Brian Stokes Mitchell

Brian Stokes Mitchell
Born (1957-10-31) October 31, 1957
Seattle, Washington
Occupation Actor, composer, vocalist
Years active 1979–present
Spouse(s) Allyson Tucker (1994–present)
Children Ellington Mitchell (son)
Website www.brianstokes.com

Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American stage, film and television actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theatre since the early 1990s. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 for his performance in Kiss Me, Kate.

Career

Mitchell was born in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of four children of George Mitchell, an electronics engineer, and his wife Lillian, a school administrator. Mitchell grew up at various U.S. military bases overseas, where his father was a civilian engineer for the U.S. Navy. As a teenager, he lived in San Diego, California, where he began acting in school musicals.[1] Prior to Ragtime, he was known professionally as Brian Mitchell.

Mitchell's Broadway credits include Mail (1988), an all-black revival of George and Ira Gershwin's Oh, Kay! (1990), Jelly's Last Jam (1992) based on the works of jazz artist Jelly Roll Morton, Kander and Ebb's Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993), Ragtime (1998) (Tony Award nomination), the 1999 revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate (Tony Award), King Hedley II (2001) (Tony Award nomination) and Man of La Mancha (2002) (Tony Award nomination).

He appeared in the New York City Center Encores! staged concert productions of Jule Styne's Do Re Mi (1999), Bob Merrill's Carnival! (2002), Kismet (2006) and The Band Wagon in 2014.[2]

He played the title role in the 2002 Kennedy Center production of Sweeney Todd, part of the Stephen Sondheim celebration.[3][4]

Mitchell has a number of television and film credits, including the role of John Dolan in Roots: The Next Generations (1979), and a seven-year stint as Dr. Justin 'Jackpot' Jackson on Trapper John, M.D. from 1979 to 1986. Mitchell made several appearances as a celebrity panelist on episodes of $25,000 Pyramid and $100,000 Pyramid in the 1980s, and was considered one of the game's better celebrity players.[5][6] He played recurring roles as Hilary Banks' news anchor fiancé Trevor Newsworthy/Collins on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and on Frasier as Dr. Frasier Crane's upstairs neighbor and nemesis Cam Winston. He supplied the singing voice of Jethro in the animated feature The Prince of Egypt (1998). He guest starred in March 2010 in Ugly Betty as Wilhelmina Slater's ex-boyfriend, Don.[7]

Marquee outside the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas, promoting the September 1, 2011 appearance of Brian Stokes Mitchell in concert.

He has also done voice-overs for animation including Animaniacs, Capitol Critters, Tiny Toon Adventures, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Kid 'n Play, The New Kids on the Block, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Gravedale High, Potsworth & Co., Captain Planet and the Planeteers, The Tom and Jerry Kids Show, Yo Yogi!, Fantastic Max, Pound Puppies, The Addams Family, California Raisins, The Angry Beavers, James Bond Jr., Batman: The Animated Series, Paddington Bear, Pinky and the Brain, Defenders of Dynatron City, The Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats, Droopy, Master Detective, Denver, the Last Dinosaur, Mighty Max, Don Coyote & Sancho Panda and the two Flintstones animated movies Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby and I Yabba-Dabba Do!.

On June 9, 2005, Mitchell appeared in a concert version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, at Carnegie Hall. He starred as Emile, alongside Reba McEntire as Nellie Forbush and Alec Baldwin as Luther Billis. The production was taped and telecast by PBS on April 26, 2006.

His debut solo CD Brian Stokes Mitchell was released on June 6, 2006 on Playbill Records. [8] Mitchell has also performed in a Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir later released as a CD and DVD entitled Ring Christmas Bells. His second solo CD, "Simply Broadway," was released October 30, 2012, by CD Baby.

In the fall of 2010, Mitchell returned to Broadway to star along with Patti LuPone in the musical version of the Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.[9]

He appeared on the 57th episode of Glee, titled "Heart," (2012)[10] and the 58th, entitled "On My Way," as one of Rachel's dads (LeRoy) along with Jeff Goldblum.

He has been cast in a recurring role on the USA Network series Mr. Robot as Scott Knowles, CTO of Evil Corp. The series began in June 2015.[11]

A new musical based on the making of Shuffle Along is scheduled to open on Broadway on March 14, 2016 in previews, officially on April 21 at the Music Box Theatre. The musical is titled Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. It is expected to star Audra McDonald as Lottie Gee, and to feature Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Joshua Henry and Brandon Victor Dixon.[12]

He is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Actor's Fund of America, having been elected in 2004.[13][14]

Personal life

He has been married to actress Allyson Tucker since 1994 [15] and has a son, Ellington.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Brian Stokes Mitchell, June 6, 2006
Track listing
  1. Something's Coming (West Side Story)
  2. The Best Is Yet to Come (Cy Coleman)
  3. Pretty Women (Sweeney Todd)
  4. Just In Time (Bells are Ringing)
  5. Lazy Afternoon (The Golden Apple)
  6. Another Hundred People (Company)/Take the A Train
  7. How Long Has This Been Going On? (Funny Face)
  8. Life is Sweet (Wonderful Town)
  9. Losing My Mind (Follies)
  10. Being Alive (Company)
  11. How Glory Goes (Floyd Collins)
  12. Grateful

References

  1. ↑ Zoglin, Richard. "From Coalhouse to Cole Porter", November 1999, Time magazine, accessed January 25, 2010
  2. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Tony Winner Brian Stokes Mitchell Hops on City Center's 'The Band Wagon', Beginning Tonight" playbill.com, November 6, 2014
  3. ↑ "Special Events, Concerts, and Benefit Performances" sondheimguide.com, accessed August 10, 2015
  4. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "D.C.'s Sondheim Celebration Ends as Night Music Closes Aug. 25" playbill.com, August 25, 2002
  5. ↑ "The New $25,000 Pyramid - Frank/Cindy 1/3". YouTube.com. March 18, 1983.
  6. ↑ "$100,000 Pyramid - Brian Mitchell". YouTube.com. October 1986.
  7. ↑ Abrams, Natalie (January 25, 2010). "Ugly Betty Casts Tony Winner as Willie's Ex". TVGuide.com.
  8. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Playbill Records' "Brian Stokes Mitchell" CD Hits Stores June 6" playbill.com, playbill.com, June 6, 2006
  9. ↑ Hetrick, Adam (July 26, 2010). "Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sherie Rene Scott Cast in Broadway's Women on the Verge". Playbill.com.
  10. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Brian Stokes Mitchell and Jeff Goldblum Are Lea Michele's Gay Dads on 'Glee' " playbill.com, January 18, 2012
  11. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Brian Stokes Mitchell Lands Recurring Role in New TV Series" playbill.com, May 2015
  12. ↑ Purcell, Carey. "Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald Will Reunite on Broadway in Shuffle Along, Billy Porter Joins Them", Playbill.com, August 9, 2015
  13. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Brian Stokes Mitchell Elected Actors' Fund President" playbill.com, May 24, 2004
  14. ↑ "Chairmen" actorsfund.org, accessed August 10, 2015
  15. ↑ "Weddings; Brian Mitchell and Allyson Tucker" The New York Times, September 4, 1994

External links

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