Robert Mitchum

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American film actor and singer. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mitchum is largely remembered for his starring roles in several major works of the film noir genre, and is considered a forerunner of the antiheroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 60s.

Background

Mitchum's father, James Thomas Mitchum, was born in Lane, South Carolina. He was a soldier and barroom brawler of Scots-Irish ancestry on his father's side and Blackfoot Indian descent on his mother's. Robert's mother, Ann Harriet Gunderson, was a Norwegian immigrant and a sea captain's daughter. During his childhood, Mitchum frequently went out of his way to get into trouble. Throughout his life, he was famous for fabricating fantastic tales about his past, claiming to have once worked for a Georgia chain gang, escaping after six days.

Related Topics:
South Carolina - Scots-Irish - Blackfoot - Norwegian - Georgia - Chain gang

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Mitchum was expelled from Haaren High School in Hell's Kitchen, New York City as a teenager and wandered the country during the early years of the Great Depression, taking on such roles as a workman and professional boxer. He finally settled down in Long Beach, California in 1936 with his sister, Julie, who convinced him to join her in the local theater guild. In 1940 he married his boyhood sweetheart, Dorothy Spence, in Delaware. The Mitchums had two sons, Jim Mitchum and Christopher Mitchum, both actors; and a daughter, Petrine.

Related Topics:
Haaren High School - Hell's Kitchen - New York City - Great Depression - Boxer - Long Beach, California - 1936 - Delaware - Christopher Mitchum

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