Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 â July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), followed by his starring in several classic film noirs. His acting is generally considered a forerunner of the antiheroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s. His best-known films include Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Out of the Past (1947), River of No Return (1954), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Thunder Road (1958), Cape Fear (1962), El Dorado (1966), Ryan’s Daughter (1970) and The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973). He is also known for his television role as U.S. Navy Captain Victor “Pug” Henry in the epic miniseries The Winds of War (1983) and sequel War and Remembrance (1988). He is rated number 23 on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema.
Mitchum briefly served in the United States Army during World War II, with service number 39 744 068, from April 12 to October 11, 1945, after he was drafted. According to Lee Serverâs 2001 biography, âRobert Mitchum: Baby I Donât Careâ, Mitchum said he served as a medic at an induction department, checking recruitsâ genitals for venereal disease (a âpecker checkerâ). Always the iconoclast, although he did not want to join the military, he served honorably and was discharged as a Private First Class and received the World War II Victory Medal.
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