Lee Marvin

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Lee Marvin, (February 19, 1924 – August 29, 1987) was an Academy Award winning American film actor. Known for his gravel voice, Marvin was originally limited to playing mostly villains and war veterans, but later appeared in more varied and sympathetic roles.

1 Early Life and World War II
2 Popular actor
3 Later life
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early Life and World War II

Born in New York City, the son of an advertising executive and a fashion writer, Marvin attended St. Leo Preparatory College in Saint Leo, Florida (now known as Saint Leo University) after being thrown out of several schools for bad behavior. He left school to join the U.S. 5th Marine Division, serving in combat. Marvin was wounded in action during the WWII battle of Saipan, two months prior to the battle of Iwo Jima, and was sent home with a medical discharge and a rank of PFC.

While working as a plumber's assistant, repairing a toilet at a local community theater in upstate New York, Marvin was asked to replace an actor who had fallen ill during rehearsals. He then established an amateur off-Broadway acting career in New York City and had been an understudy in Broadway productions before moving to Hollywood in 1950.

[edit] Popular actor

Marvin quickly became a popular figure in supporting roles, and from the beginning was cast in various Western films and WWII or Korean combat films. A decorated WWII combat veteran, Marvin was a natural in war dramas, where he frequently assisted the director and other actors in realistically portraying infantry movement, arranging costumes, and even adjusting war surplus military prop firearms. His debut was in You're in the Navy Now (1951), but in 1952 he appeared in several films, including Don Siegel's Duel at Silver Creek, Hangman's Knot, and the war drama Eight Iron Men. He was featured as the vicious boyfriend of Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat (1953). Marvin had a small but memorable role in The Wild One (1953) opposite Marlon Brando, followed by Seminole (1953), Gun Fury (1953). He was again praised for his role as the small-town hood Hector in the film Bad Day at Black Rock with Spencer Tracy (1954).

During the mid-1950s, Marvin gradually began playing more substantial roles. He starred in Attack! (1956), and The Missouri Traveller (1958) but it took over a hundred episodes as Chicago police lieutenant Frank Ballinger in the successful 1957-60 television series M Squad to give him name recognition. He had prominent roles with John Wayne in The Comancheros (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Donovan's Reef (1963). Marvin also guest-starred in Combat! "The Bridge at Chalons" (Episode 34, Season 2, Mission 1).

Aided by director Don Siegel, Marvin appeared in the groundbreaking The Killers (1964) playing an organised, no-nonsense, efficient, businesslike professional assassin whose character was copied to a great degree by Samuel L. Jackson in the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction. This film was also the first time Marvin received top billing in a film.

Lee Marvin won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Actor for his comedic performance in the offbeat western Cat Ballou. Following roles in The Professionals (1966) and the hugely successful The Dirty Dozen (1967), Marvin was given complete control over his next film. In Point Blank, an influential film with director John Boorman, he portrayed a hard-nosed criminal bent on revenge. In that film Marvin, who had selected Boorman himself for the director's slot, had a central role in the film's development, plot line, and staging. In 1968, Marvin also appeared in another Boorman film, the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Hell in the Pacific, co-starring famed Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune. He had a hit song with "Wand'rin' Star" from the western musical Paint Your Wagon (1969).

Preceded by: Rex Harrison for My Fair Lady	Academy Award for Best Actor 1965 for Cat Ballou	Succeeded by: Paul Scofield for A Man for All Seasons

[edit] Later life

Marvin began to vary his roles in the 1970s and 1980s, with fewer 'bad-guy' roles than in earlier years. His 1970s films included Monte Walsh (1970), Prime Cut (1972), Pocket Money (1972), Emperor of the North Pole (1973), The Spikes Gang (1974), The Klansman (1974), Shout at the Devil (1976), The Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday (1976), and Avalanche Express (1978).

Marvin's last big role was given to him by Samuel Fuller for The Big Red One (1980). His remaining films were Death Hunt (1981), Gorky Park (1983), Dog Day (1984), The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985), with his final appearance being in The Delta Force (1986).

A father of four, Marvin was married twice:

Betty Ebeling (February 1951 - January 5, 1967) (divorced).
Pamela Feeley (October 18, 1970 - August 29, 1987) (his death).

In 1971, Marvin was sued by long-time girlfriend Michelle Triola (who called herself Michelle Marvin at the time). Though the couple never married, she sought financial compensation similar to that available to spouses under California's alimony and community property laws. The result was the landmark "palimony" case, Marvin v. Marvin 18 Cal. 3d 660 (1976)<ref>http://online.ceb.com/calcases/C3/18C3d660.htm</ref>

The Supreme Court of California held that Ms. Triola could proceed with her suit, as it did state a cause of action and the trial court erred in granting judgment to Mr. Marvin on the pleadings.

The case was thus remanded for trial in the Superior Court in and for the County of Los Angeles. On April 18, 1979, Judge Arthur K. Marshall ordered Marvin to pay $104,000 to Ms. Triola for "rehabilitation purposes" but denied her community property claim for one-half of the $3.6 million which Marvin had earned during their six years of cohabitation. Both sides claimed victory.<ref>Laskin, Jerry. California "Palimony" Law -- An Overview. Goldman & Kagon Law Corporation. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.</ref> In August 1981, the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's award on the ground that the award was without support.

Marvin died in 1987 of a heart attack in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 63, and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

[edit] Trivia

In the film Eight Iron Men, Marvin, a WWII combat veteran, was frequently called upon to service the German MG34 machine gun that plays a central part in the picture. According to the director, only Marvin could get the gun to fire dependably.
Lee Marvin's character in The Dirty Dozen (Major John Reisman) was based on U.S. Marine John Miara, of Malden, Massachusetts. The two became friends while serving in the Marine Corps.
The myth about Lee Marvin fighting alongside Bob Keeshan (alias Captain Kangaroo) at the Battle of Iwo Jima is not true. (See above under "Early Life and World War II".)
A book regarding the films of Lee Marvin, Lee Marvin: His Films and Career was written by Robert J. Lentz in 1999. This book details Marvin's many film and television appearances, but omits details of his personal life.
Jim Jarmusch is the founder of a secret society The Sons of Lee Marvin whose members reportedly include Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and John Lurie. Lee Marvin's real son objected to the organization when he encountered Waits.<ref>Jarmusch's Guilty Pleasures. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.</ref>
Allegedly descended from Thomas Jefferson and related to Robert E. Lee<ref name = IMDb>Biography for Lee Marvin. IMDb. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.</ref>
When visiting co-star Vivien Leigh at her home in London, England with his girlfriend at the time, Michelle Triola, he tore up a deck of antique playing cards that they were playing with. Much to Triola's surprise, Leigh was not at all disturbed by Marvin's boorish behavior but seemed enchanted by him.<ref name = IMDb/>
The settlement as an unwed partner that Michelle Triola received from him supposedly led to a Hollywood slang term, "Marvinized."
Was originally considered for the part of Quint in the film Jaws
Made "Top 10 stars of the year", 5 times. 1967-1971
Marvin was 6'2" tall.
Lee Marvin was a regular on again/off again resident of Woodstock, NY throughout the 1970s. He frequented Katz's Deli, a delicatessen located on Tinker Street.
When filming a movie in Las Vegas in 1966, he and others complained that Vegas Vic's "howdy partner" was too loud. The voice box was removed.<ref>Katsilometes, John. "Vegas Vic Lives!", Las Vegas Sun, 2000-06-25. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.</ref>
Lee Marvin is also used as a rhyming slang term for "starving" as in "I gotta stop at Burger King, I'm Lee Marvin!".<ref>Cockney Rhyming Slang at the Stevies. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.</ref>