Classix 102.9 DJ Mix Master Mitch, whose real name is Gary Mitchell, died today of pancreatic cancer, his cousin Silas “SiMan Baby” Alexander reported.
He was 56.
Mitchell, who was once 400 pounds, lost a lot of weight during the pandemic without any easy explanation. After he experienced stomach pain, doctors told him in April that he had spots on his liver from stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
He was unable to work while he was treated with chemotherapy and radiation. SiMan, a veteran radio announcer in Atlanta who has worked at Majic and V-103, announced that he, too, had pancreatic cancer and had been going through comparable treatment. He found out his prognosis a few weeks after Mitchell.
Mitchell, a Lithonia resident, was born at Grady Memorial Hospital and graduated from Mays High School in 1983. Their mothers were first cousins and were very close, SiMan said, so he and Mitchell grew up together.
“He was more than a cousin to me,” said Mitchell in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in September. “He was a mentor. He was a protégé. I always looked up to him. We have similar energies.”
After 20 years of doing weekend party shows for Kiss 104.1 and hosting Kiss’ annual Flashback Festivals, Mitchell joined Classix two years ago doing party shows.
“Gary had a heart of gold,” said Tim Davies, who runs Classix and other Radio One radio stations in town. “His radio family all over Atlanta will miss him dearly.”
SiMan briefly did a podcast with his cousin about pancreatic cancer but “Mitch’s health took a turn for the worse and he was not able to fully recover. I will truly miss my cousin. This is one time in my life that I am still at a loss for words.”
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