John Mitchum

John Mitchum (September 6, 1919 – November 29, 2001) was an American actor from the 1940s to the 1970s in film and television. The younger brother of the actor Robert Mitchum, he was credited as Jack Mitchum early in his career. Early years Mitchum was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Ann Harriet Mitchum (née Gunderson) and James Thomas Mitchum, who had been killed in a railyard accident seven months earlier. He was the younger brother of Julie Mitchum and Robert Mitchum. He served in the United States Army, 361st Harbor Craft Company, in Florida and Hawaii. Career Mitchum initially appeared unbilled in (e.g., Flying Leathernecks, RKO 1951) and extra roles before gradually receiving bigger character parts. He supported his more famous brother on several occasions, and became known as the friendly, food-loving Inspector Frank DiGiorgio in the first three Dirty Harry films. His character was killed in the third film, The Enforcer. In 1957, he had a short appearance on Gunsmoke as a dueling cowboy in the episode "Sweet and Sour" (S2E23). He returned two years later portraying "Joe" in "The Constable" (S4E37) and again in 1963 as "Wills" in "Two of a Kind" (S8E27).