Duke Mitchell

Duke Mitchell
Mitchell (left) opposite Sammy Petrillo in Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla.
Born	Dominic Miceli (1926-05-26)May 26, 1926 Farrell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	December 2, 1981(1981-12-02) (aged 55) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Lung cancer
Occupation	Singer, actor, director

Duke Mitchell (May 9, 1926 – December 2, 1981) was an American film actor, slapstick comedian, crooner and independent film director of 1970s gangster movies starring himself. Mitchell often performed his nightclub act in and around Palm Springs, California and anointed himself the "King of Palm Springs."

Mitchell was born Dominic Salvatore Miceli in Farrell, Pennsylvania. In 1951, he teamed with teenaged comic Sammy Petrillo for a nightclub act. Mitchell's cabaret-style crooning and Petrillo's manic, rubber-faced clowning bore more than a passing resemblance to the popular team of Martin and Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, whom Mitchell and Petrillo physically resembled), which led to Lewis taking legal action. The suit was later dismissed.

Movie producer Jack Broder intended to star Mitchell and Petrillo in a feature-length comedy. Petrillo later recalled his suspicion that Broder never really intended to make the film: Broder expected Paramount Pictures to pay him off, but when Paramount dropped the lawsuit, Broder had to follow through. The resulting film was Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, a jungle-themed comedy. Mitchell had a small appearance in the Martin and Lewis film Sailor Beware (1952).

After Mitchell and Petrillo parted ways, Mitchell stayed in show business, performing at nightclubs in New York, Las Vegas, Seattle, Palm Springs, Chicago (opening for his friend Lenny Bruce), and The Cloisters, Crescendo and Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and began directing self-financed independent films such as Massacre Mafia Style (1974) and Gone with the Pope (1976), which have since developed a cult following. In 1960, Mitchell provided the singing voice of Fred Flintstone for his friends William Hanna and Joseph Barbera on the The Flintstones episodes "Hot Lips Hannigan" and "Girls' Night Out".