Gordon Mitchell was born "Charles Pendleton" in Colorado and served his country in both World War II and the Korean War (during which he was briefly a POW). Afterward he worked as a teacher in inner city schools in California and got heavily involved in personal fitness and bodybuilding. He became friends with Joe Gold (of Gold's Gym), joining Mae West's comedy act as one of her "strongmen" who would carry her on and off the stage. During this time he also found himself in demand as an extra in several Hollywood films including "Lil Abner", "The Enemy Below", and "The Ten Commandments" (in which he and Joe Gold bring Moses to Ramsey's court in chains). When the Peplum craze began in Italy and his fellow Muscle Beach star Steve Reeves became a huge star. Gordon (along with Reg Park, Mark Forrest, Brad Harris, Mickey Hargitay, and Richard Harrison) similarly jumped on the bandwagon and headed to Italy to find stardom and financially greener pastures. Thanks to his unconventional appearance (small, sharp eyes and craggy face) and enthusiasm for his work, Mitchell found himself one of the most in-demand performers in Italy's Sword & Sandal craze of the early 60's, working with several top directors including Marino Girolami, Alberto De Martino, and Michele Lupo. Unlike most of his peers who left Italy once the genre ran its course, Mitchell stayed on to play villains in numerous Spaghetti Westerns, Giallos, War Films, and Science Fiction movies. He also had a small but key role in the Elizabeth Taylor / Marlon Brandon vehicle "Reflections in a Golden Eye" (1967) during this time though perhaps his most prestigious role would be the rogue who helps the two protagonists kidnap the noble in Fellini's "Satyricon" (1969). Mitchell used his extra cash to buy and build his own movie studio (Cave Studios) which he single-handedly constructed outside of Rome. It went largely unused except by ultra-low budget director Demofilo Fidani who would often cast Mitchell as well. In the late 1980's when the Italian genre film industry had basically self-destructed, unable to compete with American films even for video rentals, Mitchell packed his bags and moved back to California. Once home, he re-teamed with old friend Joe Gold to manage World Gym, at which Mitchell acted as COO and lived at the top floor of its headquarters in Marina Del Rey. Continuing for years to act in low budget films purely for the fun of it, Mitchell passed away in his sleep at age 80 in 2003. Having just won the California recall election the day prior, Arnold Schwarzenegger took time out of his busy schedule to pay his respects at Mitchell's Memorial Service at the World Gym Headquarters along with many other bodybuilders who credit Mitchell with getting them into their careers.
Movie | Uomini forti | 2006-10-09 | |
Movie | Malevolence | Don Fabrizio De Martino | 2004-06-18 |
Movie | An Enraged New World | General Murchison | 2002-03-28 |
Movie | Kino kolossal - Herkules, Maciste & Co | Self | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | Bikini Drive-In | Goliath | 1995-04-08 |
Movie | The Alien Within | Dan Thorn | 1990-01-01 |
Series | I promessi sposi | Don Gonzalo | 1989-11-12 |
Movie | Overdose | Costa | 1989-12-08 |
Movie | The Little Mermaid | Additional Voices (voice) | 1989-11-17 |
Movie | SFX Retaliator | Morgan | 1988-02-01 |
Movie | Blood Delirium | Hermann | 1988-08-08 |
Movie | Commando Invasion | 1987-01-01 | |
Movie | Cross of the Seven Jewels | Black Mass Leader | 1987-04-30 |
Movie | The Mines of Kilimanjaro | Rolf | 1986-07-31 |
Movie | Cobra Mission | Col. Mortimer | 1986-07-31 |
Movie | Three Men on Fire | 1986-11-04 | |
Movie | She | Hector | 1984-05-15 |
Movie | White Fire | Olaf | 1984-07-05 |
Movie | Secret Force | 1983-01-01 | |
Movie | Rush | Yor | 1983-10-28 |
Movie | Endgame | Col. Morgan | 1983-11-05 |
Movie | Se tutto va bene siamo rovinati | Jack Volpetti | 1983-12-29 |
Movie | Curse of the Red Butterfly | Brado | 1982-01-01 |
Movie | Diamond Connection | Abdul Pascha | 1982-01-01 |
Series | Marco Polo | Arnolfo, Jailer | 1982-12-05 |
Movie | The Yellow Panther | killer | 1982-11-19 |
Movie | Trois filles dans le vent | Gordon Mitchell | 1981-03-11 |
Movie | Nightfall | 1981-10-31 | |
Movie | The Doctor Prefers Sailors | killer russo | 1981-12-01 |
Movie | The Iron Hand of the Mafia | Don Nicola | 1980-01-01 |
Movie | Fever of 40! | Mr. Temple | 1980-01-01 |
Movie | Emmanuelle: Queen of Sados | Robert | 1980-02-01 |
Movie | Umbrella Coup | Moskovitz, le tueur à gages | 1980-10-08 |
Movie | Holocaust 2 | Felix Oppenheimer | 1980-04-10 |
Movie | Santa Lucia | Amerikaner | 1979-01-01 |
Movie | A Very Special Woman | Gordon | 1979-04-01 |
Movie | Strategy for a Mission of Death | Paul | 1979-06-26 |
Movie | Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot | Pretorius | 1979-08-31 |
Movie | Operation Orient | Haine | 1978-04-25 |
Movie | White Fang and the Kid | Morgan | 1978-12-15 |
Movie | Natascha - Todesgrüße aus Moskau | Gooming | 1977-05-13 |
Movie | Achtung! The Desert Tigers | Kommandant von Stolzen | 1977-01-15 |
Movie | Oil | Joe | 1977-02-28 |
Movie | Special Squad Shoots on Sight | David | 1976-04-01 |
Movie | Four for All | Margherito | 1975-01-31 |
Movie | Seven Savage Men | Cooper | 1975-03-29 |
Movie | The Skin Under the Claws | Professor Helmut | 1975-05-10 |
Movie | Two .38 Magnums for a City of Carrion | Renato Proietti | 1975-10-02 |
Movie | The Tiger From the River Kwai | Jack Mason | 1975-09-23 |
Movie | The Man from Chicago | Mike | 1975-07-10 |
Movie | Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks | Igor | 1974-02-19 |
Movie | The Sewer Rats | Gordon | 1974-06-05 |
Movie | Little Godfather from Hong Kong | 1974-06-28 | |
Movie | The Household | General Von Werner | 1974-10-04 |
Movie | Anything for a Friend | Miller | 1973-02-18 |
Movie | Slaughter Day | Gordon | 1973-01-01 |
Movie | My Darling Slave | Von Thirac | 1973-10-04 |
Movie | His Colt, Himself, His Revenge | Martin | 1973-12-19 |
Movie | The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe | Burying Sam | 1973-12-28 |
Movie | Once Upon a Time in the Wild, Wild West | Mike | 1973-10-17 |
Movie | From the Archives of the Criminal Police | Peter Wilcox | 1973-12-18 |
Movie | The Big Bust Out | El Kadir | 1972-05-25 |
Movie | My Name Is Texas Bill | Martin | 1972-05-27 |
Movie | A Gunman Called Dakota | Dakota | 1972-03-05 |
Movie | The French Sex Murders | Man in nightclub | 1972-06-15 |
Movie | Go Away! Trinity Has Arrived in Eldorado | Jonathan Duke | 1972-11-12 |
Movie | Frankenstein '80 | Dr. Otto Frankenstein | 1972-12-12 |
Movie | Coffin Full of Dollars | John Hamilton | 1971-04-01 |
Movie | Finders Killers | Chris Forest | 1971-03-27 |
Movie | Io non spezzo... rompo | Joe il Rosso | 1971-01-21 |
Movie | Down with Your Hands... You Scum! | Buck/Butch Bradley | 1971-08-21 |
Movie | Tre nel mille | 1971-03-06 | |
Movie | Adios Compañeros | Ironhead | 1971-04-17 |
Movie | His Name Was Pot, but They Called Him Allegria | Ray Potter | 1971-11-26 |
Movie | Angel's Leap | Henry Di Fusco | 1971-09-21 |
Movie | Savage Guns | Gordon Mitchell | 1971-11-25 |
Movie | Day of Judgment | Deputy | 1971-09-09 |
Movie | Let's Go And Kill Sartana | Greg "The Crazy Person" | 1971-09-06 |
Movie | The Arizona Kid | Coyote | 1970-09-05 |
Movie | Django and Sartana Are Coming... It's the End | Black Burt Keller / Burt Kelly | 1970-11-14 |
Movie | Dead Men Don't Make Shadows | Roger Murdock | 1970-11-27 |
Movie | The Wings of War | 1969-01-01 | |
Movie | Fellini Satyricon | Il predone | 1969-09-18 |
Movie | Lisa with the Blue Eyes | Football player | 1969-12-23 |
Movie | I Am Sartana Your Angel of Death | Degueyo | 1969-11-20 |
Movie | Beyond the Law | Burton | 1968-04-10 |
Movie | Cheers... Cyanide! | Al Rubino | 1968-04-04 |
Movie | I'll Die for Vengeance | Clayton | 1968-03-10 |
Movie | Phenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankamen | Gregory Falco | 1968-03-04 |
Movie | The Killer Likes Candy | Toni | 1968-04-12 |
Movie | Cry of Death | Donkey / Morgan Pitt | 1968-11-21 |
Movie | Seven Times Seven | Big Ben | 1968-04-25 |
Movie | Dead for a Dollar | Roy Fulton | 1968-08-17 |
Movie | Radhapura – Endstation der Verdammten | Alfredo | 1968-07-25 |
Movie | All on the Red | Erikson | 1968-05-25 |
Movie | Born to Kill | Rod Gordon | 1967-06-15 |
Movie | The Crazy Westerners | Häuptling Sitzender Büffel | 1967-08-11 |
Movie | Tutto Totò - Totò Ciak | Ringo | 1967-06-07 |
Movie | John the Bastard | Danite | 1967-11-16 |
Movie | Death on the Run | The Albanian | 1967-10-09 |
Movie | Reflections in a Golden Eye | Stables Sergeant | 1967-10-13 |
Movie | Thompson 1880 | Glenn Sheppard | 1966-10-13 |
Movie | Three Bullets for Ringo | Frank | 1966-03-16 |
Movie | Star Pilot | Murdu | 1966-10-01 |
Movie | Kill or Be Killed | Baltimore Joe/Ringo | 1966-11-01 |
Movie | È mezzanotte... butta giù il cadavere | Van Himst | 1966-12-23 |
Movie | L'Estate | Self | 1966-11-17 |
Movie | Hercules and the Princess of Troy | Pirate Captain | 1965-03-08 |
Movie | The Stone Forest | Hunding | 1965-06-13 |
Movie | Lady Morgan's Vengeance | Roger | 1965-12-16 |
Movie | Erik the Viking | Sven | 1965-09-24 |
Movie | Seven Slaves Against the World | Balisten | 1964-08-28 |
Movie | The Revenge of the Gladiators | Arminio | 1964-09-24 |
Movie | Ali Baba and the Seven Saracens | Omar | 1964-12-18 |
Movie | Brennus, Enemy of Rome | Brenno | 1963-12-23 |
Movie | Caesar Against the Pirates | Hamar | 1962-04-23 |
Movie | Kerim, Son of the Sheik | Yussuf | 1962-06-29 |
Movie | Vulcan, Son of Giove | Pluto | 1962-03-16 |
Movie | Invasion 1700 | Ulrich | 1962-07-14 |
Movie | The Fury of Achilles | Achilles | 1962-09-23 |
Movie | The Centurion | General Metellus | 1961-10-20 |
Movie | Atlas Against the Cyclops | Maciste | 1961-03-29 |
Movie | The Giant of Metropolis | Obro | 1961-10-25 |
Movie | Spartacus | Gladiator (uncredited) | 1960-10-13 |
Movie | Rio Bravo | Bar Cowboy Watching Fistfight (uncredited) | 1959-03-18 |
Movie | Around the World in Eighty Days | Extra (uncredited) | 1956-10-17 |
Movie | The Man with the Golden Arm | 1955-12-26 |