Lee Marvin turned a film career of playing heavies on horseback into an eventual Best Actor Oscar win. And he seemed to do it one bottle at a time.
1. He Was A Good Ol’ Boy
There was no denying that actor Lee Marvin was a drinker. In fact, many directors and co-stars said tipping the bottle actually improved his performance. The surprising thing was that somehow this good ol’ boy managed to achieve the highest level of recognition.
Oh, and top of that, he had time to be at the forefront one of Hollywood's most infamous courtroom scandals.
2. They Dug Deep For His Name
Lee Marvin was born on February 19, 1924, in New York City. When it came to naming their son, his parents looked far off for inspiration: The family was distantly related to the confederate general Robert E Lee. For this reason, they named their younger son Lee, and his older brother went by Robert.
Marvin enjoyed a comfortable childhood—until he started going to school. That's when the trouble started.
Julian Vannerson, Wikimedia Commons
3. He Had A Doubly Hard Time
Marvin was not a good student. He often didn't show up for class and, when he did, he misbehaved and got into fights. His attitude raised red flags, and soon he earned a double diagnosis of dyslexia and ADHD. But despite his struggles, he still showed that he had a creative side when he picked up the violin.
But in case any of the boys at school thought the violin was for "sissies," Marvin went very “manly” on his second hobby.
4. He Led A Double Life
Young Marvin was living a sort of double life. He played the violin, but also enjoyed hunting animals for sport. This love of hunting prepared him for his next chapter: fighting for his country. Soon, he was thrust into the middle of action in WWII—and by action, we mean action.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
5. He Shed Blood For His Country
During the Battle of Saipan, a Japanese fire rained down on Lee Marvin and other members of his company. Marvin was one of the few survivors, and the ordeal earned him a Purple Heart. People called him a hero for his service—but that didn't mean much once he was back home in America.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
6. He Took A Chance
After serving his country overseas, the only job Marvin could find back home was as a plumber. This could have been Marvin’s lifelong career, except fate had other plans for him. Marvin was working on a plumbing job at a community theater when an actor got ill. The company desperately needed a replacement, and Marvin bravely hopped on stage.
That was all it took. Marvin caught the acting bug—and it didn't take long for his star to take off.
US Marine Corps, Wikimedia Commons
7. He Made A Big Move
After dabbling in live theater for a couple years, even making it to Broadway in that time, Lee Marvin got his first break in a film. This was 1951’s You’re in the Navy Now, which also marked the debut of action star Charles Bronson. Marvin and Bronson did most of their scenes in Virginia, but they had to do some filming in Hollywood.
Marvin simply packed up his things, moved his life out west, and never looked back. He was in it for the long haul—but Hollywood was a whole new beast. He desperately had to find a way to stick out from all the other hopefuls.
Herald American, Wikimedia Commons
7. He Was An Expert
Next, Marvin landed a very small role in the WWII drama Teresa. His role didn’t get him a screen credit, but Lee Marvin knew how to make himself invaluable. Seeing as he had actually served, Private First Class Marvin offered up his expertise.
He helped out his fellow actors and even the director with information about what WWII was really like. Word got around about this Lee Marvin character—and things started happening very quickly.
8. He Was A Star
1952 proved to be a huge breaking point for Marvin. He made no fewer than five feature films, and even had time for some television. Now Marvin was certainly not starring in any of these films; He was lucky if his name was even on the poster. He was, however, starring somewhere else. He was the star of his romantic life.
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9. He Had A Major Responsibility
While 1952 was a very busy year, Lee Marvin squeezed in the time for a quickie Las Vegas marriage to Betty Ebeling. Ebeling was Joan Crawford’s nanny, but she'd soon have to worry about her own kids, because she and Marvin quickly had a son and three daughters.
Marvin was now a family man and making movies was the only way he had to support them. Hungry mouths depended on him getting roles. And get them he did.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
10. He Scared Audiences
Marvin took his role as supportive father seriously and made an astonishing seven movies in 1953. He stood out in one of those movies in particular—for a frightening reason. That year, he appeared in a 3-D Western, something audiences definitely weren't used to. So when terrified moviegoers saw Marvin popping out of their screen, pointing his rifle directly at them, that wasn't something they were going to forget.
Since Marvin was still foundering in small roles, he needed to find a niche. Playing a tough guy seemed like an obvious choice—but he still had a lot to learn.
Universal, Sergeant Ryker (1968)
11. He Wasn't Afraid To Learn
Before he appeared opposite Marlon Brando in The Wild One, Lee Marvin had no clue how to ride a motorcyle, and Brando’s riding ability made him nervous. Marvin knew he couldn’t compete with Brando, but instead of throwing in the towel, he quickly signed up for a crash course in riding. He got so good he even went on to race motorcycles for real.
After his role in The Wild One, Marvin was officially a bad boy of Hollywood. More roles came his way—and so did a very scary reputation.
Stanley Kramer Productions, The Wild One (1953)
12. He Was A Villainous
That same year, Marvin landed another iconic villain role in Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat. Here, he plays starlet Gloria Grahame's vicious boyfriend. In the film, he does something that horrified audiences: He pours scalding hot coffee on his girlfriend’s face.
The scene was so convincing that some filmgoers thought he really was a bad guy in real life. Well, actually that wasn’t so far from the truth.
Columbia Pictures, The Big Heat (1953)
13. It Was A Secret
Lee Marvin was a villain on screen, but he was also a villain on the homefront. On another rather cheesy 3-D film—1954’s Gorilla at Large—Marvin met Anne Bancroft, and a secret romance began. This wasn’t just a brief dalliance, as the two kept this secret relationship up when worked together again on A Life In The Balance. Marvin’s wife was home with the kids, and Marvin was sleeping with movie stars.
While maybe Marvin had a star in his bed, he was still a long way from becoming a star in his own right. If anything, he must have felt more stuck than ever...
Panoramic Productions, Gorilla at Large (1954)
14. He Joined The Other Side
Marvin had played countless heavies on TV over the years, but in 1957, he finally got the chance to be the good guy for once. He landed the starring role as a tough Chicago detective in the TV series M Squad.
Was this his chance to finally catapult himself to leading man status? Nope. The series ended after 117 episodes, and Marvin was seemingly worse off than when he started. For some reason, no one seemed to want to hire him.
He didn’t work for a full year—and in his depression, he started down a dangerous path.
15. She Said He Stank
Lee Marvin did eventually get back on his feet and was soon aboard a fake ocean liner filming the drama Ship of Fools. But by now, Marvin was now quite the accomplished drinker—and lucky for him, so was his co-star. Vivian Leigh had wowed audiences in Gone with the Wind, but by now was sinking into depression and the bottle.
Ironically, she complained that Marvin had drinker’s breath during their cruise. Marvin and Leigh were clearly not off to the best start—but there was someone else on set who was a LOT friendlier with him.
Stanley Kramer Productions, Ship of Fools (1965)
16. He Moved Right In
Club dancer and singer Michelle Triola had a small part on board Ship of Fools, and she caught Marvin’s eye. A romance soon began and, a few weeks later, Marvin did something completely impulsive. He moved in with her. It seemed like a rather rash and sudden decision, but Triola said her life was never the same after meeting Marvin.
She was right, her life would not be the same. It would get much worse.
17. He Was A Rude Houseguest
Lee Marvin did eventually get close with his co-star Vivian Leigh, and she invited him and Triola to her home in England. But Marvin wasn't exactly a good houseguest. While playing cards, Marvin got angry and tore up the deck. And wouldn't you know it, the cards were actually antiques. Triola waited fearfully for Leigh’s reaction.
Surprisingly, Leigh didn’t bat an eye and seemed completely charmed by Marvin’s boorish, American behavior. Marvin had no shortage of charm for the ladies—but there wasn’t enough charm in the world to please his next co-star.
Fawcett Publications, Wikimedia Commons
18. He Got Up To His Usual Antics
Ship of Fools had been a little higher brow than most of Marvin’s offerings, so his other film that same year—the comedy western Cat Ballou—felt more like a natural fit for Marvin’s good old boy attitude. Most everyone else on set thought that Marvin’s drinking actually improved his performance.
But the film’s star, Jane Fonda, was having none of it and it got quite icy between the two. The tension came to a head when Fonda’s fiancé came to visit.
Columbia Pictures, Cat Ballou (1965)
19. He Had A Lot of Hate
Lee Marvin was not making friends with Fonda, and he made matters worse when he met her French fiancé Roger Vadim. Marvin had been drinking and told Vadim that he “hated the French”. Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. He said that he did like Vadim because he was half Russian...despite the fact that he hated Russians. Did we mention he liked drinking?
Unsurprisingly, making Cat Ballou was a miserable experience for Fonda, and she likely blamed Marvin for most of it. But Marvin was about to have the last laugh.
Columbia Pictures, Cat Ballou (1965)
20. He Proved Her Wrong
Sure, Cat Ballou was a silly western comedy, but there was one difference with this film: This time around, Marvin was playing two separate and incredibly different characters. The role required him to stretch his acting abilities further than usual, and the Academy noticed.
To everyone’s surprise—especially Fonda’s—this dual character role in a silly comedy western...won Lee Marvin Academy Award for Best Actor. Marvin was now an Oscar winner, and he was ready to cash in on the perks that came with it.
Columbia Pictures, Cat Ballou (1965)
21. He Made Him Angry
Marvin's salary had grown exponentially, but his on set attitude stayed exactly where it was. While working on The Professionals, Marvin was having trouble with co-star Burt Lancaster. It seemed that Marvin was more than a little unprofessional, and Lancaster was getting near the end of his rope.
The director had a very specific fear that Lancaster would “throw him off the mountain”. Again, the culprit was Marvin’s drinking and it was about to get him into even more trouble.
Columbia Pictures, The Professionals (1966)
22. He Socked It To Him
Lee Marvin continued this unprofessional streak on Point Blank. When he thought his co-star, John Vernon, was not tough enough to go against him, he took matters into his own hands—quite literally. Marvin decided to gauge Vernon’s strength by punching him right in the stomach. Vernon complained, but in the end, his character did gain the furious edge that they had been looking for.
Marvin was throwing his weight around, and when it came to money, he threw it even harder.
23. He Changed His Mind
In 1969, acclaimed director Sam Peckinpah was making a new kind of western called The Wild Bunch. Because of his performance in The Dirty Dozen, Peckinpah wanted Marvin. Everything about this movie said “hit” except for one thing. Marvin’s salary wasn't quite up to what the newly awarded actor now expected.
Marvin had initially said yes to The Wild Bunch, but then did a selfish turnaround.
24. It Was All About The Paycheck
Just as he had agreed to appear in The Wild Bunch, another offer came along. This was also a western, but had something different about it. It was a musical. Another big difference was the paycheck, which was much more than The Wild Bunch was offering. Marvin brushed up on his singing and jumped ship.
This would be a huge mistake.
25. He Chose Poorly
The film Marvin didn’t choose—The Wild Bunch—eventually went down in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant". The American Film Institute has it on two lists: number 80 on their list of the top 100 American films, and number 69 their most thrilling films list.
On the other hand, Paint Your Wagon has a 33% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and is known almost entirely because of a Simpsons reference. Oh well. At least it wasn't a complete loss: It earned Marvin something he wouldn’t have dreamed of in a million years.
Paramount, Paint Your Wagon (1969)
28. He Nailed Something New
Marvin was drinking pretty heavily while filming Paint Your Wagon, but this may have helped him in the end. With no previous singing experience, Marvin was going out on a limb with this musical. The result was a huge surprise. Marvin, who definitely was not a singer, ended up with a Gold record for his performance of "Wand'rin Star”.
Marvin may have benefitted from a drink or two to improve his singing—but mostly it just got him into more and more trouble.
Paramount, Paint Your Wagon (1969)
29. He Saw A Kindred Spirit
Marvin was such a notorious drinker that one director completely banned him from imbibing while on set. This was in 1970’s Monte Walsh, directed by William A Fraker. As it turned out, there was another drinker on set: Mitchell Ryan. Ryan's drinking was so bad that Fraker wanted to fire him. Marvin, meanwhile, saw a kindred spirit and used his star power to save Ryan’s job.
In spite of his on set behavior, more and more parts were coming his way. But "quantity" isn't always a good thing...
Cinema Center Films, Monte Walsh (1970)
30. He Talked Himself Out Of It
In 1972, director John Boorman was putting together the cast for his new production Deliverance and felt confident offering the lead roles to Marvin and Marlon Brando. Then Marvin tossed away a sure-fire hit. He told Boorman that they were too old for the parts, and the director agreed.
Deliverance went on to be a huge hit, solidifying the careers of Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds. Marvin had missed the boat on this canoeing movie. Back at home, another career was being neglected.
Hans van Dijk, Wikimedia Commons
31. She Called It Quits
At this time, Lee Marvin was still living with Triola, but the two were not a married couple. Triola had recorded an album and, instead of promoting it, she was doing things like following Marvin to Europe and redecorating their beach house. Triola was basically giving up her career as a singer to be a Hollywood wife.
This decision would soon come back to haunt her.
32. He Dug His Heels In
Triola wanted to marry Marvin, but he wouldn't propose. She later said that “if a man wants to leave a toothbrush at my house, he can bloody well marry me”. Well, Marvin didn’t marry her, and her life floundered. Instead of helping her out with her career, Marvin did something incredibly heartless.
To understand why, though, we have to go back to a disturbing moment from Marvin's past.
33. He Had A History
Way back in 1945, when Marvin was 21, he was dating a teenage girl named Pamela Feeley. When Feeley was just 17, she got pregnant. Marvin snapped into action and arranged to end the pregnancy, which was against the law at the time. Feeley barely survived the backroom procedure—and that makes what Marvin did next even more cruel.
He told her he was going away for just one summer—and never returned. But, the thing is, even all these years later, Marvin never stopped thinking about Feeley.
34. He Wanted Her Back
In 1970, when he was still living with Triola, Marvin made a trip back to his hometown. Without much hesitation, he found Feeley’s home and walked into her kitchen and said this: “You know I’ve come to get you, don’t you?” A very stunned Feeley was a mess of emotions, but one of them was joy.
There was, of course, one pretty notable problem: Marvin still had Triola back in California.
I, Laslovarga, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
35. She Took His Name
Marvin and Triola had been “living in sin,” as they used to call it, since 1965. There certainly was evidence that Triola wanted to be his wife. For one thing, she’d taken the unusual step of legally changing her name to Marvin. So, except for having a wedding ceremony, these two were husband and wife. At least that’s how Triola saw it.
So when Marvin returned and announced that he would wed Feeley, Triola was ready to lawyer up.
36. She Was Damaged
Triola saw her partnership with Marvin as a marriage, so when it was over she wanted Marvin to compensate her as a wife, which meant half of his earnings. Marvin was having none of it, and the whole thing went to court—and that's when this couples biggest secret came out: While with Marvin, Triola had been pregnant three times. While one pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage, the other two Marvin had paid to "take care of".
The results of these procedures had caused Triola some serious damage.
37. He Was Shaking In His Boots
As a result of what she'd been through, Triola could no longer have children. This was Triola’s first point against Marvin. Triola’s second point was that she had given up her career to be Marvin’s wife. Certainly this was true. Then, after mentioning Marvin’s drinking problem just for good measure, Triola brought in her third point.
And it was a stretch.
38. He Told Her Flat Out
The palimony trial, now called Marvin v. Marvin, was turning into a circus. Through her lawyer—whose name was strangely also Marvin—Triola had her final accusation against Marvin. It rested on something he’d said to her when they first started living together. He’d told her, “What I have is yours and what you have is mine.” It seemed like an open and shut case.
Now it was up to the judge.
39. It Was A Win Win Situation
When the verdict came down, something extraordinary happened. Both parties said they won. What Triola got was $104,000 in tax free cash to start her life again. But what she’d asked the judge for was half of Marvin’s earnings for the time they were together. This would have totalled $3.6 million.
Triola was spinning it to look like her win and Marvin…well…he was just being rude.
40. He Put His Foot In It
Marvin publicly called the case a “total victory,” and then proceeded to put his foot in his mouth. He told unmarried women out there that they shouldn’t expect huge sums from these trials. All they could expect was a small weekly sum. He was a little off the mark on that point...
Marvin v. Marvin had ended and the Marvins went their separate ways. Triola eventually met another guy—but there was something eerie about it.
41. History Repeated Itself
After the dust with Marvin had settled, Michelle Triola entered a relationship with much loved comedian Dick Van Dyke. The weird thing is that, even after being together for over 30 years, they never married. Note: Van Dyke and Marvin both married women before and after being with Triola. Maybe there was something about marriage and Triola that just didn’t fit?
Marvin quickly washed his hands of the suit, married Feeley, and set about doing what he did best: make movies and cause trouble.
42. He Met His Match
Straight after Marvin v. Marvin, Lee Marvin went into filming an odd titled film: The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday. On set, Marvin met up with British actor Oliver Reed and for once, he'd met his match. This was not a contest of dueling egos, but dueling livers. The two drank steadily through the entire production.
During one 10-hour drinking competition with Reed, Marvin eventually fell completely unconscious. Even after all these years, his drinking on set still seemed to be getting worse—and it was leading to some bizarre behavior.
American International Pictures, The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976)
43. He Had A Foul Mouth
In 1980, Marvin was working on The Big Red One, and he did something strange when he met the cast. He didn’t say a single word. Then, during one car ride, Marvin finally spoke. He looked at his three co-stars—Robert Carradine, Mark Hamill and Bobby Di Cicco—and asked which one was Carradine. When Carradine identified himself, Marvin simply swore at him.
Okay that’s just plain weird. Next, Marvin gets just plain sick.
Lorimar Productions, The Big Red One (1980)
44. He Arrived In Bad Shape
In 1983, Marvin appeared in Michael Apted’s Gorky Park. Marvin was now experiencing health issues due to his chronic drinking, and yet he still hadn’t given up the bottle. When he showed up on set for Gorky Park, he was in such a bad state that they sent him to the hospital. The director then made an unusual choice. He went to Marvin’s bedside to rehearse the script.
On his next film, Marvin managed to stay sober for once—but the bad behavior didn’t stop.
Eagle Associates., Gorky Park (1983)
45. He Hadn’t Changed At All
Marvin’s last lead role was in 1984’s Dog Day. The director swears that Marvin was sober for the production, and it may well be true. But immediately after filming finished, Marvin was back at it again. An inebriated Marvin walked down the street and punched an unsuspecting officer in the face. The remorseful star later sweetly brought the man flowers in his hospital room.
Marvin had battered and bruised his body over the years, and he was getting old before his time. Especially too old for this next movie.
Cinétélé Productions, Dog Day (1984)
46. He Needed To Be Young
Marvin had made The Dirty Dozen way back in 1967, and now they were making a TV sequel. The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission was only supposed to take place a few months after the original—and let's just say, Marvin had aged in the decades since. Ironically, most thought that Marvin had been too old even for the original film.
This experience must’ve left Marvin feeling like a senior. And if it did, this next one would make him feel positively ancient.
MGM, The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission ( 1985)
47. His Body Gave Out
Marvin’s final appearance in a movie was The Delta Force with Chuck Norris, but it may have been better if he hadn’t bothered. It was probably frustrating when people told Marvin he was too old for the role—but it must have been a lot worse when it turned out they were right. Marvin’s body was slowly giving out. His stomach pain was growing unbearable, and doctors told him he had an inflamed colon.
It looked like Lee Marvin was running out of gas.
The Cannon Group, The Delta Force (1986)
48. He’d Lived A Hard Life
It didn't take a genius to realize that Marvin’s body wasn't going to hold up forever. In December, 1986, his ill health brought him to the hospital, where he needed a colectomy. It didn't solve his problems. He passed from a heart attack soon after. He was only 63 years old
Marvin received full military honors—but there wasn’t much honor in the way he left those close to him.
49. He Left Them Almost Nothing
Marvin’s first wife, Betty Ebeling, wrote a memoir and talked about her life with Marvin. Included with the stories about Marvin avoiding jail time by signing autographs was something heartbreaking. Remember, Marvin was with Ebeling for 15 years and had four children with her. Well, when he passed, Marvin left the four of them just $10,000 to split.
Clearly, family wasn’t that dear to him. To know what Marvin did hold dear, you have to look at what he hung on to.
50. He Kept Souvenirs
Over his life, Marvin saved only four items of sentimentality. The obvious one was his Best Actor Oscar from Cat Ballou. The second was a National Cowboy Hall of Fame citation for being a good movie cowboy. Of course, his gold record was in there too. Surprisingly, the last one was a woman’s high heel shoe. This was the one that Vivien Leigh hit him with on Ship of Fools.
It’s hard to imagine tough guy Marvin hanging on to a woman’s shoe. But maybe it's not as strange as it sounds.
Columbia Pictures, Cat Ballou (1965)
51. He Threw In His Support
Over the years, Marvin had made a number of films with closted gay star Rock Hudson, and something seemed to have rubbed off. Early in his career, Marvin came out with a very progressive claim for an action star. He said that he would be more than comfortable playing a character that was gay.
Sadly, we are only left to imagine what that would’ve looked like.
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