James Mitchell (actor) - Television Career

Television Career

On television, Mitchell was considerably more active, especially in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In addition to working regularly as a dancer, he played dramatic roles in a number of television films and prime-time series, as well as in the anthologies that were once so popular, such as Play of the Week, Gruen Guild Playhouse, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. In 1964, he took his first contract role on a soap opera in The Edge of Night, as the corrupt Capt. Lloyd Griffin; this was followed by the entire run of Where the Heart Is (1969–73), in which he played the male lead, Julian Hathaway. During the late 1970s, he was a guest star on Lou Grant and Charlie's Angels.

However, after Mack & Mabel flopped in 1974, Mitchell's performing career nearly ended altogether. He earned a BA from Empire State College and an MFA from Goddard College in order to teach full-time at the college level, and taught movement for actors at Juilliard, Yale University, and Drake University.

After a few years of almost no work—he once summed up the 1970s as "I cried and did a lot of gardening"--he was hired in 1979 for his best-known role, self-made millionaire Palmer Cortlandt on ABC's long-running soap opera "All My Children." Initially hired for only one year, he remained on contract through 2009. His final appearance as a contract player was September 19, 2008, although his retirement was not made official until September 30, 2009. On January 4, 2010, he appeared briefly on the 40th anniversary celebration. He died a few weeks later, at the age of 89. The show aired a tribute to Mitchell on April 20, 2010, stating that Palmer Cortlandt had suffered a heart attack during the previous night. The episode aired scenes and memories from the show and cast covering the near 30 years of Palmer's life in Pine Valley.