antiquity
01-02-2003, 10:36 AM
Jan. 1, 2003, 1:24AM
Wheelchair fails to put brakes on Mitchell's career or self-confidence
By RICHARD HUFF
Copyright 2002 New York Daily News
Daryl (Chill) Mitchell missed an important anniversary last month.
And that's a good thing.
Letting slip the date of last year's motorcycle accident that cost him the use of his legs marked another stage in the Bronx-born actor's acceptance of the reality that his foreseeable future will be in a wheelchair.
"That's how far behind I had put it," Mitchell said.
The accident limited his mobility but not his desire to act. In fact, Mitchell, who has appeared in such series as Veronica's Closet and The John Larroquette Show, never believed his career was over.
So it is, last spring, just months after the accident, Mitchell was signed for a regular part on the NBC series Ed. He plays Eli, the new manager of the title character's bowling alley.
"I never thought I would never work again," Mitchell said. "I just wanted people to respect me for my talents, other than my situation."
Brave words in a business in which image is everything and which has featured precious few prime-time stars in wheelchairs. (The WB's recently canceled Birds of Prey had one cast member in a chair.)
It helped that Mitchell already was accustomed to overcoming stereotypes. As an African-American, he struggled for years to find roles that weren't thugs or drug-runners. In his mind, being in a wheelchair is just another part of the battle.
"I knew I could do it," he said of being cast in another series. "It's just a fact, for people to be open, to give me a chance, like they did before. So here, they got a bargain deal -- right here, Jack, a minority in the chair."
Mitchell had a good example to follow, having watched his close friend Dave Snowden deal with a similar situation a decade ago.
"I think he did (think about not succeeding)," said Snowden, director of disabled services at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall.
"But it wasn't really so much Daryl; it's society that you have the doubts about. Initially, they say, we'll accept you with open arms and then reality sets in. ... It wasn't him but his fear of what he couldn't control."
Ed producers Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman admitted to initial concerns about working Mitchell into the show but said they were won over after meeting him.
"We had some reservations about it," Burnett said. "We didn't want to seem pandering."
"What's fun about writing for him is you can show a guy in a wheelchair is just a guy," Beckerman said. "He just happens to be a guy sitting down.
He sees that as a tool to get him where he needs to go, and he doesn't see that as a defining quality of his personality."
That's exactly what Mitchell wants, for now. He doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him. He doesn't.
"I just lost my friend Jam Master Jay. I just lost another friend, (slain actor) Merlin Santana," he said. "I'm alive to go through this. They're not."
This way, he can keep missing anniversaries.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/headline/entertainment/1720849
Wheelchair fails to put brakes on Mitchell's career or self-confidence
By RICHARD HUFF
Copyright 2002 New York Daily News
Daryl (Chill) Mitchell missed an important anniversary last month.
And that's a good thing.
Letting slip the date of last year's motorcycle accident that cost him the use of his legs marked another stage in the Bronx-born actor's acceptance of the reality that his foreseeable future will be in a wheelchair.
"That's how far behind I had put it," Mitchell said.
The accident limited his mobility but not his desire to act. In fact, Mitchell, who has appeared in such series as Veronica's Closet and The John Larroquette Show, never believed his career was over.
So it is, last spring, just months after the accident, Mitchell was signed for a regular part on the NBC series Ed. He plays Eli, the new manager of the title character's bowling alley.
"I never thought I would never work again," Mitchell said. "I just wanted people to respect me for my talents, other than my situation."
Brave words in a business in which image is everything and which has featured precious few prime-time stars in wheelchairs. (The WB's recently canceled Birds of Prey had one cast member in a chair.)
It helped that Mitchell already was accustomed to overcoming stereotypes. As an African-American, he struggled for years to find roles that weren't thugs or drug-runners. In his mind, being in a wheelchair is just another part of the battle.
"I knew I could do it," he said of being cast in another series. "It's just a fact, for people to be open, to give me a chance, like they did before. So here, they got a bargain deal -- right here, Jack, a minority in the chair."
Mitchell had a good example to follow, having watched his close friend Dave Snowden deal with a similar situation a decade ago.
"I think he did (think about not succeeding)," said Snowden, director of disabled services at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall.
"But it wasn't really so much Daryl; it's society that you have the doubts about. Initially, they say, we'll accept you with open arms and then reality sets in. ... It wasn't him but his fear of what he couldn't control."
Ed producers Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman admitted to initial concerns about working Mitchell into the show but said they were won over after meeting him.
"We had some reservations about it," Burnett said. "We didn't want to seem pandering."
"What's fun about writing for him is you can show a guy in a wheelchair is just a guy," Beckerman said. "He just happens to be a guy sitting down.
He sees that as a tool to get him where he needs to go, and he doesn't see that as a defining quality of his personality."
That's exactly what Mitchell wants, for now. He doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him. He doesn't.
"I just lost my friend Jam Master Jay. I just lost another friend, (slain actor) Merlin Santana," he said. "I'm alive to go through this. They're not."
This way, he can keep missing anniversaries.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/headline/entertainment/1720849