Lee Marvin

1924 - 1987 (heart attack)
American born New York City

Height 6' 2" (1.88 m) . 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 You're in the Navy Now (1951), 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 (1952), he followed it with enormously memorable heavies in The Big Heat (1953) and The Wild One (1953). 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" (1957). A surprise Oscar for his dual role as a drunken gunfighter and his evil, noseless brother in the western comedy Cat Ballou (1965) 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. Spouse Pamela Feeley (18 October 1970 - 29 August 1987) (his death), Betty Ebeling (February 1951 - 5 January 1967) (divorced).

The Delta Force (1986) , The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985) , Canicule (1984) , Gorky Park (1983) , Death Hunt (1981), The Big Red One (1980), Avalanche Express (1979) , Shout at the Devil (1976) , The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976) , The Klansman (1974) , The Spikes Gang (1974) , The Iceman Cometh (1973) , Emperor of the North Pole (1973) , Prime Cut (1972) , Pocket Money (1972) , Monte Walsh (1970) , Paint Your Wagon (1969) , Hell in the Pacific (1968) , Sergeant Ryker (1968) , Point Blank (1967) , The Dirty Dozen (1967) , The Professionals (1966), Ship of Fools (1965) , Cat Ballou (1965) , "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1965) , "Dr. Kildare" (1964) , "The Great Adventure" (1963) , "Kraft Suspense Theatre" (1963) , "The Twilight Zone" (1961) , "Combat!" (1963) , Donovan's Reef (1963) , "The Dick Powell Show" (1963) , "The Lawbreakers" (1963) , "The Untouchables" (1961) , "The Virginian" (1962) , "Pantomime Quiz" (1962) , "The DuPont Show of the Week" (1962) , The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) , "Bonanza" (1962) , Walk on the Wild Side (1962) , "Ben Casey" (1962) , "Route 66" (1961) , The Comancheros (1961) , "The Investigators" (1961) , "Alcoa Premiere" (1961) , "General Electric Theater" (1957) , "Checkmate" (1961) , "Wagon Train" (1960) , "The Americans" (1961) , "The Barbara Stanwyck Show"(1961) , "Sunday Showcase" (1960) , "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1959) , "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1957) , "Climax!" (1955) , "M Squad" (1958) , The Missouri Traveler (1958) , Raintree County (1957) , "The United States Steel Hour"l (1957) , "Studio 57" (1957) , The Rack (1956) , Pillars of the Sky (1956) , Attack (1956) , Seven Men from Now (1956) , "Front Row Center" (1956) , "Kraft Television Theatre" (1956) , Shack Out on 101 (1955) , I Died a Thousand Times (1955) , "Studio One"(1955) , "Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre" (1955) , Pete Kelly's Blues (1955) , A Life in the Balance (1955) , Not as a Stranger (1955) , Violent Saturday (1955) , "TV Reader's Digest" (1955) , Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) , "Medic" (1954) , "Center Stage" (1954) , The Raid (1954) , The Caine Mutiny (1954) , Gorilla at Large (1954) , "The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse" (1954) , The Wild One (1953) , "Suspense" (1953) , "The Motorola Television Hour" (1953) , Gun Fury (1953) , The Big Heat (1953), The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) , The Glory Brigade (1953) , Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1953) , Seminole (1953) , Dragnet" (1952) , Eight Iron Men (1952) , "Biff Baker, U.S.A." (1952) , Hangman's Knot (1952) , The Duel at Silver Creek (1952) , We're Not Married! (1952) , Diplomatic Courier (1952) , Hong Kong (1952) , "Rebound" (1952) , "Fireside Theatre"(1952) , Teresa (1951) , You're in the Navy Now (1951) , "Treasury Men in Action" (1950)