Lee Marvin

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Lee Marvin

American actor

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Last Updated: Dec 9, 2024 • Article History

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Born:: February 19, 1924, New York, New York, U.S.

Died:: August 29, 1987, Tucson, Arizona (aged 63)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1966); Academy Award (1966): Actor in a Leading Role; Golden Globe Award (1966): Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Married To:: Pamela Marvin (married 1970); Elizabeth (Betty) Ebeling (1951–1967)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "The Delta Force" (1986); "Canicule" (1984); "Gorky Park" (1983); "Death Hunt" (1981); "The Big Red One" (1980); "Avalanche Express" (1979); "The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday" (1976); "Shout at the Devil" (1976); "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); "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" (1962–1964); "The Killers" (1964); "The Great Adventure" (1963); "Kraft Suspense Theatre" (1963); "The Twilight Zone" (1961–1963); "Combat!" (1963); "Donovan's Reef" (1963); "The Dick Powell Show" (1963); "The Untouchables" (1961–1962); "The Virginian" (1962); "The DuPont Show of the Week" (1962); "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962); "Bonanza" (1962); "Ben Casey" (1962); "Route 66" (1961); "The Comancheros" (1961); "The Investigators" (1961); "Alcoa Premiere" (1961); "General Electric Theater" (1954–1961); "Checkmate" (1961); "Wagon Train" (1960–1961); "The Americans" (1961); "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" (1961); "M Squad" (1957–1960); "Sunday Showcase" (1960); "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1959); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1954–1959); "Climax!" (1955–1958); "The Missouri Traveler" (1958); "Raintree County" (1957); "The United States Steel Hour" (1957); "Studio 57" (1957); "The Rack" (1956); "Pillars of the Sky" (1956); "Attack" (1956); "7 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); "ABC Album" (1953); "The Wild One" (1953); "Suspense" (1950–1953); "The Motorola Television Hour" (1953); "The Big Heat" (1953); "Gun Fury" (1953); "The Revlon Mirror Theater" (1953); "The Stranger Wore a Gun" (1953); "The Doctor" (1953); "The Glory Brigade" (1953); "Seminole" (1953); "Dragnet" (1952–1953); "Eight Iron Men" (1952); "Biff Baker, U.S.A." (1952); "Hangman's Knot" (1952); "The Duel at Silver Creek" (1952); "Rebound" (1952); "Fireside Theatre" (1952); "Treasury Men in Action" (1950); "The Big Story" (1950); "Escape" (1950)

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Lee Marvin (born February 19, 1924, New York, New York, U.S.—died August 29, 1987, Tucson, Arizona) was a rugged, durable American actor who was perhaps the quintessential cinematic “tough guy.”

Marvin took up acting after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, and in 1949 he began appearing in Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. The following year he had guest parts in several television shows, which led to his film debut in 1951. For the better part of 14 years, he appeared in smaller roles. His tall, lean, brutal, stone-faced appearance made him an excellent choice for the role of villain in Hollywood action movies and westerns. Many of Marvin’s early films were notable works of major directors, such as Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat (1953), László Benedek’s The Wild One (1953), John Sturges’s Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), and Robert Aldrich’s Attack (1956). Marvin continued to make TV appearances as well, and he starred as the tough but good-hearted Lieut. Frank Ballinger in the series M Squad (1957–60).

*Cat Ballou*Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda in *Cat Ballou* (1965), directed by Elliot Silverstein.

In 1962 Marvin appeared as Liberty Valance, a mean, snarling cowboy in John Ford’s legendary The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. This role led to his dual casting as a drunken cowboy hero and his nasty gun-slinging twin brother in Cat Ballou (1965), a western comedy. His performance in this film won him an Oscar, and he was soon in demand as a leading man.

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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*Point Blank*Angie Dickinson and Lee Marvin in *Point Blank* (1967), directed by John Boorman.

Borrowing from his vast experience at playing bad guys, Marvin brought complexity to his roles as a leading man by incorporating elements of the thug. In 1967 he delivered two of his most memorable performances: in The Dirty Dozen, he portrayed the no-nonsense military commander who leads a group of condemned criminals on a deadly war mission; and in John Boorman’s Point Blank, he played an emotionless man out to exact violent revenge on the men who robbed him and left him for dead.

Marvin was sometimes miscast—for example, as a singing cowboy in Paint Your Wagon (1969), though his recording of the song “Wand’rin’ Star” became an unexpected hit. His ability to show tenderness, as he did in Monte Walsh (1970), was not often exploited by directors. His last great role was that of another determined World War II platoon leader, this time in Samuel Fuller’s The Big Red One (1980).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.