Scoey Mitchell (1930-2022)

[Zoneboy]

https://www.pasadenaweekly.com/arts_...ce0452c34.html

Roscoe Mitchell Jr., whose stage name was Scoey Mitchlll, died March 19 after a colorful career during the ’70s and ’80s.

The comedian/actor, writer and TV director appeared on “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” the “Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Joey Bishop Show” and 1970s game shows, including “Match Game,” “Tattletales,” “Hollywood Squares,” and had a recurring role on “Rhoda.”

In 1970, he starred in the short-lived series “Barefoot in the Park” (based on the Neil Simon play). It was the first American TV sitcom since “Amos ’n’ Andy” to have a predominantly Black cast.

During its first few episodes, “Barefoot in the Park” developed behind-the-scenes strife that sealed its fate: Mitchlll was fired due to “differences of opinion

[Sgt. Saunders]

I remember Scoey Mitchell best from his frequent appearances on “The Match Game.” He had a very wry sense of humor. Mr. Mitchell and the late Richard Dawson really lit up a storm, what with all the cigarettes they chain-smoked on the show. It’s surprising that he lived until the age of 92.

Requiem aeternam, Mr. Mitchell.

[PracTz]

He also was a semi-regular on 'Rhoda' as Joe's construction assistant. Even at that point, it seemed his onetime stardom was fleeting and he was doing this to try to stay in the spotlight (same with Barbara Sharma who'd been a 'Laugh-In' regular but within a few years also wound up playing a semi-regular co-worker of Rhoda's called Myrna MorgenSTEIN- that was the bulk of her character's humor).

[Edward216]

Oh wow that's sad. I remember him on all of those game shows, but I don't really remember seeing him on anything else. I remember once looking him up on the Internet, and I think I read the Wikipedia article about him. I was trying to find out about his unusual name Scoey, but the article didn't say anything about it. So it's interesting to me to find out it was a shortened form of his given name Roscoe.

Ed.

[AB]

Rest in Peace. I enjoyed his many acting roles.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by PracTz

He also was a semi-regular on 'Rhoda' as Joe's construction assistant. Even at that point, it seemed his onetime stardom was fleeting and he was doing this to try to stay in the spotlight (same with Barbara Sharma who'd been a 'Laugh-In' regular but within a few years also wound up playing a semi-regular co-worker of Rhoda's called Myrna MorgenSTEIN- that was the bulk of her character's humor).

Before there was a Cosby Show, a Fresh Prince, or a Black-ish, there was Scoey Mitchell — and ABC canceled him in ninety days for daring to demand it. In the fall of 1970, Mitchell became the first Black leading man to headline a predominantly Black sitcom since the Amos 'n' Andy era, stepping into a Neil Simon property that Robert Redford and Jane Fonda had made famous. Within weeks, he was fired. The official explanation — "differences of opinion" — was two words designed to end the conversation before it started.

This documentary tells the full story. From a Baptist minister's home in Newburgh, New York, through the brutal nightclub circuit of the segregated comedy era, to national stages shared with Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Carol Burnett — Mitchell built a reputation as one of the most polished performers in the business. Then he used that platform to fight for something the network hadn't bargained on: Black writers in the room, Black crew members behind the camera, real creative authorship over a show that claimed to represent Black life. The industry called him difficult. His brother later called him a pioneer.

We follow the full documented record — separating verified history from the rumors and exaggerations that grew up around his firing, tracing his reinvention through five seasons on Match Game, recurring guest work across a generation of hit series, and his own producing credits. We follow him all the way to 1986, when he played the father of Richard Pryor in one of the most personal Black-led films of the decade — a role that brought his life's central fight full circle.

His brother said Scoey Mitchell sacrificed much in the struggle to get Black artists behind the camera and into positions that others take for granted today. This is the story of a forgotten television pioneer who opened doors for a generation — and paid a price that history never properly acknowledged.

[Dude111]

Very sad