BIOGRAPHY
Mitch Longley originated the role of Dr. Matthew Harmon in the ABC Daytime drama Port
Charles. Dr. Harmon, who used a wheelchair, was determined to educate those around him
that he was a man who didn't allow his physical limitations to get in the way of achieving
his career goals in the field of medicine, or of affecting his personal
relationships. After three years, Mitch exited the role on April 27, 2000, in order
to pursue other interests.
Like his character, Mitch Longley used a wheelchair since a car accident a few weeks
before he turned eighteen. He survived a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from
the waist down. But he never gave up his goal of becoming an actor, something he had
dreamed of since he was five years old.
After appearing in a Ralph Lauren Polo
print ad, he caught the attention of casting agents and landed a role as Byron Pierce on
the television series Another World. Other television credits include Vanishing
Son and Burning Zone. In the 2001- 2002 seasons, he had a recurring role on the
CBS television show, Judging Amy, as State's Attorney Jonathan Ashworth.
He appeared on stage in 1997 and again
in 2000 in a critically-acclaimed one-man play that he authored, titled Courting
Darkness, in which he played 21 different characters who came into his life after his
injury.
Mitch is a gifted photographer and artist, whose own experience as a paraplegic has
provided the inspiration to create images through which he can experience the
unencumbered body. An exhibit of his black and white photos, Watermen from Naramake,
opened in Los Angeles in January 2002.
He is the founder of the non-profit organization SOWOHO,
Spirit of the Wounded Horse, Inc., which helps underprivileged Native Americans with
physical disabilities. In November, 1990, he traveled to Egypt and conducted research on
disability-related issues.
Mitch played on the professional wheelchair tennis circuit for a couple of years,
capturing several doubles titles. He left tennis when he began his stint on Another
World.
Mitch is a vegetarian and in his spare time he enjoys swimming, tennis, yoga, and
photography. He is currently involved in several writing projects. He was born in
Cleveland, Ohio on June 23, 1965. He is 6' tall, has black hair salted with gray, and
brown eyes.
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