Robert Mitchum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Mitchum
Mitchum in 1949
Born	Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (1917-08-06)August 6, 1917 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	July 1, 1997(1997-07-01) (aged 79) Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor singer
Years active	1942–1995
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Spence ​ ​ (m. 1940)​
Children	3, including James and Christopher Mitchum
Relatives	Julie Mitchum (sister) John Mitchum (brother) Bentley Mitchum (grandson) Casper Van Dien (grandson-in-law) Grace Van Dien (great-granddaughter)
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Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (born August 6, 1917 – died July 1, 1997) was a famous American actor and singer. He was well-known for playing tough, sometimes rebellious characters, especially in "film noir" movies. These were dark and mysterious films, often about crime or difficult situations.

Robert Mitchum was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a special star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. In 1992, he was given the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for his amazing career. The American Film Institute even ranked him as one of the greatest male stars in classic American cinema.

He became famous after being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945). Some of his most famous movies include Out of the Past (1947), River of No Return (1954), The Night of the Hunter (1955), and Cape Fear (1962). He also played Captain Victor "Pug" Henry in the TV miniseries The Winds of War (1983) and its follow-up War and Remembrance (1988).

Film critic Roger Ebert called Mitchum his favorite movie star. He said Mitchum's deep voice and tired eyes made him seem like a tough but sensitive person. Another critic, David Thomson, said that since World War II, no other American actor had made so many different excellent films.

Robert Mitchum's Early Life

Robert Mitchum was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on August 6, 1917. His family had roots in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Norway. His father, James Thomas Mitchum, worked in shipyards and on railroads. His mother, Ann Harriet Gunderson, was from Norway and was the daughter of a sea captain.

When Robert was very young, his father died in a train accident in 1919. His mother later remarried. As a child, Robert was known for being a bit of a prankster. He sometimes got into fights and caused trouble. When he was 12, his mother sent him to live with his grandparents in Felton, Delaware. He was quickly expelled from middle school there.

A year later, he moved to Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan in New York City to live with his older sister. After being expelled from Haaren High School, he left his sister and traveled across the country. He would ride freight trains and took on many different jobs. These jobs included digging ditches for a government program called the Civilian Conservation Corps and even professional boxing.

When he was 14, in Savannah, Georgia, he faced a difficult situation and was held by authorities for a short period. He managed to escape and returned to his family in Delaware. At 16, while recovering from an injury, he met Dorothy Spence, who he would later marry. He soon went back on the road, eventually making his way to California.

Robert Mitchum's Acting Career

Getting Started in Movies

In the mid-1930s, Robert's older sister, Julie Mitchum, moved to California hoping to become an actress. The rest of the Mitchum family soon followed her to Long Beach, California. Robert arrived in 1936. During this time, he worked for an astrologer, helping to write things for him. Julie encouraged Robert to join a local theater group with her.

At The Players Guild of Long Beach, Robert worked behind the scenes as a stagehand. He also sometimes played small parts in their shows. He even wrote some short plays for the group. He used his talent for writing poetry to create song lyrics and speeches for Julie's nightclub performances.

In 1940, Robert went back to Delaware to marry Dorothy Spence, and they moved back to California. He decided to focus on a more stable job when their first child, James, was born. They later had two more children, Christopher and Petrine. Robert found steady work as a machine operator at the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation during World War II. However, the loud machines at his job affected his hearing. The stress of the job also made him feel unwell for a bit.

After this, he looked for work as a film actor. He started as an extra, appearing in the background, and then got small speaking parts. His agent helped him get an interview with Harry Sherman, who produced the Hopalong Cassidy Western movies. Robert was hired to play minor villain roles in several of these films in 1942 and 1943.

His first on-screen credit was in 1943 as a Marine private in the war film Gung Ho! Robert continued to get work as an extra and supporting actor in many movies for different studios.

He impressed director Mervyn LeRoy while making Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Because of this, Robert signed a seven-year contract with RKO Pictures. He was then prepared to become a star in "B-Westerns," which were smaller budget Western films. After a successful Western called Nevada, RKO lent Robert to another studio for a big supporting role in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945). In this film, he played a tired but determined officer named Bill Walker.

The movie became a huge success. Soon after filming, Robert was drafted into the United States Army and served as a medic. At the 1946 Academy Awards, The Story of G.I. Joe was nominated for four Oscars. This included Robert's only nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. After this, he made a Western and a film about returning Marine soldiers. Then, he moved into a type of movie that would become very important to his career: film noir.

Becoming a Film Noir Star

Robert Mitchum first became widely known for his roles in film noir movies. His first film in this style was a supporting role in When Strangers Marry (1944). Another early noir film, Undercurrent, showed him as a troubled man caught up in his brother's problems.

In The Locket (1946), Mitchum played a bitter ex-boyfriend. Pursued (1947) mixed Western and noir styles, with Mitchum's character trying to remember his past. Crossfire (also 1947) featured Mitchum as a soldier involved in a murder investigation. This film was nominated for five Academy Awards.

After Crossfire, Mitchum starred in Out of the Past (1947), which is considered his most famous film noir role. He played Jeff Markham, a small-town gas station owner and former investigator. His past catches up to him when he gets involved with a gambler and a mysterious woman.

He also appeared in Rachel and the Stranger (1948) and The Red Pony (1949). He returned to film noir in The Big Steal (1949), where he worked again with actress Jane Greer.

Mainstream Success in the 1950s and 1960s

In Where Danger Lives (1950), Mitchum played a doctor. The Racket (1951) was a crime drama where he played a police captain fighting corruption. In the film Macao (1952), he was mistaken for someone else at a casino.

In 1955, Robert Mitchum was replaced in the movie Blood Alley. The producer, John Wayne, took over the role himself.

After making several Westerns and film noirs, Mitchum appeared in The Night of the Hunter (1955). This was the only movie directed by Charles Laughton. In this thriller, Mitchum played a terrifying criminal pretending to be a preacher. He was searching for money hidden by his cellmate. Many people believe his performance as Reverend Harry Powell was one of the best of his career.

In 1955, Mitchum started his own production company, DRM Productions, with his wife Dorothy. They made four films. The first was Bandido (1956).

Mitchum then starred in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) with Deborah Kerr. He played a Marine corporal shipwrecked on an island with a nun. They faced challenges from nature and Japanese soldiers. This film was nominated for two Academy Awards, and Mitchum was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor. In the World War II submarine movie The Enemy Below (1956), Mitchum played a U.S. Navy captain.

Thunder Road (1958), produced by Mitchum's company, was about a driver transporting illegal moonshine. Robert Mitchum starred in, produced, and helped write the movie. His son James played his brother in the film. Mitchum also co-wrote the theme song, "The Ballad of Thunder Road."

Mitchum and Deborah Kerr worked together again in The Sundowners (1960). They played an Australian couple struggling in the sheep industry during the Great Depression. The film received five Oscar nominations. Mitchum won an award for Best Actor for his performance in this film and in Home from the Hill (1960).

Mitchum's role as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1962) made him even more famous for playing cold and dangerous characters. In the 1960s, he also appeared in the comedy What a Way to Go! (1964) and the Western El Dorado (1967). He also co-starred with Dean Martin in the 1968 Western 5 Card Stud.

Later Acting Roles

In 1970, Robert Mitchum took on a different kind of role in the film Ryan's Daughter. He played Charles Shaughnessy, a quiet schoolmaster in Ireland during World War I. Even though the film was nominated for four Academy Awards, Mitchum was not nominated for his role.

The 1970s saw Mitchum in several well-received crime dramas. In The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), he played an older criminal caught between the police and his friends. The Yakuza (1974) was a film noir story set in the Japanese underworld. He also appeared in Midway (1976), a movie about a key World War II battle.

Mitchum played the detective Philip Marlowe in Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and again in The Big Sleep (1978).

In 1982, Mitchum played Coach Delaney in the movie That Championship Season.

Mitchum also started working in television. In 1983, he starred in the miniseries The Winds of War. He played naval officer "Pug" Henry, and the show explored the events leading up to America's involvement in World War II. He returned to the role in 1988 for the sequel, War and Remembrance.

He played George Hazard's father-in-law in the 1985 miniseries North and South.

In 1987, Mitchum hosted Saturday Night Live. He played Philip Marlowe one last time in a comedy sketch. He also appeared in Richard Donner's 1988 comedy Scrooged.

In 1991, Mitchum received a lifetime achievement award. In 1992, he was given the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Golden Globe Awards.

Mitchum continued to appear in films until the mid-1990s. He narrated the Western Tombstone. He also played the police detective in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear, a different role from his villain part in the original. His last main role was in the 1995 Norwegian movie Pakten. His very last film appearance was a small but important role in the TV movie James Dean: Race with Destiny.

Robert Mitchum's Music Career

Robert Mitchum also had a talent for singing. His voice was often used in his movies when his characters sang. This included films like Rachel and the Stranger and The Night of the Hunter.

After hearing calypso music while filming in the Caribbean in 1957, he recorded an album called Calypso – is like so .... He copied the calypso style and sound on the album. A year later, he recorded "The Ballad of Thunder Road", a song he wrote for his movie Thunder Road. This country-style song became a small hit for him.

Even though he continued to sing in his films, he waited until 1967 to record his next album, That Man, Robert Mitchum, Sings. This album was more country music. The first song from it, "Little Old Wine Drinker Me," was a top-10 hit on country radio. He also sang the title song for the 1969 Western Young Billy Young.

Albums

Singles

Robert Mitchum's Family and Later Years

Robert Mitchum's sons, James and Christopher, also became actors. His daughter, Petrine Day Mitchum, is a writer. His grandchildren, Bentley Mitchum and Carrie Mitchum, are actors, as was his younger brother, John.

Robert Mitchum was a member of the Republican Party. He supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. He also supported Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush in 1992.

Robert Mitchum passed away on July 1, 1997, a few weeks before his 80th birthday. He died in Santa Barbara, California, due to complications from lung cancer and a lung disease called emphysema. His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea. He was survived by his wife of 57 years, Dorothy Mitchum, who passed away in 2014.

Images for kids

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  Mitchum in 1946

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  Robert and Dorothy Mitchum (1948)

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  Mitchum with his sons (1946)

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  Dorothy and Robert Mitchum (1955)

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  Mitchum in his film noir days

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  With Jane Greer in Out of the Past (1947)

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  Mitchum with Jane Russell in His Kind of Woman (1951)

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  Dorothy and Robert Mitchum (1955)

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  Mitchum with Deborah Kerr in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

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  Mitchum in The Sundowners (1960)

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  Mitchum as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1962)

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  Mitchum in October 1976

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  Mitchum at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival

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  Album cover of Mitchum's calypso record, Calypso – is like so ...

Documentaries

• 2017 : James Stewart/Robert Mitchum: The Two Faces of America directed by Gregory Monro
• Stéphane Benhamou (Director) (2017). Robert Mitchum, le mauvais garçon d'Hollywood (Motion picture).

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Robert Mitchum para niños