* Coleman (Chick) Mitchell; Situation Comedy Writer

Coleman (Chick) Mitchell, 48, writer, producer and director who wrote scripts for popular television shows including “Rhoda” and “The Bob Newhart Show.” A Yale graduate, Mitchell began his career in writing, producing and directing at the television stations WNHC in New Haven, Conn., and WWOR in New York. He also was executive producer of New York Mets baseball. He moved to Los Angeles in 1974 to write comedies for MTM Enterprises. His other shows included “Gimme a Break,” “Spencer” and “Under One Roof.” Mitchell won a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominated for an National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People Image Award and a People’s Choice Award. On Tuesday in Los Angeles of septic shock.