- Born
- Died
- Birth nameLamont Waltman Marvin Jr
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- American actor Lee Marvin was born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr. in New York City. After leaving school aged 18, Marvin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in August 1942. He served with the 4th Marine Division in the Pacific Theater during World War II and after being wounded in action and spending a year being treated in naval hospitals, he received a medical discharge. Marvin's military decorations include the Purple Heart Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon. Returning to the United States it was while working as a plumbers apprentice, repairing a toilet at a local community theater, that he was asked to stand in for an actor who had fallen ill during rehearsals. He immediately caught the acting bug, moving to Greenwich Village to study at the American Theater Wing and began making appearances in stage productions and TV shows. His film debut came in 'You're in the Navy Now' (1951) but it was his portrayal of villains in 'The Big Heat' (1953) and 'The Wild One' (1953) that brought him to the attention of the public and critical acclaim. Now firmly established as a screen bad guy, he began shifting towards leading man roles and landed the lead role in the popular TV series 'M Squad' (1957-1960). Returning to feature films, Marvin had prominent roles in 'The Comancheros' (1961), 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' (1962), 'Donovan's Reef' (1963) and 'The Killers' (1964) but it was his dual comic role in the offbeat western 'Cat Ballou' (1965) that made him a star and won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was now a much sought-after actor and starred in a number of movies as a new kind of leading man including 'The Professionals' (1966), 'The Dirty Dozen' (1967), 'Point Blank' (1967), 'Hell in the Pacific' (1968), 'Monte Walsh' (1970), 'Prime Cut' (1972), 'Emperor of the North' (1973) and 'The Spikes Gang' (1974).Later film credits include 'Shout at the Devil' (1976), 'Avalanche Express' (1979), 'The Big Red One' (1980), 'Death Hunt' (1981) and 'Gorky Park' (1983). His final film role was alongside Chuck Norris in 'The Delta Force' (1986). Lee Marvin died of a heart attack in August 1987. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. Marvin paved the way for leading men that didn't fit the traditional mould. An iconic American tough guy and one of the 20th Century's greatest Hollywood stars.- IMDb Mini Biography By: filmretrospect
- SpousesPamela Marvin(October 18, 1970 - August 29, 1987) (his death)Betty Ebeling(April 5, 1952 - January 4, 1967) (divorced, 4 children)
- ChildrenChristopher MarvinClaudia MarvinCourtenay Marvin
- ParentsLamont Waltman MarvinCourtenay Washington
- RelativesMarvin. Cynthia(Cousin)
- Typecast as a heavy before graduating to unsympathetic heroes
- Films often portrayed his liberal politics
- Gravelly smoke burnished voice
- Often played tough, hard bitten anti-heroes
- Silver gray hair
- Served as a Marine in the Pacific theater during WW2. In total, he took part in the invasions of 21 islands and was wounded and nearly died as a result during the Battle of Saipan, an engagement in which most of his unit was killed. He was a sniper and would be sent in during the night in a small rubber boat, prior to the rest of his platoon. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his wounds, and spent 13 months in therapy recovering from them. His wartime experiences deeply affected him for the remainder of his life.
- His body was interred next to that of Joe Louis in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.
- Was Steven Spielberg's first choice to play Quint in Jaws (1975).
- Was a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and twice a descendant of male line relatives of George Washington.
- Jeff Bridges has said that it was seeing Marvin and Robert Ryan at work in The Iceman Cometh (1973) that made him decide to fully commit to acting. He found that Marvin and Ryan, despite their obvious tough-guy personas, were unusually kind and giving actors.
- Tequila. Straight. There's a real polite drink. You keep drinking until you finally take one more and it just won't go down. Then you know you've reached your limit.
- [upon accepting his Best Actor Academy Award for Cat Ballou (1965)] I think half of this belongs to a horse somewhere out in the [San Fernando] Valley.
- Ah, stardom! They put your name on a star in the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard and you walk down and find a pile of dog manure on it. That tells the whole story, baby.
- If I have any appeal at all, it's to the fellow who takes out the garbage.
- Stimulation? Thursdays. Motivation? Thursdays. Paydays. That's it. It's important not to think too much about what you do. You see, with my way of thinking there are always Thursdays -- no matter how the picture works out.
- Pocket Money (1972) - $1,000,000
- Paint Your Wagon (1969) - $1,000,000
- Cat Ballou (1965) - $30,000
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