Thames Television forITV, 1978),Lovejoy (BBC),Waking the Dead (BBC),Kavanagh QC (Central Television forITV, he played a concentration camp survivor in the episodeAncient History),[14] asShylock inThe Merchant of Venice (BBC, 1980) andGormenghast (BBC, 2000). In 1991 he starred as Ivan Fox, a Jewish atheist from London living in Belfast inSo You Think You've Got Troubles, aBBC One comedy series written byMaurice Gran andLaurence Marks.[15]
In 2001, Mitchell appeared in a Christmas Special episode ofLast of the Summer Wine, "Potts in Pole Position".[citation needed]
Mitchell was a subject of the television programmeThis Is Your Life in 1972 when he was surprised byEamonn Andrews.
On stage, Mitchell received extensive critical acclaim for his performances asWilly Loman inArthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman at theNational Theatre directed byMichael Rudman (1979, being originally cast in the role byStephen Barry at thePlayhouse inPerth, Australia);[16]Harold Pinter'sThe Caretaker at theNational Theatre; Pinter'sThe Homecoming at London'sComedy Theatre (1991) and Miller'sThe Price at theApollo Theatre in 2003.[17][18][19]
Mitchell had a number of musical roles in his lengthy career, beginning with the role of Theophile in the original London production ofCan-Can and the small role of Crookfinger Jake inThe Threepenny Opera. He also sang briefly in the filmTill Death Do Us Part and played Alfred Doolittle on the studio album ofMy Fair Lady, Music Hall Songs, songs of theFirst World War, and other recordings such asThe Writing's on the Wall, from 1967, on CBS, all in the Alf Garnett persona, were released in LP and 45 rpm single form, too, in Britain and Australia.
In 2008, at the age of 82, Mitchell was performing alongsideRoss Gardiner at theTrafalgar Studios, in London'sWest End, as a retired dry-cleaner inJeff Baron's portrait of Jewish-American lifeVisiting Mr. Green.[20][21]
In 1976, Mitchell's one-man showThe Thoughts of Chairman Alf won theEvening Standard Theatre Award for best comedy in London's West End.[22] In 1982, he received anAustralian Film Institute Award for best supporting actor in the filmNorman Loves Rose.[23] He received twoLaurence Olivier Theatre Awards: for playingWilly Loman inArthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman (National Theatre, 1979) and as best supporting actor in a 2003 performance ofThe Price, also by Miller.[2][9] His role inDeath of a Salesman also won him anEvening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor[24] and was highly praised byPeter Hall. Miller reportedly described Mitchell's performance as "one of the best interpretations of the part he had ever seen."[21]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actor | Till Death Us Do Part | Won | [25] |
| 1979 | Olivier Award | Actor of the Year in a Revival | Death of a Salesman | Won | [26] |
| Evening Standard Theatre Awards[24] | Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor | Won | |||
| 1981 | Olivier Award | Actor of the Year in a Revival | The Caretaker | Nominated | [27] |
| 1982 | AACTA Award (AFI) | Best Supporting Actor | Norman Loves Rose | Won | |
| 1991 | Olivier Award | Actor of the Year | The Homecoming | Nominated | [28] |
| 2004 | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | The Price | Won | [29] |
Mitchell described himself in an interview as anatheist, but also stated that he "enjoy[ed] being Jewish".[30] He was a patron of theBritish Humanist Association.[31] In 1951, he married Constance Wake,[32] an actress who appeared in early 1960s television dramas such asMaigret. They had three children[20][33]
For over 20 years, Mitchell suffered pain from nerve damage, caused bytransverse myelitis, and was a supporter of theNeuropathy Trust.[34][35][36] He suffered a mildstroke in August 2004. He was back on stage a week later, reprising his lauded role as a cantankerous old Jew inArthur Miller'sThe Price.[37]
In sharp contrast to his signature Alf Garnett character, who was a staunchConservative, Mitchell was a socialist andLabour Party supporter. He believed that the2010 Labour Party leadership election had a lack of firebrands.[38]
Mitchell died aged 89, at theRoyal Free Hospital inHampstead, London, on 14 November 2015, following a long illness.[1][34]
