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IMDbPro

Lee Marvin(1924-1987)

  • Actor
  • Additional Crew
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Lee Marvin, c. 1964.
Trailer for The Delta Force
Play trailer1:58
The Delta Force (1986)
32 Videos
99+ Photos
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, the son of Courtenay Washington (Davidge), a fashion writer, and Lamont Waltman Marvin, an advertising executive. 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.
BornFebruary 19, 1924
DiedAugust 29, 1987(63)
BornFebruary 19, 1924
DiedAugust 29, 1987(63)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Oscar

Photos264

Marlon Brando, Lee Marvin, and Jerry Paris in The Wild One (1953)
Lee Marvin in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Lee Marvin in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Lee Marvin in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Lee Marvin and Jack Webb in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Lee Marvin and Jack Webb in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Lee Marvin, Jud De Naut, Eddie Miller, Martin Milner, Moe Schneider, Ray Sherman, George Van Eps, and Jack Webb in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Lee Marvin in Seminole (1953)
Rock Hudson and Lee Marvin in Seminole (1953)
Rock Hudson and Lee Marvin in Seminole (1953)
Lee Marvin and Richard Carlson in Seminole (1953)
Rock Hudson and Lee Marvin in Seminole (1953)

Known for

Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, and Jean Seberg in Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Paint Your Wagon
6.6
  • Ben Rumson
  • 1969
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
The Dirty Dozen
7.7
  • Major John Reisman
  • 1967
Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Nat 'King' Cole, Dwayne Hickman, Stubby Kaye, and Tom Nardini in Cat Ballou (1965)
Cat Ballou
6.7
  • Kid Shelleen
  • Tim Strawn
  • 1965
The Professionals (1966)
The Professionals
7.3
  • Fardan
  • 1966

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Delta Force (1986)
    The Delta Force
  • Lee Marvin in The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission (1985)
    The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission
  • Dog Day (1984)
    Dog Day
  • Gorky Park (1983)
    Gorky Park
  • Charles Bronson, Angie Dickinson, and Lee Marvin in Death Hunt (1981)
    Death Hunt
  • Mark Hamill and Lee Marvin in The Big Red One (1980)
    The Big Red One
  • Avalanche Express (1979)
    Avalanche Express
  • The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976)
    The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday
  • Shout at the Devil (1976)
    Shout at the Devil
  • Richard Burton, Lee Marvin, and O.J. Simpson in The Klansman (1974)
    The Klansman
  • Ron Howard, Lee Marvin, Charles Martin Smith, and Gary Grimes in The Spikes Gang (1974)
    The Spikes Gang
  • The Iceman Cometh (1973)
    The Iceman Cometh
  • Emperor of the North (1973)
    Emperor of the North
  • Gene Hackman and Lee Marvin in Prime Cut (1972)
    Prime Cut
  • Paul Newman and Lee Marvin in Pocket Money (1972)
    Pocket Money

Additional Crew

  • Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, and Fred MacMurray in The Caine Mutiny (1954)
    The Caine Mutiny
    • (uncredited)

Soundtrack

  • Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy in Breathe (2017)
    Breathe
  • Christmas with the Sex Pistols
    • (uncredited)
  • Matt Sloan and Craig Johnson in Welcome to the Basement (2012)
    Welcome to the Basement
  • Edle dråper (2002)
    Edle dråper
  • Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman
    • ("I was born under a wandering star")
  • Tohuwabohu (1990)
    Tohuwabohu
    • (uncredited)
  • Kottan ermittelt (1976)
    Kottan ermittelt
  • Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, and Jean Seberg in Paint Your Wagon (1969)
    Paint Your Wagon
  • John Boorman, Lee Marvin, and Toshirô Mifune in Hell in the Pacific (1968)
    Hell in the Pacific
    • (uncredited)
  • Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Nat 'King' Cole, Dwayne Hickman, Stubby Kaye, and Tom Nardini in Cat Ballou (1965)
    Cat Ballou
    • (uncredited)
  • John Wayne, Ina Balin, Lee Marvin, Nehemiah Persoff, and Stuart Whitman in The Comancheros (1961)
    The Comancheros
    • (uncredited)
  • The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1956)
    The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
    • (uncredited)
  • Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
    Pete Kelly's Blues
    • (uncredited)

Videos32

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Clip 0:33
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Clip 0:44
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Clip 1:17
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Paramount Centennial Collection
Trailer
Trailer 2:30
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Trailer
Trailer 2:39
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Trailer
Trailer 2:57
Trailer
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Trailer 2:38
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:43
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:39
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Trailer 2:03
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:03
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:17
Official Trailer

Personal details

Edit
    • February 19, 1924
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • August 29, 1987
    • Tucson, Arizona, USA(heart attack)
    • Pamela MarvinOctober 18, 1970 - August 29, 1987 (his death)
    • (Cousin)
  • Other works
    Unsold pilot: In 1958 he starred in an unsold pilot called "Chicago Beat", about a plainclothes detective with the knack for solving baffling crimes.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 5 Print Biographies
    • 4 Interviews
    • 5 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    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.
  • Quotes
    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.
    • Typecast as a heavy before graduating to unsympathetic heroes
    • Pocket Money
      (1972)
      $1,000,000

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