Gordon Mitchell

Gordon Mitchell is an actor whose bodybuilder physique won him roles in dozens of Italian genre films. Mitchell's family moved from Denver to Inglewood, California, when he was 14, where he got interesting in weightlifting. He served in the military during World War II, and was sent to a prison camp after his capture during the Battle of the Bulge. After his discharge, he became involved with the bodybuilding scene around Muscle Beach in the mid 1950s, making occasional appearances as an extra in films including the biblical epic "The Ten Commandments" and the gladiator drama "Spartacus." After the Italian production "Hercules" became an international hit in 1958, Mitchell sent his photo to an Italian film producer, who signed Mitchell to play the lead in the 1961 adventure film "Atlas Against the Cyclops," making him a star in Italy. Mitchell was a hero and villain in numerous Italian sand-and-sandal films, and in the late '60s Mitchell remained in demand in the Italian spaghetti-western genre. Standouts from the era include two films with greater artistic ambitions, the 1967 John Huston film "Reflections in a Golden Eye" with Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, and the 1969 Fellini drama "Fellini Satyricon." Through the 1970s and '80s, Mitchell worked steadily in various types of genre films, including Mafia dramas, horror films, and sexploitation cinema. Mitchell continued to act up to his death at age 80. His funeral was attended by stars of the bodybuilding circuit, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno.