Lee Marvin (1924 – 1987) was known for his tough guy roles on screen. It was easy for him to get in character because he was a bonafide tough guy in real life. He had served in combat during World War II as a US Marine. Below are some interesting facts about that fascinating actor and his WWII career.
A Problem Child
Lee Marvin, who is best remembered for his antihero roles, starred or made appearances in about seventy movies between 1951 and 1986. His breakout performance that made him a star came in the TV series M Squad. That opened the doors for him to star in various Hollywood blockbusters. They include The Dirty Dozen, Hell in the Pacific, and the Western comedy Cat Ballou, for which Marvin won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1965. Before he became a thespian, though, Marvin had been a US Marine who fought the Japanese in WWII.
Born in February 1924 in New York, Marvin’s parents had their hands full from early on trying to control their rebellious son. He was a problem child, who grew to become a problematic teenage delinquent. He liked to hunt and drink, often both at the same time. Just keeping him in school was a challenge, as he kept getting expelled for various trespasses that ranged from smoking to throwing fellow students out of second story windows. When America was thrust into WWII, Marvin dropped out of high school to join the Marines. He spent the next few years storming beaches and fighting in jungles throughout the Pacific Theater.
A Brave But Problematic Marine
Lee Marvin’s father disapproved of his dropping out of school to go to war, but his son didn’t care. Marvin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on August 12th, 1942, and initially served in supplies. He wanted to fight, though, and requested a transfer. After completing Infantry School, he became a scout sniper in “I” Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division. He took part in twenty one amphibious assaults on enemy held islands, including the invasions of Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Saipan.
As a Marine, Marvin’s courage was commendable and uncontested. However, it was counterbalanced by the rebelliousness, defiance of authority, and plain orneriness that had often gotten him in trouble as a student. Marvin continued to get in trouble as a Marine. He yo-yoed through the ranks, getting promoted to NCO for deeds of courage in combat, then getting busted back down to private for misconduct. The 4th Marine Division suffered heavy casualties in Saipan, and Marvin’s company was nearly wiped out as it fought to capture Mount Tapochau, the island’s highest point. As seen below, Marvin barely survived that assault.
An Easy Transition From Real Life Tough Guy to Silver Screen Badass
On June 18th, 1944, as the Marines struggled to seize Tapochau, Lee Marvin suffered serious injuries. First, a burst of Japanese machine gun fire hit him in the back below the spine, and severed his sciatic nerve. Then, as he lay writhing in pain on the ground, a Japanese sniper shot him in the foot. That was the end of Marvin’s combat career. He was awarded a Purple Heart, and spent the next thirteen months receiving treatment in naval hospitals, before he got a medical discharge.
By then, Marvin had become a calmer young man. After he was invalided out of the Marines in July, 1945, he drifted for a while, before he got a job as a plumber’s assistant in an upstate New York community theater. He was sometimes asked to fill in for sick actors during rehearsals, and discovered that he loved acting. He performed in off-Broadway shows, before he moved to Hollywood in 1950. There, Marvin’s real life combat experience made him a sought after movie war consultant, and lent authenticity to his acting.
Throughout his career, Marvin excelled in roughneck roles, such as those he performed in Sergeant Ryker, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, and The Dirty Dozen. Roughneck roles were easy for him because he had been an actual roughneck and fighting leatherneck in real life, with a mean streak that made his malevolent and tough guy characters ring true. After decades of acting, Lee Marvin passed away from a heart attack at age sixty three in 1987, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
History Halls – Obi Wan Kenobi in WWII: Royal Navy Veteran Sir Alec Guinness
Los Angeles Times, October 8th, 1987 – Lee Marvin is Buried With Military Honors
VA News – Veteran of the Day: Lee Marvin
