Gordon “Whitey” Mitchell, jazz bassist and comedy writer, died Friday after a battle with cancer. He was 76. Whitey Mitchell, brother of the late jazz great Red Mitchell, started his jazz career in New York playing bass with big band legends Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Lester Young on the Jazz at the Philharmonic series.
Later, Mitchell became a staff writer and story editor on “Get Smart”, Bob Hope’s comedy TV specials and sit-coms as “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Odd Couple” and “Mork and Mindy”. He also wrote two books: his autobiography, “Hackensack to Hollywood: My Two Show Business Careers,” and “Star Walk: A Guide to the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.”