AMC: James Mitchell has passed away

[Wendy]

Right, forgot he adopted Andrew. But Palmer John, later Johnny, was not Palmer's. He was Chuck and Donna's. Donna had a ONS with Chuck on her honeymoon with Palmer! LOL! And Palmer knew he was not the father and was livid. (Donna, at first, tried to pass the baby off as his.)

[EricMontreal22]

It can't be stressed enough that he was first and foremost a *brilliant* ballet and show dancer--amongst the very best of the best--it was just luck (and of course talent) that when he became too old to dance, he found such a great second career. But I'm always surprised how many people didn't seem to realize his background. Really, if you don't know ballet, to get a compliment like that from Agnes DeMille is in soap terms being called by a grump of an icon like Irna Phillips calling him the greatest soap actor of his generation.

Sadly most of his dance and stage work was not filmed--but he created the insanely challenging and difficult roles of Harry Beaton in "Brigadoon" and Marco "The Magnificent" in "Carnival!" on Broadway.

[Adam]

They just keep going . James Mitchell was always fantastic, even in these later years when his health was rapidly declining. This is so sad. I always loved Palmer and really hope the show does his character justice with a final send off. Jill Larson will rock this.

[DeeeDee]

[Jonathan]

News report from local LA affiliate. Glad they're acknowledging him.

http://cbs2.com/local/james.mitchell.obit.2.1444139.html

[EricMontreal22]

Do we have any clips of his early storyline--before Nina and Cliff's 1990 wedding? Iknow they show thatone great clipofhim on location at his house with his hounds lol

His longterm partner (god I hate that term but dunno what else to call it since they weren't married--I hate lover just as much) passed on a few years ago, I believe.

[Vee]

A real loss for soaps and for AMC. They would be foolish to fade both Adam and Palmer out at once.

[Jonathan]

Kelly Ripa will probably mention him on Monday. She's mentioned him before on Live.

[EricMontreal22]

Agreed, but Palmer has been faded out for a while--largely their fault but also James wanted to work less, and then had trouble working (I believe he had a scene in 2008 but in 2009 he was in several scripts and they had to change them last minute). So what can they do?

[Jonathan]

It happens. People age, and it's up to the show to replenish. Unfortunately, they haven't done a good job of that. Think about the male characters we've had on the show recently: Ryan, Zach, Aidan. They don't compare to Palmer and Adam. Nor will we have the same reaction to those actors' passings. It's the truth.

[DRW50]

What I will remember most about James Mitchell is his chuckle, or I guess I should say Palmer's chuckle, which was so confident, and knowing. You could tell he'd truly lived life. He had a beautiful smile as well. Then I saw some of James's appearances in movies (he has a small part in one of the best musicals ever, The Band Wagon), but Palmer was such a glorious role, full of charm, humor, hot and cold and sometimes pure malevolence.

AMC's vets kept on to the end, their bond with the audience was that strong.

It's hard for me to remember sometimes just how important Palmer was to AMC's future when they brought him on in 1979. He was brought in at a time when many of AMC's first generation characters were leaving, or had lost most of their luster. Palmer was a classic AMC character, yet he also had the larger-than-life quality which helped define soaps in the 80s. They trusted James enough to bring in their new young heroine, Nina, and did the same ten years later with Dixie. And in the meanttime there were all those wonderful moments with Myra and Daisy and Opal and Adam and so many others.

[quartermainefan]

Terrible. He was my alltime favorite daytime actor, and nobody was better at being mean than he was. His speaking voice was so distinct too, he really was one of a kind. He was under appreciated as an actor, not given his due by fandom at large the way some others were. Anyway, recently someone posted on youtube a great sequence of Palmer scenes in a story, and just listen to his say the lines, and then think about the common, lack of quality or any hint of eloquence style that daytime stars speak today.

[alexisfan07]

I can't believe we've lost Phoebe, Myrtle, Palmer and now Joe AND Adam to retirement. There's only so much I can take in a five-year span.

[Paul Raven]

And the thing is,there is not the next generation of characters to step into those positions because of years of writing off characters once they hit 40.

Linc,Tara,Paul,Ellen etc could be there to become the next matriachs and patriachs but the youth focus of TPTB means there is a void.

[EricMontreal22]

As Paul and Jonathan say, the big prob is the show (and I think most soaps are guilty of this, but it's most obvious now at AMC) haven't had the cahracters to fill those voids. Let's face it, Erica is never gonna be thatkinda character--Brooke could start to be, but she won't return full time... That's why I admit I'mheartened they signed Opal back to contract, and despite crap done to his character, they are invested in Tad (and why I was so vehemently against Carl's argument for getting rid of him, even though I agreed with some of his specifics).

Tara's actress has practically begged to be back--but apparently is a bit... less than stable? (I've heard gossip) I wonder if they approached her for the anniversary?

Carl your comments are on the ball, I think Palmer was also insturmental in a subtle but important switch for AMC when it went to an hour--as well as being one of Nixon's first genuinely gothic stories. Unfortunately it did open up Pine Valley to become a "little town"filled with big corporations by the late 80s, but this was a problem on all soaps in general, and shouldn't just be blamed on his family.