Trained as a teacher of English - B.A. (Melb) Dip.Ed (S C V Rusden) - Mark taught middle and senior English for 5 years before deciding to follow his heart into performance. His entry into the entertain-ment world, dressed as the Devil, required him to deliver singing telegrams! Oddly enough this venture lasted only two weeks. Deciding that he was ready for stand-up comedy, Mark soon realized that perhaps stand-up comedy was not ready for him, but he persevered with it for almost six years before concluding that the corporate sector offered more intriguing opportunities for comedic addresses around focused themes.
Along the path to his first television commitments, Mark auditioned for a commercial but was unsuccessful. Curious, he decided to explore the world of advertising from within and sent a letter off to the ten agencies he'd hear d a bout. He received four offers and took the one with the agency that had previously rejected him.
Working in advertising and copywriting led Mark to his first television exposure in a late night sketch comedy program on Channel 7 called "THE ELEVENTH HOUR". The cast of Eleventh Hour also included Ian McFadyen, Steve Vizard, Maryanne Fahey, Glenn Robbins and Kim Gyngell.
Not long after the ELEVENTH HOUR Mark appeared in various television dramas including "THE PETROV AFFAIR", "THE SWORD OF HONOUR" and "WILLING & ABEL".
The huge success of "THE COMEDY COMPANY" during the late 1980s brought Mark Mitchell, larger than life, into the homes of all Australians. His character portrayal of a Greek fruiterer named CON endeared him not only to many Australians, but also to the Greek community. So celebrated was CON THE FRUITERER that he became the first comedy character to don Melbourne's KING OF MOOMBA crown.
Mark's gift and love of character acting led him to secure television roles as: 'Mr Fish' in the popular children's series Lift Off , 1 & 2 (AB C TV); also for AB C TV, Mr Gribble in Round the Twist Series 2,3 & 4,and Otto Von Meister in The Genie From Downunder ; and he played David Lange in the New Zealand tele-movie Fallout. , 1 & 2 (AB C TV); also for AB C TV, Mr Gribble in Series 2,3 & 4,and Otto Von Meister in ; and he played David Lange in the New Zealand tele-movie , 1 & 2 (AB C TV); also for AB C TV, Mr Gribble in Series 2,3 & 4,and Otto Von Meister in ; and he played David Lange in the New Zealand tele-movie
With these successes, Mark soon found himself in demand from both local and international film and tele-movie producers: The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas, Like Mother Like Son, Blond, On the Beach, Backlands/Abscheid in Den Tod ; Pig's Breakfast, Anzacs, Child Star, Ground Zero and Inspector Gadget 2.; and ; and A tireless performer, Mark (as well as Con the Fruiterer) is popularly engage d as guest speaker and Master of Ceremonies for corporate events. He has had the pleasure of working for companies such as Telstra, The Master Building Association, IBM, Mars Con fectionery, Tag Heuer, United Distillers, Scienceworks Museum, Harvey Norman, National Australia Bank, Microsoft, Swift & Moore, Tattersalls, Mercedes Benz, as well as various education sectors and sporting clubs.
Mark's first foray into musical theatre w
