Prematurely white-haired character star who began as a supporting player of generally vicious demeanor, then metamorphosed into a star of both action and drama projects, Lee Marvin was born in New York City to Lamont Marvin, an advertising executive, and his wife Courtenay, a fashion writer. The young Marvin was thrown out of dozens of schools for incorrigibility. His parents took him to Florida, where he attended St. Leo's Preparatory School near Dade City. Dismissed there as well, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at the beginning of World War II. In the battle of Saipan in June 1944, he was wounded in the buttocks by Japanese fire which severed his sciatic nerve. He received a medical discharge and got menial work as a plumber's apprentice in Woodstock, NY. While repairing a toilet at the local community theater, he was asked to replace an ailing actor in a rehearsal. He was immediately stricken with a love for the theater and went to New York City, where he studied and played small roles in stock and Off-Broadway. He landed an extra role in Henry Hathaway's U.S.S. Teakettle, and found his role expanded when Hathaway took a liking to him. Returning to the stage, he made his Broadway debut in "Billy Budd", and after a succession of small TV roles, moved to Hollywood, where he began playing heavies and cops in roles of increasing size and frequency. Given a leading role in Eight Iron Men, he followed it with enormously memorable heavies in The Big Heat and The Wild One. Now established as a major screen villain, Marvin began shifting toward leading roles with a successful run as a police detective in the TV series M Squad. A surprise Oscar for his dual role as a drunken gunfighter and his evil, noseless brother in the western comedy Cat Ballou placed him in the upper tiers of Hollywood leading men, and he filled out his career with predominantly action-oriented films. A long-term romantic relationship with Michelle Triola led, after their breakup, to a highly publicized lawsuit in which Triola asked for a substantial portion of Marvin's assets. Her case failed in its main pursuit, but did establish a legal precedent for the rights of unmarried cohabitors, the so-called "palimony" law. Marvin continued making films of varying quality, always as a star, until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1987.


Pocket Money (1972): $1,000,000
Paint Your Wagon (1969): $1,000,000

Says he learned to "act" in the Marines, trying to act unafraid during ferocious combat, which brought him a Purple Heart during invasion of Saipan. Son Christopher born 1952. Daughter Cynthia born 1956. Was a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and twice a descendant of male line relatives of George Washington. Was as surprised as anyone when his recording of "Wandering Star", from the Paint Your Wagon (1969) soundtrack, became a surprise hit, earning the Gold Record (the standard in those days) for one million copies sold in 1969. Named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was his second cousin three times removed. While serving in the Marine Corps he became best friends with John Miara of Malden, MA. Miara became Marvin's model for the character of Maj. Reisman in The Dirty Dozen (1967). Revisted Saipan (where he was wounded during World War II) in 1967, where his guide was P.F. Kluge, who went on to write Eddie and the Cruisers (1983). Could not ride a motorcycle at the time The Wild One (1953) was filmed but, determined not to be bettered by the star, Marlon Brando, he quickly learned. He later became a keen competitor on his Triumph 200cc Tiger Cub in desert races. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 611-613. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. Turned down William Holden's role in The Wild Bunch (1969) in order to make Paint Your Wagon (1969), for which he had been offered $1 million plus a percentage of the profits. However, the movie was a notorious failure on release. Jean Seberg likened his singing voice to "rain gurgling down a rusty pipe.". 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. He was a sniper, and would be sent in during the night in a small rubber boat, prior to the rest of his platoon. His wartime experiences deeply affected him for the remainder of his life. In December 1986, Marvin underwent intestinal surgery after suffering abdominal pains while at his ranch outside of Tucson. Doctors said then that there was an inflammation of the colon, but that no malignancy was found. Marvin hated his most famous film The Dirty Dozen (1967), which he made only for the money and said was nothing like the actual war. He much preferred Hell in the Pacific (1968) and The Big Red One (1980), both of which reflected his strong anti-war feelings. Publicly endorsed John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. Turned down the role of Col. Trautman in First Blood (1982), as he didn't want to play a colonel. In 1975 he left Hollywood and moved to Tucson. Turned down Salvador (1986). Marvin was a close personal friend of the legendary character actor Robert Ryan. They did several films together, and both served in the Marine Corps in World War Two. The pair were set to star in The Wild Bunch (1969), but Marvin had several heated arguments with director Sam Peckinpah and left the project. Ryan was no fan of Peckinpah himself, but stayed on the film. Ryan and Marvin were favorites of maverick director Samuel Fuller - also a close friend of both.