Who was Judy Pace’s first husband Don Mitchell? All about actress’s relationship as Brian Song actress dies at 83

Brian Song
Brian Song's actress passes away at 83 (Image Via Instagram/@judypaceflood)

According to a recent news report by The Daily Mail, Brian Song actress Judy Pace passed away at the age of 83 in the company of her loved ones on Wednesday.

Best known for her performance in Brian Song, a popular motion picture from 1971, along with Blaxploitation movies and multiple television shows, Judy Pace died peacefully in her sleep while visiting her relatives in Marina Del Rey. She was surrounded by her daughters, Julia Pace Mitchell and Shawn, whom Pace shared with her first husband, Don Mitchell.

Judy Pace was married to Don Mitchell, an actor best known for his work in the NBC series Ironside. Mitchell died in 2013 at the age of 70 due to natural causes in Enchino. Judy Pace and Mitchell were married from 1972 to 1986.

After getting separated from Don Mitchell, Pace married Curt Flood-- a former Major League Baseball star. Pace was preceded in death by Flood, who died at the UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles, California, due to pneumonia in the year 1997. Curt sadly passed away, a couple of days after celebrating his 59th birthday.


About Judy Pace's first husband, Don Mitchell

Judy Pace's first husband, Don Mitchell, was an actor who played the character of the aide next to wheelchair artist Raymond Burr on the 1970s NBC series Ironside. He passed away at the age of 70 due to natural causes.

Mitchell portrayed Mark Sanger, an ex-convict who is convinced by Robert T. Ironside to work as his driver and assistant after a sniper's bullet paralyzes the San Francisco chief of detectives from the waist down.

"You're looking for a boy now?" Sanger states in the March 1967 pilot. Ironside responds, "No, just legs. I need them, and you have them."

Mitchell, a Houston native and UCLA graduate, played an ex-police officer with an interest in the occult opposite Pam Grier in the 1973 sequel Scream Blacula Scream.

Additionally, he had appearances on television shows like Matlock, Wonder Woman, McMillan & Wife, The Fugitive, and I Dream of Jeannie.


About Judy Pace

Born on June 15, 1942, Judy Pace is a Los Angeles native who began her career in modeling when she became the youngest model to work at the Ebony Fashion Fair in 1961.

As Judy/Liberia in the 1963 Cold War film 13 Frightened Girls, she landed her first on-screen role and became the first Black actress signed to a Columbia Studios contract.

When Judy Pace became the first Black bachelorette to appear on The Dating Game in 1965, she broke yet another boundary in the entertainment business.

Pace was a staple of 1960s TV, having appeared on a number of the groundbreaking shows being broadcast at the time, which included The Batman, The Flying Nun, The Mod Squad, Days of Our Lives, and Tarzan.

Her most well-known performance was in the football drama Brian's Song (1971), which starred Bernie Casey, Jack Warden, and the late James Caan.

On the news of Judy Pace's demise, many of the actress's admirers recalled her warmly on the internet, citing her beauty and skills in their tributes.

"RIP to the beautiful & talented, Judy Pace Flood, my prayers and condolences to her family," a netizen said.
"Rest in peace, Miss Judy Pace... our gorgeous silver screen gem & vintage black Barbie," said someone else.

According to Deadline, Pace's family requested that payments be sent to the NAACP in her honor rather than flowers.

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Edited by Tanisha Aggarwal