Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin was born February 19, 1924 in New York City. He passed away on August 29, 1987 of heart failure. Because of his service as a Marine, Marin is interned in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Marvin began his acting career while working as a plumber's helper at local community theatre in Upstate New York. After being recruited to take over for an ill actor, Marvin began an amateur Off-Broadway career and served as an understudy in Broadway productions. In 1950 Marvin moved to Hollywood where he was cast in supporting roles in war films. In 1953 Marvin was cast opposite Marlon Brando in The Wild One and eventually moved on to play the villain in Westerns. His turn-around roll was in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance alongside John Wayne.

In 1965 Marvin won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his comic role in Cat Ballou. Everyone knows Lee Marvin from the Dirty Dozen a hugely successful World War II epic. Marvin moved on to become a huge star and was given control over his next film Point Blank.

Marvin's graduation from bad guy to semi-hero began in 1970 with Monte Walsh, Prime Cut and Pocket Money. Lee Marvin's last roles included Death Hunt, Gorky Park, and The Dirty Dozen: the Next Mission. His final movie was The Delta Force in 1986 alongside Chuck Norris.

Marvin was married twice first to Betty Ebeling and then to Pamela Feeley. He had four children one of whom passed away in 2012. He loved making regular trips to Australia to engage in sport fishing. He also took care of his dying father. He was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War.

While working on his ranch outside of Tucson, Arizona Marvin suffered abdominal pains and underwent intestinal surgery. He was hospitalized for over two weeks but succumbed to a heart attack. He tombstone in Arlington reads "Lee Marvin, PFC US Marine Corps, World War II."