Gordon Mitchell

From New York's Birdland, Basin Street East, and the Village Vanguard, Gordon 'Whitey' Mitchell toured with big band greats Benny Goodman and Pete Rugolo. He played Carnegie Hall with Gene Krupa and appeared with Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie on Jazz at the Philharmonic. He worked with Andre Precin, Charlie Ventura, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Jack Jones and recorded with Barbra Streisand and Anita O'Day. He can be heard playing the bass solo introduction on the hit record, Stand By Me. In the mid-60s,Gordon 'Whitey' Mitchell moved to Holywood to become a screenwriter and found work on the Bob Hope Show, All In The Family, Get Smart, The Jeffersons, Mork & Mindy, Mary Tyler Moore, The Odd Couple and many more. He wrote the feature film Private Resort, starring Johnny Depp. In 1995 he and his wife, Marilyn, moved to Palm Desert, California where he hosted his own talk radio show, The Power Lunch, interviewing celebrity guests from the entertainment world and later,The Natural Golf Hour. He became a board member of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars and has his own star on the Walk of Stars. He's been inducted into the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame at his alma mater Ridgewood High School, in New Jersey. He has two books out: Star Walk, A Guide to the Palm Springs Walk of Stars and his autobiography, Hackensack to Hollywood: My Two Show Business Careers. Other credits include television writing instructor at UCLA in Los Angeles and at UCR in Palm Desert,CA, columnist for Golf News Magazine and columnist for Desert Entertainer Magazine.

Born: February 22, 1932 in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA

Died: January 16, 2009 (Age 76)