The son of a Queens, NY bus driver, Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell grew up on Long Island and first came to public attention as a member of the three-man rap group Groove B. Chill. Making the video to promote their debut album, "Starting from Zero", introduced them to the Hudlin Brothers and led to their feature debut in "House Party" (1990), written and directed by Reginald Hudlin. Finding the experience particularly enjoyable, Mitchell decided to focus on an acting career and, after appearances in "House Party 2" (1991) and "Boomerang" (1992), landed a co-starring role as the rapper Kayam in Steve Gomer's "Fly By Night" (1993), winner of the Filmmaker's Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival. His other feature credits include the by-the-book private in "Sgt. Bilko" (1996) and supporting roles in the comedies "A Thin Line Between Love & Hate" (also 1996) and "Home Fries" (1998).
Mitchell has enjoyed his greatest success, however, on the small screen, working first as a regular on the short-lived NBC series "Here and Now" (1992-93), starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner before landing the regular role of lunch counter operator Dexter Walker on "The John Larroquette Show" (NBC, 1993-97). While filming "Toothless" (1997) for ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney", he met Kirstie Alley, and the two got on so famously that Mitchell ended up as Leo, the harried marketing executive, on Alley's sitcom "Veronica's Closet" (NBC, 1997-2000). Among his other TV projects were an appearance in the CBS miniseries "Queen" (1993), based on the Alex Haley story of his paternal grandmother, a reunion with Warrington Hudlin for "The First Commandment" segment of the HBO anthology "Cosmic Slop" (1994) and a portrayal of basketball player (and later coach) Dean 'The Dream' Memminger in the biopic "Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault" (HBO, 1996).
- Also Credited As:
Charlie Lenz, Chill, Darryl Mitchell, Daryl M. Mitchell, Daryl Mitchell
- Born:
July 16, 1969 in Bronx, New York, USA
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Job Titles:
Actor, Rapper
Family
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Brother: Tyrone Mitchell Frazier. middleweight
Significant Others
Milestones
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1986 Groove B. Chill featured on Uptown-MCA Records compilation recording titled Uptown is Kickin It
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1990 Made feature debut as part of Groove B. Chill in House Party , directed by Reginald Hudlin
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1991 Back with the Groove for House Party 2
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1992 Regular role as T on short-lived NBC sitcom Here and Now , with Malcolm-Jamal Warner
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1992 Played street photographer in Boomerang
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1993 Appeared in CBS miniseries Queen
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1993 Co-starred as rapper Kayam in Fly By Night , winner of the Filmmaker s Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival
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1994 Acted in Warrington Hudlin s The First Commandment segment of the HBO anthology Cosmic Slop (HBO)
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1996 Acted in Martin Lawrence s directorial debut, A Thin Line Between Love & Hate
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1996 Portrayed by-the-book private Wally Holbrook in the feature Sgt. Bilko
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1997 Met Kirstie Alley while filming Toothless , a movie for ABC s The Wonderful World of Disney
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1997 Played Dean The Dream Memminger in the HBO biopic Rebound: The Legend of Earl The Goat Manigault
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2000 Appeared with John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow in Lucky Numbers
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2001 Appeared in the Martin Lawrence vehicle Black Knight
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2001 While visiting relatives in South Carolina, Mitchell got into a motorcycle accident and was paralyzed from the mid-chest down; Mitchell was extremely vocal about the outpouring of support he received from the Hollywood community during his recovery
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2002 Cast as a season regular on the hit NBC show Ed, marking his first role as a paraplegic
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First came to public attention as a member of the three-man rap group Groove B. Chill
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Had regular role as lunch counter operator Dexter Walker on The John Larroquette Show (NBC)
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Had regular role of Leo, the marketing executive with a desire to design, on the NBC sitcom Veronica s Closet , starring Alley
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Launched debut album, Starting from Zero ; first association with the Hudlin Brothers, who directed the video that accompanied the album
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Raised on Long Island, NY