Noted Jazz Bassist, Award-winning Television Writer/Producer and Author, Gordon Whitey Mitchell Loses brave battle with cancer on January 17th, 2009 at age 76 PALM DESERT -- Veteran jazz bassist, award winning television comedy writer, producer and author, Gordon Whitey Mitchell (Feb. 22, 1932 Jan. 17, 2009) has passed away on January 17th, at the age of seventy-six following a heroic two and a half year battle with cancer. He died at his beloved Palm Desert home with Marilyn, his wife of thirty-seven years and his three daughters (Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, Karen Mitchell and Michele Mitchell) by his side. Whitey is also survived by his son-in law, Terry Clarke; Paul Canzano (life partner of daughter Michele); nephews Rick Mitchell, Alan Zolnekoff and Martin and Erik Alfzelius as well as five grandchildren: William and Joseph Newkirk, Kristopher and Kyle Clarke and Karlee Grace Balkan. Whiteys late son, talented jazz saxophonist Brian Mitchell pre-deceased him by six years and Whiteys late older brother, iconic jazz bassist Red Mitchell also pre-deceased him by sixteen years. There will be a private Celebration of the life of Gordon Whitey Mitchell on February 7th, between two and five PM at the Desert Falls Country Club in Palm Desert, California. For further information, or personal condolences to Marilyn Mitchell, please e-mail [email protected].
Gordon Brownell Mitchell was born in Hackensack, New Jersey on February 22, 1932. A span of four years separated him from his older sibling, Keith Moore Mitchell. He joined an artistic family, and there was plenty of creative DNA to go around for both boys. Whitey first became interested in bass following several squeaky years on the clarinet. His High School Band teacher desperately needed a Tuba player for the marching band, and Whitey (whod always fancied that bass fiddle), agreed to play the Tuba if he could (in turn) also learn to play the bass. By age fifteen, he was playing professional gigs and jamming with established New York City jazz players who had taken a shine to this eager, young and talented bassist.
Following a brief stint at Syracuse University (where he studied radio and television broadcasting), Whiteys busy career as a musician included touring with Benny Goodman, performing at Carnegie Hall with Gene Krupa and appearances, tours and recordings with a litany of jazz luminaries, including Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie (with Norman Granz Jazz at the Philharmonic), Andre Previn, Jack Jones, Julie London, Anita ODay and Barbra Streisand. During his years as an in-demand session musician in New York City, Whitey played on literally hundreds of early rock n roll recordings, including hits for Dionne Warwick, Gene Pitney, The Four Seasons, Lesley Gore, Little Eva and Ben E. King (which features his memorable bass solo on Bens hit Stand By Me).
Whitey also performed in the pit orchestras for several hit Broadway shows including The Nervous Set starring Louis Nye and Fade-Out, Fade-In, a boffo Carole Burnett vehicle written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
During his New York period, Whitey was also a regular contributor to DownBeat the worlds foremost (and longest running) jazz publication. Following the appearance in the magazine of his clever satirical piece about the perils of egomaniacal Society band leaders (based on his own experiences with the uber-putz, Lester Lanin), Whitey received kudos and encouragement from Lenny Bruce and Andre Previn, and in 1965 he packed up his family (which now included three young children) and re-located to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a screenwriter.
It wasnt long before his writing talent led to a stint as Story Editor on the classic television series, Get Smart, which was followed by more than twenty-five years of success as writer, story editor and producer, contributing to award-winning television shows such as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Mork & Mindy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Odd Couple and many Bob Hope Specials (just to name a few). In 1995, Whitey and his wife Marilyn (a former Production Coordinator) happily moved to Palm Desert, where he continued to write, produce, broadcast, play bass and also his beloved golf. Highlights of this period include hosting his own radio celebrity-driven talk show, The Power Lunch and Co-Producing A Tribute to Benny Goodman for The Annenberg Theatre. Whiteys final recording, Just in Time was released in 2000, and his earlier well-received recordings, Get Those Elephants Out of Here! (featuring Red, Whitey and Blue Mitchell) and The Whitey Mitchell Sextet (featuring Candido Camera, Steve Lacey and Joe Puma) sound fresh and swinging today, and remain essential parts of any serious jazz collection.
In addition to his careers as a musician and comedy writer, Whitey was also the author of two successful books: Star Walk: A Guide to The Palm Springs Walk of Stars, and his recent entertaining autobiography From Hackensack to Hollywood My Two Show Business Careers (available on Amazon.com.). Whitey was also a long-time Board Member of The Palm Springs Walk of Stars organization, and recently received his own star (which is located directly in front of the famed Palm Springs Follies).
One of Whiteys last (and favourite) public performances included a LIVE concert and interview broadcast from the JAZZ FM Studios in Toronto, Canada. The recorded appearance included an insightful in-depth interview by on-air host, Ralph Benmurgui and inspired jazz trio performances featuring Whitey on bass, pianist John Sherwood and drummer Terry Clarke. This concert was originally recorded and aired in Sept. 08, and may be streamed at any time by logging on to jazz.fm.
Gordon Whitey Mitchell appears in six editions of the Whos Who in Music books; Leonard Feathers NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAZZ as well as his short story collection LAUGHTER FROM THE HIP; THE PENGUIN GUIDE TO JAZZ; THE NEW GROVE DICTIONARY; JAZZ - THE ROUGH GUIDE, and THE BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.
In lieu of flowers, The Mitchell Family would appreciate that donations in Whiteys name may be made to The Writers Guild of America Foundation, located at 7000 W. 3rd St. , L.A., CA 90048. For further information, the Los Angeles based chapter of The Guild may be contacted by phone at 323-782-4692, or you may log on to wga.org.
Gordon Brownell Mitchell was born in Hackensack, New Jersey on February 22, 1932. A span of four years separated him from his older sibling, Keith Moore Mitchell. He joined an artistic family, and there was plenty of creative DNA to go around for both boys. Whitey first became interested in bass following several squeaky years on the clarinet. His High School Band teacher desperately needed a Tuba player for the marching band, and Whitey (whod always fancied that bass fiddle), agreed to play the Tuba if he could (in turn) also learn to play the bass. By age fifteen, he was playing professional gigs and jamming with established New York City jazz players who had taken a shine to this eager, young and talented bassist.
Following a brief stint at Syracuse University (where he studied radio and television broadcasting), Whiteys busy career as a musician included touring with Benny Goodman, performing at Carnegie Hall with Gene Krupa and appearances, tours and recordings with a litany of jazz luminaries, including Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie (with Norman Granz Jazz at the Philharmonic), Andre Previn, Jack Jones, Julie London, Anita ODay and Barbra Streisand. During his years as an in-demand session musician in New York City, Whitey played on literally hundreds of early rock n roll recordings, including hits for Dionne Warwick, Gene Pitney, The Four Seasons, Lesley Gore, Little Eva and Ben E. King (which features his memorable bass solo on Bens hit Stand By Me).
Whitey also performed in the pit orchestras for several hit Broadway shows including The Nervous Set starring Louis Nye and Fade-Out, Fade-In, a boffo Carole Burnett vehicle written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
During his New York period, Whitey was also a regular contributor to DownBeat the worlds foremost (and longest running) jazz publication. Following the appearance in the magazine of his clever satirical piece about the perils of egomaniacal Society band leaders (based on his own experiences with the uber-putz, Lester Lanin), Whitey received kudos and encouragement from Lenny Bruce and Andre Previn, and in 1965 he packed up his family (which now included three young children) and re-located to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a screenwriter.
It wasnt long before his writing talent led to a stint as Story Editor on the classic television series, Get Smart, which was followed by more than twenty-five years of success as writer, story editor and producer, contributing to award-winning television shows such as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Mork & Mindy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Odd Couple and many Bob Hope Specials (just to name a few). In 1995, Whitey and his wife Marilyn (a former Production Coordinator) happily moved to Palm Desert, where he continued to write, produce, broadcast, play bass and also his beloved golf. Highlights of this period include hosting his own radio celebrity-driven talk show, The Power Lunch and Co-Producing A Tribute to Benny Goodman for The Annenberg Theatre. Whiteys final recording, Just in Time was released in 2000, and his earlier well-received recordings, Get Those Elephants Out of Here! (featuring Red, Whitey and Blue Mitchell) and The Whitey Mitchell Sextet (featuring Candido Camera, Steve Lacey and Joe Puma) sound fresh and swinging today, and remain essential parts of any serious jazz collection.
In addition to his careers as a musician and comedy writer, Whitey was also the author of two successful books: Star Walk: A Guide to The Palm Springs Walk of Stars, and his recent entertaining autobiography From Hackensack to Hollywood My Two Show Business Careers (available on Amazon.com.). Whitey was also a long-time Board Member of The Palm Springs Walk of Stars organization, and recently received his own star (which is located directly in front of the famed Palm Springs Follies).
One of Whiteys last (and favourite) public performances included a LIVE concert and interview broadcast from the JAZZ FM Studios in Toronto, Canada. The recorded appearance included an insightful in-depth interview by on-air host, Ralph Benmurgui and inspired jazz trio performances featuring Whitey on bass, pianist John Sherwood and drummer Terry Clarke. This concert was originally recorded and aired in Sept. 08, and may be streamed at any time by logging on to jazz.fm.
Gordon Whitey Mitchell appears in six editions of the Whos Who in Music books; Leonard Feathers NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAZZ as well as his short story collection LAUGHTER FROM THE HIP; THE PENGUIN GUIDE TO JAZZ; THE NEW GROVE DICTIONARY; JAZZ - THE ROUGH GUIDE, and THE BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.
In lieu of flowers, The Mitchell Family would appreciate that donations in Whiteys name may be made to The Writers Guild of America Foundation, located at 7000 W. 3rd St. , L.A., CA 90048. For further information, the Los Angeles based chapter of The Guild may be contacted by phone at 323-782-4692, or you may log on to wga.org.
