Shirley Mitchell

Shirley J. Mitchell (November 4, 1919 – November 11, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress.

Early life Mitchell was born in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Sam Mitchell & Mary Ann Daniels,

Her most prominent radio role was that of the charismatic Southern belle Leila Ransom on The Great Gildersleeve beginning in September 1942. In the third season of I Love Lucy, from 1953 to 1954, she appeared in three episodes She appeared in several TV shows of the 1960s (like Petticoat Junction as Cousin Mae in 1968) and did voice-over work in subsequent decades. Mitchell voiced Laurie Holliday on Hanna-Barbera's short-lived series The Roman Holidays in 1972. She also appeared in an episode of the crime drama The Feather and Father Gang in 1977.

In the late 1970s, Mitchell appeared with Don Porter in an episode of Three's Company.

Personal life and death She became engaged to Dr. Julian H. Frieden by early October 1946, holding her engagement shower at the home of singer Dinah Shore. They married on November 23, 1946.

By August 1955, they had two children, a girl (Brooke) and a boy (Scott). Mitchell and Frieden divorced in August 1974. In 1992, she married songwriter Jay Livingston, and the two remained married until his death in 2001.

Mitchell died of heart failure on November 11, 2013, aged 94.

Partial filmography

Jamboree (1944) as Alice Darling The Clown (1953) as Mrs. Blotto (uncredited) G.E. Summer Originals (1956), episode "It's Sunny Again" Spring Reunion (1957) as Jane the Receptionist (uncredited) Desk Set (1957) as Myra Smithers (uncredited) Too Much, Too Soon (1958) as Mrs. Magda Snow (uncredited) Because They're Young (1960) as Mrs. Summers (uncredited) My Blood Runs Cold (1965) as Mrs. Courtland Green Acres (1968) as Nurse The Roman Holidays (1972) as voice of Laurie Holiday Emergency! (1975) S5EP8 as Mrs. Larson Summer Camp Nightmare (1987) as Mrs. Knute Big Business (1988) as Stockholder The War of the Roses (1989) as Mrs. Dewitt MAD (2012) as Betty White (1 episode)