Trivia

Served as a Marine in the Pacific theater during WW2. In total, he took part in the invasions of 21 islands and was wounded and nearly died as a result during the Battle of Saipan, an engagement in which most of his unit was killed. He was a sniper and would be sent in during the night in a small rubber boat, prior to the rest of his platoon. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his wounds, and spent 13 months in therapy recovering from them. His wartime experiences deeply affected him for the remainder of his life.

His body was interred next to that of Joe Louis in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.

Was Steven Spielberg's first choice to play Quint in Jaws (1975).

Jeff Bridges has said that it was seeing Marvin and Robert Ryan at work in The Iceman Cometh (1973) that made him decide to fully commit to acting. He found that Marvin and Ryan, despite their obvious tough-guy personas, were unusually kind and giving actors.

Says he learned to act in the Marines during World War II, trying to act unafraid during ferocious combat, which brought him a Purple Heart during the invasion of Saipan.

Could not ride a motorcycle at the time The Wild One (1953) was filmed but, determined not to be bettered by the star, Marlon Brando, he quickly learned. He later became a keen competitor on his Triumph 200cc Tiger Cub in desert races.

Was a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and twice a descendant of male line relatives of George Washington.

Named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was his first cousin, four times removed, through the General's grandparents Henry Lee II and Lucy Grymes.

John Boorman originally wanted Marvin and Marlon Brando to play Ed and Lewis, respectively, in Deliverance (1972). However, Marvin suggested that he and Brando were too old and that Boorman should use younger actors.

Turned down the lead role of Gen. George S. Patton in Patton (1970) because he did not want to glorify war.

Marvin hated his most famous film The Dirty Dozen (1967), which he made only for the money and said was nothing like the actual war. He much preferred Hell in the Pacific (1968) and The Big Red One (1980), both of which reflected his strong anti-war feelings.

Not a sentimental man by nature, he kept only four souvenirs of his career over the years. These were his Best Actor Oscar for Cat Ballou (1965), the citation he received from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for his performance in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), his Gold Record for "Wandering Star" and the high-heeled shoe that Vivien Leigh beat him with in Ship of Fools (1965).

Together with Nicolas Cage (Adaptation. (2002)), José Ferrer (Moulin Rouge (1952)) and Peter Sellers (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)), he is one of only four actors with an Oscar nomination for playing multiple characters in a film (in Cat Ballou (1965) he plays two characters, Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn). Marvin is the only one who actually won one for a double role.

Turned down Dirty Harry (1971) and Death Wish (1974), both vigilante-themed movies. Marvin was director Sidney Lumet's first choice for Paul Kersey in "Death Wish", but Lumet dropped out and Marvin was no longer interested because of it.

Revisited Saipan (where he was wounded during World War II) in 1967, where his guide was P.F. Kluge, who went on to write Eddie and the Cruisers (1983).

Burt Lancaster and he did not get along during the shoot of The Professionals (1966) due to that fact that Marvin's bottoming-out alcoholism was making him unreliable and difficult at the time. Director Richard Brooks felt the need to intervene because he feared Lancaster was going to "take Lee Marvin by the ass and throw him off that mountain".

He was buried with full military honor at Arlington National Cemetery.

He was one of the first Hollywood celebrities to declare his support for the gay rights movement, in his "Playboy" interview from January 1969. He further stated that he would have no problem playing gay characters on screen, since he was secure with his own sexual orientation.

Turned down William Holden's role in The Wild Bunch (1969) in order to make Paint Your Wagon (1969), for which he had been offered $1 million plus a percentage of the profits. However, the movie was a notorious failure on release.

Turned down two movies directed by William Friedkin, The French Connection (1971) and Sorcerer (1977).

Was as surprised as anyone when his recording of "Wandering Star", from the Paint Your Wagon (1969) soundtrack, became a surprise hit, earning the Gold Record (the standard in those days) for one million copies sold in 1969.

Was offered the role of Col. Douglas Mortimer in For a Few Dollars More (1965), but turned it down to star in Cat Ballou (1965).

While serving in the Marine Corps he became best friends with John Miara of Malden, MA. Miara became Marvin's model for the character of Maj. Reisman in The Dirty Dozen (1967).

Turned down the role of Col. Trautman in First Blood (1982), as he didn't want to play a colonel.

Went into semi-retirement from acting after filming The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976).

He has appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Big Heat (1953), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Point Blank (1967).

He was against US involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1975 he left Hollywood and moved to Tucson, AZ.

In December 1986 he underwent intestinal surgery after suffering abdominal pains while at his ranch outside of Tucson, AZ. Doctors said then that there was an inflammation of the colon, but that no malignancy was found.

Turned down Where Eagles Dare (1968) because he did not want to star in another war film. The part went to his Paint Your Wagon (1969) co-star Clint Eastwood.

The first actor to win an Oscar for playing two roles in the same film. The first actor nominated for playing two roles was José Ferrer, with whom he appeared in The Caine Mutiny (1954).

Marvin was a close friend of Robert Ryan, and they did several films together, and both served in the Marine Corps in World War Two. The pair were set to star in The Wild Bunch (1969), but Marvin had several heated arguments with director Sam Peckinpah and left the project. Ryan was no fan of Peckinpah either, but stayed on the film. He and Marvin were favorites of maverick director Samuel Fuller, who was also a close friend of both.

His acting career began by chance when, while working as a plumber's assistant at a local community theatre in upstate New York, Marvin was asked to replace an actor who had fallen ill during rehearsals. He caught the acting bug and got a job with the company at seven dollars a week.

At the time of his death from a sudden heart attack, he had been hospitalized at Tucson (AZ) Medical Center since 13 August 1987 with what his spokesman described as "a run-down condition related to the flu".

According to his first wife Betty Ebeling (1928-2018) in her memoirs, "Tales Of a Hollywood Housewife", when Marvin died he left only $10,000 in his will for his four children. She also said that during their marriage he was often pulled over by police for drunken driving, but got away with only a warning and signing an autograph for the officers.

Bonded with co-star Vivien Leigh on the set of Ship of Fools (1965). When he and his partner Michelle Triola visited Leigh at her exquisite home in England, he tore up a deck of antique playing cards that they were playing with. Much to Triola's surprise, Leigh was not at all disturbed by Marvin's boorish behavior but seemed enchanted by him.

He became a major star with Cat Ballou (1965), but his career waned considerably after Paint Your Wagon (1969).

Lived with Michelle Triola for six years. In 1977 she sued him for palimony and the case went to trial. On 18 April 1979, Judge Arthur K. Marshall ordered Marvin to pay $104,000 to Triola for "rehabilitation purposes", but denied her community property claim for one-half of the $3.6 million which Marvin had earned during their six years of cohabitation. Both sides claimed victory, but in August 1981, the California Court of Appeal ruled that Triola could not show any contract between herself and Marvin to justify any payment to her. As a result, Triola recovered no money from Marvin.

Despite his "tough guy" image he is one of the few actors to win a Best Leading Actor Oscar for a comedic performance.

Jean Seberg likened his singing voice to "rain gurgling down a rusty pipe.".

Was offered the lead in The War of the Worlds (1953).

Publicly endorsed John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.

His first wife, Betty, was Joan Crawford's kids' nanny before she met him.

He was expelled from various schools as a teenager for bad behavior.

He did not receive any offers at all for a year after M Squad (1957) finished, and fell into a deep depression.

Became a father for the first time at age 28 when his first wife Betty Ebeling gave birth to their son Christopher Lamont Marvin on November 22, 1952.

Became a father for the fourth time at age 34 when his first wife Betty Ebeling gave birth to their daughter Claudia Marvin on March 3, 1958.

Son of Lamont Waltman (December 19, 1896-April 6, 1971), born in New York, and Courtenay W. (née Davidge) Marvin (September 2, 1896-March 22, 1963), born in Virginia. His father died in Florida and his mother died in New York.

He died five years before his mother.

Smoked up to six packs of cigarettes a day.