According to Mitchell Anderson’s bio he did retire from acting in 2003 but it also shows that he came back in 2017 to pick up another role in After Forever. A lot of fans might recognize him from a few different projects that he worked on in the past but a good number of them might remember him fondly from Doogie Howser as Dr. Jack Maguire. This is kind of amusing given the premise of the show and the fact that Howser was such a marvel considering that he was a teenager that went on to become a doctor, especially since Mitchell didn’t look that much older in the show. But while his fame lasted for a while and kept him pretty busy throughout the 80s and 90s it did taper off as the 2000s came along and finally ended in 2003 when he walked away from the spotlight. The fact that he came back is kind of interesting since it sounds as though he and his partner opened a restaurant some time back and have been doing just fine since. Considering that he’s worth quite a bit for an actor that hasn’t been around the business for a while it’s impressive to think that he’s managed to hold onto such a successful lifestyle that’s allowed him to live in such comfort for so long.
Well into his 50s now, Mitchell came out as a gay man quite some time ago when he was still fairly young and has been with his partner for a good long while. Attitudes about actors being gay back in the 80s and 90s were starting to loosen up a bit but as a lot of people likely remember it was still something that many tended to look at in a manner that suggested anything but acceptance. As the times have been changing though the general attitude of Hollywood and the fans has changed and evolved over the years despite the rallying cries that there is still massive inequality when it comes to how each and every individual is represented based on their sexuality and beliefs. At this time it almost feels as though Mitchell would be accepted for being a gay man if he was starting out just on basic principle since being gay in show business is no longer a big deal. In fact individuals that are homosexual are rather common these days and there are those rare moments when it would appear that getting in the news is a challenge and requires a story that’s built around controversy or something equally interesting that people will actually pay attention to. Being transgender or identifying as gender neutral are hotter topics than being homosexual these days when it comes to acting since the belief is still that various people that belong to the LGBTQ+ community are not being given the proper representation on TV and in movies. Aljean Harmetz of The New York Times wrote an interesting article on this subject.
That’s an argument for another day however since this article is about Mitchell and not all about how Hollywood is ‘mistreating’ those that decide to come out when they’re young or later in life. His fame kind of came and went in a way that was noticeable to some but not entirely to others since his time on Doogie Howser was one of his most popular roles. After that a lot of what he did tended to be either enjoyed by his fans or was kind a countdown to retirement as his career kept going and was fairly stable but never really hit any serious high points that could have made it possible for him to stay in the business and truly thrive. Some actors manage to weather a bad patch in their careers while others stick around for a while and make do with what they can while attempting to take on one gig after another while making it work in some way. Mitchell obviously stuck around for a while to try and keep his career going but after a bit it does appear that things just didn’t go the way he was hoping, or wanted, and eventually it was time to step back and do something else. He’s been pretty successful in life it sounds like and if there are any regrets that he harbors it’s likely that he’s continued to move on without allowing them to get him down or cause him to second-guess himself.
So far it’s been kind of interesting to take a look at the old actors from the 80s and 90s and see what they’ve been up to and what they’re doing, but it’s also telling since as of now anyone that was acting before the 2000s is starting to be classified as ‘old’ since one has to recall that it was at least two to three decades ago that some of these people were famous, and time has moved on since then.
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