Mitr Chaibancha

Mitr Chaibancha
The debonair Thai film actor, shown in his Air Force uniform.
Born	Pichet Pumhem (1934-01-28)January 28, 1934 Phetchaburi, Thailand
Died	October 8, 1970(1970-10-08) (aged 36) Jomtien, Thailand
Occupation	Film actor, producer
Years active	1957—1970

Mitr Chaibancha (Thai มิตร ชัยบัญชา (Pronunciation), January 28, 1934 in Phetchaburi, Thailand - October 8, 1970) was a Thai film actor who made 266 films from 1956 to 1970.

He died on October 8, 1970 at Dongtan Beach, Jomtien, Pattaya, after falling from a helicopter during the filming of a stunt for the final scene of Insee thong (Golden Eagle).

At the height of his career in the 1960s, Mitr, along with Petchara Chaowarat, made a string of hit films that packed cinemas. Of the 75 to 100 films produced each year by the Thai film industry during this period, Mitr starred in nearly half of them.

Mitr was born into poverty as Pichet Pumhem. His parents separated when he was an infant. At age 8, Mitr and his mother moved to Bangkok, where he was enrolled in a Thai boxing school. He became the lightweight boxing champion for his school in 1952, and went on to win three lightweight division titles. After finishing secondary school, he studied at Pranakhon College. He was then accepted into the Royal Thai Air Force aviation school, where he was trained as a pilot. After graduation, he worked as a flight instructor at Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base.

In 1956 some friends showed his photograph to journalist Kingkaew Kaewprasert, who introduced him to Surat Pukkawet, the editor of a movie magazine. Before long Mitra starred in his first film, Chart Sua (Tiger Instinct). It was then he decided to change his name from Pichet Pumhem to Mitr Chaibancha. He caught the attention of movie fans after starring in Chao Nakleng (Gangster Lord), using the character name Rom Ritthikrai from author Sake Dusit's Insee Daeng (Red Eagle) series of novels.