World champion video gamer Billy Mitchell was dubbed the "King of Kong" for holding the world's top score on the arcade video game Donkey Kong at the age of 17.
Mitchell was born on July 16, 1965 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He earned a legendary reputation in the video gamer world for his ability to earn the highest scores in classic video games from the so-called "Golden Age of Arcade Games."
The quest of gamer Steve Wiebe to overcome Mitchell's world record Donkey Kong score was captured in the 2007 documentary "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters."
Wiebe made several attempts to play against Mitchell in person to try and beat his score, including traveling to Mitchell's home town. Mitchell declined the face-off, and Wiebe eventually beat Mitchell's record.
Shortly before the movie's release, Mitchell recaptured his score with a new score of 1,050,200.
On Mar. 9, 2010, Mitchell lost his title again to Manhattan surgeon Hank Chien, who racked up more than 10,000 points above Mitchell's standing score. Mitchell reclaimed his title five months later with a score of 1,062,800. Chein is the current leader with a score of 1, 090,400, according to Twin Galaxies.
Mitchell has also received multiple honors for his gaming prowess. In January 1984 he was selected “Video Game Players of the Year” by Twin Galaxies and the U.S. National Video Game Team. In September 1999 he was “Video Game Player of the Century” by the Tokyo Game Show. In 2006 MTV selected him as one of “The 10 Most Influential Video Gamers Of All Time.”
He owns the restaurant chain “Rickey’s World Famous Restaurant” based in Hollywood, Florida. He also sells his own brand of hot sauces called “Rickey’s World Famous Sauces”.
