Charles Mitchell; Played Saloon Owner in Two ‘Porky’s’ Films

Charles (Chuck) Mitchell, who played the corpulent proprietor of the bawdy saloon and gambling casino in two of the three commercially successful but critically deplored “Porky’s” films, has died.

Irene Siewert, an actress and longtime friend, said Mitchell was 64 when he died in a Hollywood hospital Monday. He had been in failing health since undergoing abdominal surgery.

At nearly 400 pounds, Mitchell was a perfect prototype for “Porky,” the ribald owner of a Florida saloon and brothel patronized and then demolished by sex-starved high school students.

“Porky’s” was a low-budget film made in Canada in 1981 but was propelled to success by a high-budget advertising campaign. It became a teen-age favorite and led to “Porky’s II: The Next Day” in 1983 and “Porky’s Revenge” in 1985. Mitchell was featured in the first and third pictures. Producers of “Porky’s Revenge” said Mitchell’s absence from the second film accounted for its poor audience response.

Although he had a lengthy and varied career before and after the “Porky’s” films, it was those films that defined his work. He had most recently billed himself as “Porky” Mitchell.

The sinister-looking actor appeared in many other pictures, among them “Penitentiary,” “Don’t Answer the Phone,” “The Hearse,” “Chopsticks,” “Goodbye Cruel World” and “California.”

His television credits include “Hill Street Blues,” “Remington Steele,” “The Winds of War,” “Trapper John, M.D.,” and a recurring role as “Big Ralph” on the daytime soap opera “General Hospital.”

Early in his career, Mitchell had been a club singer and entertainer.

He is survived by two sisters, Dorothy Farrell and Frances Mitchell. Donations in his name may be made to the Actors Fund.