Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 â€" July 1, 1997) was an
American actor, director, author, poet, composer, and singer. Mitchum
rose to prominence for starring roles in several classic films noirs,
and his acting is generally considered a forerunner of the antiheroes
prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s. His best-known films
include Out of the Past (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Cape
Fear (1962), and El Dorado (1966). Mitchum was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Story of G.I. Joe
(1945). He is also known for his television role as U.S. Navy Captain
Victor “Pug†Henry in the epic two-part miniseries The Winds of
War (1983) and sequel War and Remembrance (1988).Mitchum is rated
number 23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male
stars of Classic American Cinema.Robert Mitchum was born in
Bridgeport, Connecticut, on August 6, 1917, into a Norwegian-Irish
Methodist family. His mother, Ann Harriet Gunderson, was a Norwegian
immigrant and sea captain's daughter; his father, James Thomas
Mitchum, was a shipyard and railroad worker of Irish descent. His
older sister, Annette (known as Julie Mitchum during her acting
career), was born in 1914. Their father, James Mitchum, was crushed to
death in a railyard accident in Charleston, South Carolina, in
February 1919. Robert was one year old, and Annette was not yet five.
Their mother was awarded a government pension, and soon realized she
was pregnant. Her third child, John, was born in September of that
year. Ann married again to Major Hugh Cunningham Morris, a former
Royal Naval Reserve officer. Ann and Morris had a daughter together,
Carol Morris, born July 1927, on the family farm in Delaware. When all
of the children were old enough to attend school, Ann found employment
as a linotype operator for the Bridgeport Post.
American actor, director, author, poet, composer, and singer. Mitchum
rose to prominence for starring roles in several classic films noirs,
and his acting is generally considered a forerunner of the antiheroes
prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s. His best-known films
include Out of the Past (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Cape
Fear (1962), and El Dorado (1966). Mitchum was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Story of G.I. Joe
(1945). He is also known for his television role as U.S. Navy Captain
Victor “Pug†Henry in the epic two-part miniseries The Winds of
War (1983) and sequel War and Remembrance (1988).Mitchum is rated
number 23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male
stars of Classic American Cinema.Robert Mitchum was born in
Bridgeport, Connecticut, on August 6, 1917, into a Norwegian-Irish
Methodist family. His mother, Ann Harriet Gunderson, was a Norwegian
immigrant and sea captain's daughter; his father, James Thomas
Mitchum, was a shipyard and railroad worker of Irish descent. His
older sister, Annette (known as Julie Mitchum during her acting
career), was born in 1914. Their father, James Mitchum, was crushed to
death in a railyard accident in Charleston, South Carolina, in
February 1919. Robert was one year old, and Annette was not yet five.
Their mother was awarded a government pension, and soon realized she
was pregnant. Her third child, John, was born in September of that
year. Ann married again to Major Hugh Cunningham Morris, a former
Royal Naval Reserve officer. Ann and Morris had a daughter together,
Carol Morris, born July 1927, on the family farm in Delaware. When all
of the children were old enough to attend school, Ann found employment
as a linotype operator for the Bridgeport Post.
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