ROBERT MITCHUM BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY

Robert Mitchum was born August 6th, 1917 to Harriet Gunderson (Norwegian) and James Thomas Mitchum (Scots-Irish) in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Robert Mitchum, full name Robert Charles Duran Mitchum, lost his father at the young age of only a year and a half. He was a Hollywood icon, known for his tough guy appearance. Regardless of his tough childhood, he managed to overcome many obstacles to gain his stardom. He was expelled from high school in New York City, was constantly in fights and for the majority of his teenage years, he traveled the US and worked odd jobs as a vagrant, laborer and at one point a professional boxer.

He moved in with his sister in 1936 and in 1940 he married Dorothy Spence whom he had met while traveling around the country. He found employment first working as a drop hammer operator with Lockheed Aircraft, but after getting ill he then followed his sisters advice and in 1942 joined the Long Beach, California theaters Guild. This decision lead to him getting work as an extra in Hollywood. That same year he starred in his first set of Hopalong Cassidy westerns. 

A contract was then signed with RKO and Robert appeared in a few more westerns, including "Nevada" starring with Anne Jeffries, Richard Martin and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. He was nominated for an Academy award for Best Supporting Actor (his only nomination) for his appearance in the critically acclaimed ''The Story of G.I. Joe " in 1946 with Burgess Meredith as World War II news correspondent and reknowned author Ernie Pyle.  He followed the filming of this film by being drafted from April 11th-October 12th,1945 serving in the US Army. Majority of the films he appeared in during the late 1940's and early 1950's were gangster movies. These at the time were known as film noir movies. In 1946, he starred in his first substantial Noir role, "The Locket" and co-starring with Laraine Day, Gene Raymond and Brian Aherne.  Nominated for five Academy Awards, the film, "Crossfire" (1947) and "Out of The Past" (1947) (what Robert is most remembered for) co-starring Kirk Douglas along with other films such as " Rachel and the Stranger" (1948) co-starring Loretta Young and William Holden, "Angel Face" (1952) joining with Jean Simmons, Herbert Marshall and Mona Freeman and "The Night of the Hunter" (1955), starring with Shelley Winters and the legendary Lillian Gish, were just some examples of a the film Noir movies which by the late 1950's early 60's came to an end. 

Mitchum, was very versatile as well, having played in romances such as, the John Huston World War II drama "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (1957) starring with Deborah Kerr, literary dramas, "The Red Pony" (1949) starring alongside of Myrna Loy and also straight dramas, "The Sundowners" (1960) again joining forces with Deborah Kerr and also Peter Ustinov.

In 1959, the Mitchum's left Hollywood and moved to a farm they had bought on the Maryland shore of Chesapeake Bay, near the town of Trappe. However, in 1965, the family returned to Hollywood, mostly due to Dorothy's insistence, and moved into a mansion in Bel Air. Robert also purchased a 76-acre ranch near Los Angeles, mostly as a home for his growing collection of quarter horses.

Many films he appeared in over time had Robert playing the character of a loner or villain such as, some of his later work in "Thunder Road" (1958) co-starring Gene Barry, "Cape Fear" (1962) starring alongside Gregory Peck and Polly Bergen, "El Dorado" (1957) starring John Wayne and a slew of great character actors such as James Caan, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ed Asner, Christopher George, Paul Fix and Jim Davis just to name a few, "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973) with Peter Boyle, and "Farewell, My Lovely" (1975) along with Anthony Zerbe, Charlotte Rampling and John Ireland.

Robert also had some television appearances in miniseries "Winds Of War" (1983), "North and South" (1985) and "War and Remembrance" (1988-1989).  During the 1990's Robert even worked in voice over and appeared in various films, including the 1991 Martin Scorsese remake of Cape Fear (starring Robert De Niro) and "Dead Man" 1995, starring Johnny Depp.

During 1989 backstage at the People Choice Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California, Charlton Heston presented him with an award for "War and Remembrance" (1988).  Towards the end of his acting career he got work doing Voice Over's, most known for the, "Beef, It's what's for dinner" campaign.

He definitely portrayed the 'Bad Boy' image on film and throughout his life. Early in his career newspapers compared him as the next Clark Gable.  In the late 1940's he served prison time for possession of marijuana.  This  was one of the first times a major actor had been jailed for this crime  Also, in 1984 he was treated for alcoholism at the Betty Ford Center. Regardless of the obstacles through life he had to overcome, he remains a Hollywood legend. 

 He was in the film industry for a total of over 5 decades.  He also remained with his wife Dorothy Spence until his death, July 1, 1997 at the age of 79 due to lung cancer.  Although he remained married for almost 60 years, he was known to have numerous affairs.  He was a father to 3 children, Trina, Christopher and James Mitchum.  Both of his sons grew up to be in the entertainment industry as well.  Mitchum also achieved some success as a country music artist, releasing two albums and successfully using his music to promote his films. He enjoyed a substantial fan base with a youth element which remained loyal to him even when he spoke out in support of the Vietnam War. He  was named #23 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends by the American Film Institute.  John Wayne once said, Mitchum has been retired since the day I met him". However, he did manage to hold a successful career in the entertainment world and to this day, he will be remembered as one of Hollywood's most determined and successful male actors of all time.

Filmography

Directing

1987  Broken Noses Composer (Music Score)

1958  Thunder Road Songwriter / Producer / Screenwriter

Acting

1998  Waiting for Sunset as Ernest Bogan

1997  James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young as George Stevens

1995  Backfire as Marshal Marc Marshall

1995  Dead Man as John Dickinson

1994  Backfire! as Fire Marshall Marc Marshall

1993  Tombstone as Narration

1993  Woman of Desire as Walter J. Hill

1992  Entrepreneurs: An American Adventure, Part 1 - The Entrepreneurs as Host

1992  Les Sept péchés capitaux as God

1992  World War II Collection: The Year of the Generals as Voice

1991  Cape Fear as Lieutenant Elgart

1991  The Hollywood Collection: Robert Mitchum - The Reluctant Star as Narrator

1990  A Family For Joe [TV Series] as Joe Whitaker

1990  A Family for Joe: Pilot as Joe Whitaker

1990  Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend - The Definitive Visual Biography as Interviewee

1990  Presume Dangereux as Prof. Forrester

1989  Jake Spanner: Private Eye as Jake Spanner

1989  John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick as Voice Narrator

1989  The Brotherhood of the Rose as John Eliot

1988  Mr. North as James McHenry Bosworth

1988  Scrooged as Preston Rhinelander

1987  Saturday Night Live: Robert Mitchum as Host

1986  Promises to Keep as Jack Palmer

1985  North and South as Patrick Flynn

1985  Reunion at Fairborough as Carl Hostrup

1985  The Hearst and Davies Affair as William Randoph Hearst

1984  Maria's Lovers as Ivan's Father

1984  The Ambassador as Ambassador Peter Hacker

1983  Winds of War, Part 2: The Storm Breaks as Victor "Pug" Henry

1983  Winds of War, Part 3: Cataclysm as Victor "Pug" Henry

1983  Winds of War, Part 4: Defiance as Victor "Pug" Henry

1983  Winds of War, Part 5: Of Love and War as Victor "Pug" Henry

1983  Winds of War, Part 6: Changing the Guard as Victor "Pug" Henry

1983  Winds of War, Part 7: Into the Maelstorm as Victor "Pug" Henry

1982  One Shoe Makes It Murder as Harold Shillman

1982  That Championship Season as Coach Delaney

1981  Agency as Ted Quinn

1980  Nightkill as Donner

1978  Matilda as Duke Parkhurst

1978  Sergeant Steiner as Col. Rogers

1978  The Big Sleep as Philip Marlowe

1977  The Amsterdam Kill as Quinlan

1976  Midway as Admiral William F. Halsey

1976  The Last Tycoon as Pat Brady

1975  Farewell, My Lovely as Philip Marlowe

1975  The Yakuza as Harry Kilmer

1973  The Friends of Eddie Coyle as Eddie Coyle

1972  The Wrath of God as Father Van Horne

1971  Going Home as Harry K. Graham

1970  Ryan's Daughter as Charles Shaughnessy

1969  The Good Guys and the Bad Guys as Flagg

1969  Young Billy Young as Ben Kane

1968  Anzio as Ennis

1968  Five Card Stud as Rev. Rudd

1968  Secret Ceremony as Albert

1968  Villa Rides as Lee

1967  El Dorado as Sheriff J.B. Harrah

1967  The Way West as Dick Summers

1965  Mister Moses as Joe Moses

1964  Man in the Middle as Lt. Col. Barney Adams

1964  What a Way to Go! as Rod Anderson

1963  Rampage as Harry Stanton

1963  The List of Adrian Messenger as Jim Slattery

1962  Cape Fear as Max Cady

1962  The Longest Day as Brig. Gen. Norman Cota

1962  Two for the Seesaw as Jerry Ryan

1961  The Grass Is Greener as Charles Delacro

1961  The Last Time I Saw Archie as Archie Hall

1960  Home from the Hill as Capt. Wade Hunnicutt

1960  The Night Fighters as Dermot O'Neill

1960  The Sundowners as Paddy Cannody

1959  The Angry Hills as Mike Morrison

1959  The Wonderful Country as Martin Brady

1958  The Hunters as Major Cleve Seville

1958  Thunder Road as Lucas 'Luke' Doolin

1957  Fire Down Below as Felix Bowers

1957  Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison as Mr. Allison

1957  The Enemy Below as Captain Murrell

1956  Bandido as Wilson

1956  Foreign Intrigue as Dave Bishop

1955  Man With the Gun as Clint Tollinger

1955  Not as a Stranger as Lucas Marsh

1955  The Night of the Hunter as Preacher Harry Powell

1954  River of No Return as Matt Calder

1954  Track of the Cat as Curt Bridges

1953  Angel Face as Frank Jessup

1953  Second Chance as Russ Lambert

1953  White Witch Doctor as Lonni Douglas

1952  Macao as Nick Cochran

1952  One Minute to Zero as Col. Steve Janowski

1952  She Couldn't Say No as Doc

1952  The Lusty Men as Jeff McCloud

1951  His Kind of Woman as Dan Milner

1951  My Forbidden Past as Dr. Mark Lucas

1951  The Racket as Captain Thomas McQuigg

1950  Where Danger Lives as Jeff Cameron

1949  Holiday Affair as Steve Mason

1949  The Big Steal as Lieut. Duke Halliday

1949  The Red Pony as Billy Buck

1948  Blood on the Moon as Jim Garry

1948  Rachel and the Stranger as Jim Fairways

1947  Crossfire as Sgt. Peter Kelley

1947  Desire Me as Paul Aubert

1947  Out of the Past as Jeff Bailey

1947  Pursued as Jeb Rand

1946  The Locket as Norman Clyde

1946  Till the End of Time as William Tabeshaw

1946  Undercurrent as Michael Garroway

1945  The Story of G.I. Joe as Lt. Walker

1945  West of the Pecos as Pecos Smith

1944  Girl Rush as Jimmy Smith

1944  Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More as Chief Petty Officer Jeff Daniels

1944  Mr. Winkle Goes to War as Corporal

1944  Nevada as Jim 'Nevada' Lacy

1944  Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo as Bob Gray

1944  When Strangers Marry as Fred Graham

1943  Aerial Gunner as Sergeant

1943  Bar 20 as Richard Adams

1943  Beyond the Last Frontier as Trigger Dolan

1943  Border Patrol as Quinn

1943  Colt Comrades as Dirk Mason

1943  Corvette K-225 as Shepard

1943  Cry Havoc as Moaning Man

1943  Doughboys in Ireland as Ernie Jones

1943  False Colors as Rip Austin

1943  Follow the Band as Tate Winters

1943  Gung Ho! as 'Pig-Iron' Matthews

1943  Hoppy Serves a Writ as Rigney

1943  Minesweeper as Chuck

1943  Riders of the Deadline as Drago

1943  The Dancing Masters as Mickey

1943  The Human Comedy as Horse

1943  The Leather Burners as Randall

1943  The Lone Star Trail as Ben Slocum

1943  We've Never Been Licked as Panhandle Mitchell

The Golden Years? as Narrator