Rhea Mitchell

Rhea Ginger Mitchell (December 10, 1890 – September 16, 1957) was an American film actress and screenwriter who appeared in over 100 films, mainly during the silent era. A native of Portland, Oregon, Mitchell began her acting career in local theater, and joined the Baker Stock Company after completing high school. She appeared in various regional theater productions on the West Coast between 1911 and 1913.

In 1912, Mitchell signed with the New York Motion Picture Corporation, making her film debut in The Colonel's Ward, directed by Edward LeSaint. In her early career, she earned the name of "the little stunt girl" because of her willingness to attempt thrilling scenes in motion pictures. Her first major role was in On the Night Stage (1915), followed by a part in The Diamond from the Sky, a serial film starring Lottie Pickford.

Through the mid-1910s Mitchell appeared in numerous Western films with William S. Hart. Following the advent of sound pictures, Mitchell continued to work in film, though often appearing uncredited, before retiring in 1952. Some of her later roles include minor uncredited parts in Green Dolphin Street (1947), State of the Union (1948), and Stars in My Crown (1950).

Mitchell spent her subsequent retirement years as the resident manager of an apartment building in west Los Angeles. On September 16, 1957, she was murdered in the building by Sonnie Hartford, Jr., a houseboy who also worked there. Hartford pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in her homicide, and was sentenced five years to life in prison. Mitchell is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.