American actor Lee Marvin is famous for hisoutstanding external data: growth of two meters, a very low and loud voice, which is usually called "afterlife," albino hair, athletic build, behind which is a superhuman strength, ready for use at any time.
The actor was born on February 19, 1924 inNew York, in a respectable family of merchant Lamont Marvin and Courtney Washington, his wife. Lee's childhood was spent in endless violin lessons, riding and hunting small game, partridges and wild turkeys.
A young man, Lee Marvin left school and asked forthe allied front, which was opened immediately after the outbreak of World War II. He was identified in the fourth division of Marines, where Marvin began to serve as a sniper. After the injury, he was commissioned and awarded the "Purple Heart".
After the war, Lee Marvin settledan assistant to the public theater in northern New York. Once he was asked to go on stage instead of a suddenly ill actor. Thus, Marvin became a reserve performer of roles.
In 1950, the aspiring actor moved toHollywood. External data helped him immediately find work. Marvin began to play secondary roles in all films indiscriminately, focusing on war movies and westerns. Being an authentic war veteran, the actor looked very convincingly in the roles of soldiers and officers. In addition, he provided an invaluable service to the filmmakers, advising them on the most sensitive issues related to the fighting.
In the big movie made his debut as a performer of rolessecond plan, a pronounced negative property. His characters were all criminals, villains, crippled soldiers and "sullen guys" of all stripes.
The debut film in 1951 was the movie "Now you're in the Navy," the role was microscopic, in the credits Marvin was not identified.
However, after just one year, Lee Marvinappears in films where he already plays prominent characters. The role of Tinhon Burgess, small but memorable, immediately lifted the actor to the next step. He began to trust more and more serious heroes.
The military drama "Eight Iron Men" reinforcedimage of Lee Marvin as a reliable performer. Westerns - this was the actor's hobby. In 1953, the actor starred in the film directed by Fritz Lang "Strong Heat," where he played with Gloria Graham, acting as her friend.
For moviegoers, Lee Marvin was remembered in a small, butthe characteristic role of the leader of the gang "Zhukov", in the sensational film "Savage" with Marlon Brando in the lead role, Westerns "Arms and Fury" and "Seminole." A major success for the actor was the character Hector in the film "A Bad Day in Black Rock," created in 1955 by director John Sturges. The main role was played by Spencer Tracy, Lee Marvin played Hector David.
The end of the fifties was for the actor periodcreative dawn, he starred in such films as "In Attack!", "Team M", "Journey through Missouri." Especially the actor proved himself in the role of lieutenant of police in the TV series "Team M", for his unbending character he was nicknamed the Steel nail.
In the sixties of the last century, Lee Marvin,whose films have not yet produced the proper impression on the public, starred in three Westerns, which became for the actor truly starry. These were the films "Donovan's Reef" with John Wayne, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," where Marvin played Valance himself. And the western "Comancheres", also with John Wayne in the title role. Lee's role was small on the scale of the whole film, he played Tully the Blood, a man appearing here and there.
In 1964, director Don Siegel invited LeeMarvin to the main role in his film "The Assassins." It was a screen version of the eponymous story of Ernest Hemingway, who subsequently recognized that the version of Segal with Lee Marvin in the title role was the best ever. The film became famous also because Ronald Reagan, the future president of the United States, played his last role in it.
In 1966, Lee Marvin was awarded the Oscar, as the performer of the comic role in the parody of the western called "Cat Ballu" with Jane Fonda.
Two recent films with the participation of Marvin -"The Dirty Dozen" (1967) and "Professionals" (1966) - gained success with the audience and were awarded with numerous awards. Another film called "Shot at point blank" Lee completely took control, the benefit of it immediately approved for the main role. The actor carefully selected the team from the performers known to him, the director also chose to his taste. And he played a classic gangster, which was a lot in Los Angeles in the sixties of last century.
In 1968 Lee Marvin's cooperation withdirector John Burman continued, and they shot the film "Hell in the Pacific." Critics' comments have collected a good picture, but the public did not have a film.
In 1969, Lee Marvin played the main role - the character of Ben Ramson in the film director Joshua Logan's "Gold of California." The film failed at the box office, the creators lost about six million dollars.
His participation in the film industry is Lee Marvindescribed as follows: "The first forty years of your life you are trying to get into the film business, and the next forty years with all the power you try to get out of it."
One day, Lee Marvin received an invitation to participatein the film project of the famous director Stanley Kramer. They were already familiar with the movie "This crazy, crazy, crazy world." In 1965, Kramer removed the "Ship of Fools", a film based on the same name by writer Catherine Anne Porter. The film was the last work of Hollywood superstar Vivien Leigh. Marvin played one of the roles of the second plan.
A notable role in Lee Marvin's career fell on1980, when he played in the film directed by Samuel Fuller "The Big Red Unit." Then there were a few minor characters, and the last time the actor appeared on the big screen in 1986, in the film "Subdivision" Delta. "
Lee Marvin was married twice, his first wife was Betty Ebeling, the marriage took place in 1951, the marriage lasted sixteen years. The divorce was registered in January 1967.
A few years later, Marvin married Pamela Fili, with whom he lived until his death, which followed August 29, 1987.