Actor and Dancer James Mitchell Dead at 89

Actor and dancer James Mitchell who most notably played tycoon Palmer Cortlandt on the daytime soap opera 'All My Children' for more than 30 years has passed away at the age of 89.

While TV audiences will most likely associate Mitchell with his role on 'All My Children', Mitchell was also a professional dancer who danced in film musicals and acted in a slew of Broadway and regional productions. Mitchell's performing career began with the American Ballet Theatre. Mitchell had a long-standing collaboration with renowned choreographer Agnes de Mille working with her as dancer and assistant choreographer in various film and stage productions, including the Broadway productions of 'Bloomer Girl', 'Brigadoon' (for which he won the Theatre World Award), 'Paint your Wagon', 'Come Summer', and perhaps most notably in the 1955 film 'Oklahoma' where Mitchell starred as Dream Curly. Mitchell's theatrical credits also include the 1961 Broadway production of 'Carnival!', 'Mack & Mabel', and 'Annie Get Your Gun'. Off-Broadway credits include 'The Threepenny Opera', Winkelberg', and 'Livin' The Life'. He toured with productions of 'The Rainmaker', 'The King and I', 'Funny Girl', and 'The Threepenny Opera'. Mitchell also worked with Jerome Robbins in the Broadway production of 'Billion Dollar Baby'. Other film credits include 'The Turning Point' with Anne Bancroft and 'The Bandwagon' with Fred Astaire.Throughout his career, Mitchell also worked as a director and choreographer, staging shows in a slew of regional theatres including the Paper Mill Playhouse and with the American Ballet Theatre. From 1979 to 2009, Mitchell played Cortlandt on 'All My Children'; a role for which he garnered three Soap Opera Digest Award nominations and seven Daytime Emmy Award nominations.