Lee Marvin: Point Blank

by Dwayne Epstein

  Appears in Gorky Park (December 15).

  1984: Appears in Dog Day (released on video in US on October 7, 1985).

  1984: Director Sam Peckinpah dies in Inglewood, California at age 59 of heart failure, December 28th.

  1985: Appears in TV-movie, “The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission,” aired on NBC February 4.

  1986: Appears in The Delta Force (February 14).

  Admitted to hospital for colon surgery. November 18th.

  1987: Appears in TV special “The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katherine Hepburn” (March); Appears in short military training film Combat Leadership: The Ultimate Challenge for the USMC in what would be his last film appearance (May 12). Dies in Tucson Medical Center at age 63 of a heart attack August 29, 1987; cremated remains buried at Arlington National Cemetery (October 7, 1987).

  Posthumous Events Related to Lee Marvin

  1989: Director Jim Jarmusch makes first public mention of “The Sons of Lee Marvin.”

  1997: Lee, A Romance by Pamela Marvin published by Faber & Faber.

  1998: Cable television airs “Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman.”

  1998: Dirty Dozen cast members reunite to voice characters in Joe Dante’s Small Soldiers.

  AUGUST 8, 1999: Brother Robert dies in Benedictine Hospital in Kingston, New York at age 77.

  OCTOBER 9, 1999: Career long agent Meyer Mishkin dies at age 87 in L.A.

  AUGUST, 2003: Frequent costar Charles Bronson dies in L.A. from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 81.

  AUGUST 2004: The Big Red One: The Reconstruction is rereleased with deleted footage restored by film historian/critic Richard Schickel.

  NOVEMBER 19, 2006: Frequent costar Jack Palance dies in Monteceito, California at age 87.

  MAY-JUNE, 2007: Film Society of Lincoln Center pays tribute to Marvin with a retrospective of his films.

  Publicist Paul Wasserman, partners in Jim Mahoney’s p.r. agency, dies in L.A. at age 73 of respiratory failure. November, 18, 2007.

  FEBRUARY, 2009: MTV votes Walker in Point Blank number 5 of the top ten badasses in movie history.

  OCTOBER 29, 2009: Michele Triola dies of lung cancer at age 76 in Malibu home where she lived with Dick Van Dyke.

  2009: Quentin Tarantino’s Dirty Dozen-like Inglorious Basterds released.

  NOVEMBER, 2010: Tucson’s Loft Theater launches annual Lee Marvin Film Festival.

  JULY 2011: Original play “Lee Marvin Be They Name” by Nick Zagone opens for limited run in Modesto, Calif. with actor Jack Souza as Marvin.

  SEPTEMBER, 2011, “Tales of A Hollywood Housewife” by Betty Marvin published by iUniverse.

  JULY 8, 2012: Frequent costar Ernest Borgnine dies in L.A. at age 95.

  The Unmade Films of Lee Marvin

  Oklahoma! (1955): Auditioned for the role of Jud that was played in the film by Rod Steiger.

  How the West Was Won (1962): It is unknown which role Marvin turned down.

  Billy Budd (1962): Having been in the play, Marvin wanted to play Claggart but director

  Peter Ustinov decided on Robert Ryan who was more well-known at the time.

  The Longest Day (1962): MCA turned down the John Wayne role for Lee Marvin

  Andersonville (1965): Marvin was to play a sadistic sergeant but the film was never made.

  Synanon (1965): Turned down the film that eventually flopped at the box office.

  The Petrified Forest (1965): Financing fell through on the planned remake.

  The Hallelujah Trail (1965): Marvin passed on the role of the stern calvary officer played

  by Burt Lancaster in John Sturges’ over-the-top and unsuccessful comedy.

  Bette Davis/Lee Marvin Comedy (1965): Made instead as Bunny O’Hare with Ernest Borgnine.

  In Cold Blood (1966): Marvin liked the script but the detective was played by John Forsythe.

  Reflections in a Golden Eye (1966): Turned down by Marvin, the role went to Marlon Brando.

  Roman Polanski Project (1967): Erotic thriller Marvin immediately turned down after reading it.

  April Morning (1967): The Revolutionary War saga to be directed by Howard Hawks was made for TV with Tommy Lee Jones in 1988.

  The Diamond Story (1967): A caper film to be made in conjunction with The Wild Bunch.

  Petulia (1968): Based on a popular novel made instead with George C. Scott and Julie Christie.

  The Wild Bunch (1969): The film Marvin helped create was nixed instead for Paint Your Wagon.

  Patton (1970): Marvin was one of the actors who turned down the role played by George C. Scott.

  Two Mules for Sister Sarah (1970): Clint Eastwood’s role had been written for Marvin.

  Tender Loving Care (1971): Marvin as a cop protecting a young girl but backing fell through.

  Cat Ballou sequel (1971): Made as an unsuccessful TV-movie with Jack Elam as Kid Shelleen.

  Deliverance (1972): Marvin and Brando in the roles that went to Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds.

  Carriman, They Called Him (1972): A Sam Peckinpah western/comedy that never panned out.

  John Cassavetes Project (1972): To costar Anthony Quinn, it never came to fruition.

  Custer’s Last Stand (1973?): Director Robert Totten wanted Marvin to play legendary outlaw D. B. Cooper as a descendant of General Custer but claims Pam Marvin talked him out of it.

  The Yakuza (1974): Made instead with Robert Mitchum.

  Earthquake (1974): Charlton Heston eventually played the lead role Marvin was offered.

  Jaws (1975): The role that went to Robert Shaw.

  Moontrap (1977): A western Jack Nicholson would direct starring Marvin that went unfinanced.

  Apocalypse, Now! (1978): A recently discovered handwritten letter shows Coppola imploring Marvin to play the Marlon Brando role of Kurtz but the actor never responded. Canadian Film Project (1979): Marvin claimed the script was awful and turned it down. Wolf Lake (1980): A thriller by Burt Kennedy eventually released with Rod Steiger.

  Henderson the Rain King (1980): Saul Bellow novel Marvin coveted but could not get the rights.

  Paradise Road (1981): Peter Bogdanovich’s project of degenerate gamblers Frank

  Sinatra, James Stewart, Lee Marvin, Charles Aznavour, Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis thatnever materialized.

  Tournament (1981): Marvin’s dream project on deep-sea fishing, he never found any backers.

  Glory Bars (1981): Based on a novel by William Smith concerning a 30-year Marine Sgt. training recruits in the 70s it was to be directed by Robert Aldrich.

  That Championship Season (1982): The role of the basketball coach went to Robert Mitchum.

  Runaway Train (1983): Kurosawa wanted Marvin in the role played by Jon Voight in 1985.

  Iwo Jima Documentary (193): Announced as its narrator, the film was never made.

  Godard’s King Lear (1987): The director’s updated Shakespeare settled on Burgess Meredith.

  Track 29 (1987-88): Having befriended writer Dennis Potter on Gorky Park, Marvin was considered for the role later played by Christopher Lloyd.

  Untitled Jim Jarmusch Project: Jarmusch was formulating a story in which Marvin would play a drunken father to three grown sons who hated each other. Unfortunately, Marvin passed on.

  Films Lee Marvin Could Have Made

  Although he died in 1987 at the age of 63, it is worth considering what roles Lee Marvin might have played had he lived a few more years. It is of course, a purely speculative list:

  The Untouchables (1987): Jim Malone, Sean Connery’s Oscar-winning role.

  City Slickers (1991): Curly, Jack Palance’s role.

  A Few Good Men (1992): Col. Nathan R. Jessup, Jack Nicholson’s role.

  Scent of a Woman (1992): Lt. Col. Frank Slade, Al Pacino’s role.

  Unforgiven (1992): Will Munny, Clint Eastwood’s role.

  The Fugitive (1993): Sam Gerard, Tommy Lee Jones’ role.

  The Shawshank Redemption (194): Brooks Hatlen, James Whitmore’s r
ole.

  Lone Star (1996): Charlie Wade, Kris Kristofferson’s role.

  Affliction (1997): Glen Whitehouse, James Coburn’s role.

  Three Kings (1999): Maj. Archie Gates, George Clooney’s role.

  Magnolia (1999) Earl Partridge, Jason Robards’ role.

  Man on Fire (2004): John Creasy, Denzel Washington’s role.

  Million Dollar Baby (2004): Frankie Dunn, Clint Eastwood’s role.

  Sin City (2005): Det. John Hartigan, Bruce Willis’ role.

  Acknowledgments

  PRESIDENT OBAMA’S claim that “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help,” is never truer than when it comes to producing a book credited to one person. I first considered writing as a career after meeting the late Tony Thomas who encouraged me to pursue my dream. Years later, a conversation with author Marshall Terrill became the genesis of Lee Marvin: Point Blank and he has remained one of this project’s biggest cheerleaders. The research took many twists and turns but through it all there was always Larry Edmunds Bookshop, Hollywood Book & Poster, Cinephile, Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee, the Margaret Herrick Library, Hollywood Movie Posters, UCLA Television Archives and the Museums of Television & Radio.

  If I have forgotten anyone, please be assured that is for no other reason than failing memory and not lack of gratitude. I am greatly indebted to the more than one hundred individuals who have shared their memories of Lee Marvin with me. Although I may not have quoted all of them in the text, they were each important to my research and are noted individually in the bibliography.

  The ongoing research could not have been possible without the additional help of Dyann Bacci, Sandra Diaz, Wolf Forrest, Feliks Gailitis, John Gloske, Tara Gordon, Mark Haggard, Loren Janes, and Robin Roberts of the Screen Actors Guild.

  As the book progressed, I was aided considerably by Harriette Ellis, still one of the best editors I have ever had the privilege to work with. She also graciously put me in contact with her nephew, Harold Meyerson. As an editor with L.A. Weekly, he did not hesitate for a moment when I asked him to recommend the best literary agent he could think of.

  Which brings me to Mike Hamilburg. Every author claims to have the world’s greatest agent but Mike truly is. When the project lay fallow for several years and I was ready to return to it full time, I was not sure that Mike would still be interested. He was indeed and with an enthusiasm that still impresses. He truly is the best of the best.

  Kudos must also go out to Nicole Rakozy and her predecessor at Lucent Books Chandra Howard, for helping me hone my skills in biographical writing, and in realizing the value of a good theme. Mike Miller, Fujiko Miller and Bill Krohn helped to mold the project in its earliest stages. Ted Okuda, Mike Stein, Mai-ly Nguyen, Ted Nelson, Christine Atkinson and Phil Snyder all supported this project in their own unique way and for their efforts I humbly thank them.

  Several personal friends deserve credit for their generosity during the length of this project and they know why. Michael Arold, Michael Barrow, Gregg Fry, Roy Lee Lewis, Greg Lynch, Brett Koth, Dan Silverman, and the brethren of the BSOL: I am forever in your debt.

  To bring this book to print required the impressive talents of Jake Kiehle, Villette Harris, Meaghan Miller, Jonathan Kirsch, Bonnie Winings, Barry Smith, Betsy Hulsebosch, and the only publisher in America with any vision, Tim Schaffner.

  My parents have both passed on since the inception of this project but they believed in it and supported it all along. The same can be said of both my sisters and the rest of my family and friends.

  I have purposely saved the best for last. The amount of words required to properly thank her would take the amount of text in this book and then some. She was there from before the beginning and long after the end. She means EVERYTHING to me. I love you, Barbara.

  End Notes

  AI=Author interview

  “I concluded it’s every man for himself,”: “A Cool Head Hits it Hot,” Martin Cohen, True, Oct. 1965.

  PART I: BOOT CAMP

  CHAPTER 1: THE GUILTY PURITAN

  “I remember fighting with my brother”: “A Redbook Dialogue: Lee Marvin & Johnny Carson,” Redbook, Nov. 1967.

  “You’ve just been deposited there”: Ibid.

  “Maybe blood is thicker than water”: Letter from Courtenay to Lee, Feb. 2, 1944.

  “I think he was a guilty puritan,”: AI, March 13, 1996.

  “During the Civil War…”: “A Cool Head Hits it Hot,” Martin Cohen, True, Oct. 1965.

  “the charcoal gray sheep…”: “‘Killer’ Lee Marvin is Back In Action,” Louella Parsons, Herald Examiner, March 16, 1965.

  “In 1863, while Sheriff McCann was in charge”: “Marvin Lost Life with Peary,” Elmira Star Gazette, Sept. 9, 1909.

  “Marvin fought his way into everything”: Ibid.

  “I may say that your application”: Letter from Peary to Ross Marvin, June 30, 1905.

  “Went out to Denver to see his father”: “Drinks with Liberty Valance,” Robert Ward, Rolling Stone, Sept. 3, 1981.

  “Quiet in manner, wiry in build”: North Pole, Robert E. Peary, NY: Stokes Co, 1910. p. 319.

  “He who had shrunk from loneliness”: Ibid., p.318.

  “Uncle was a big bookie…”: AI, July, 21, 1994.

  “As a matter of fact, he said he was out in Leavenworth,”: Ibid.

  “My father was the classic puritan,”: “Drinks with Liberty Valance,” Robert Ward, Rolling Stone, Sept. 3, 1981.

  “He said it was in a building in New York City,”: AI, July, 21, 1994.

  “William Jr. [‘Willie’] died in a car accident”: AI, July, 21, 1994.

  “I didn’t make my fortune,”: “Woodstock: Thumb Box Sketch” Catskill Mountain Star, March 6, 1958.

  “I see you again, just as you were…”: Letter from Courtenay to Monte, Sept. 3, 1941.

  “Since I can’t send you a gift…”: Undated letter from Courtenay to Monte.

  “A very hot Saturday afternoon,”: Ibid.

  “Their gestures were different,:” AI July 21, 1994.

  “I once tried to figure out the first time I felt guilt,”: “A Redbook Dialogue: Lee Marvin & Johnny Carson,” Redbook, Nov. 1967.

  “He lost his temper,”: “Eskimo Killed Prof. Marvin” New York Times, Sept. 25, 1926.

  “If I didn’t know about it,”: AI July 21, 1994.

  “I wasn’t having any too much discipline,”: Martin Cohen, “A Cool Head Hits it Hot” True, October 1965.

  “I left kindergarten,:” “A Redbook Dialogue: Lee Marvin & Johnny Carson,” Redbook, Nov. 1967.

  CHAPTER 2: DOGFACE VS. ST. LEO

  “I am a good boy”: Lee’s letter to Santa dictated to Courtenay, Dec. 1929.

  “She had a job in the Depression”: AI, July 21, 1994

  “He started off in the Bank of Montreal”: Ibid.

  “Well, there was money but there was no wealth”: AI, Feb. 12, 1995.

  “Here’s a little insight”: Ibid.

  “Lee had the most difficult time with his mother,”: Ibid.

  “I always envied the street kids”: “How Getting Shot Saved Lee Marvin’s Life,” Tom Seligman, Parade, April 27, 1986.

  “My parents just didn’t know…”: “Marvin as in Marlin,” Roger Vaughan, Motorboat & Sailing, May, 1977.

  “I didn’t like school”: “Lee Marvin: Tough, Gentle Heart,” Family Weekly, Peer J. Oppenheimer, April 1, 1966.

  “Please see that Lee gets to school on time,” Report card from P.S. 166, Feb. 1936.

  “Yes, and so is his son” AI, Feb. 12, 1995.

  “Oh yes and he would recite Robert Service”: Ibid.

  “It was a pattern,”: Ibid.

  “I’ve never been able to accept any kind of discipline”: “A Rebel’s Creed,” This Week, [no author credited] Aug. 14, 1966 .

  “I once kicked Uncle Don in the shins”: “Lee Marvin: O’Neill’s the Tough Guy,” Anthony Mancini, NY Post, Oct. 13, 1973.

  �
�My father rarely punched my brother”: AI, July 21, 1994 “My brother owed some kid some money”: Ibid. “Very liberal boarding school”: Ibid.

  “It was an outgrowth of the little Red schoolhouse-type”: “The Klansman,” Judy Stone, Playgirl, July, 1974.

  “I am writing this letter at the point of a gun”: Lee’s letter to parents, undated.

  “Lee is an exceedingly restless…”: Manumit Fall/Winter term, William Mann Fincke, Group

  Teacher, March 18, 1937.

  “We were smoking, that’s all”: “The Star You Love To Hate,” Arnold Hano, Pageant, May 1966.

  “Today we took four guys”: Letter to Robert, Feb. 11, 938

  “He took the sweepings and dumped them out the window”: “The Star You Love To Hate,” Arnold Hano, Pageant, May 1966.

  “The asked me to go home and commune with god”: “Drinks with Liberty Valance,” Robert Ward, Rolling Stone, Sept. 3, 1981.

  “My uniform cost eight hundred dollars”: “The Star You Love To Hate,” Arnold Hano, Pageant, May 1966.

  “…Wild harmless, innocent but crazy kid”: “Lee Marvin: O’Neill’s the Tough Guy,” Anthony Mancini, NY Post, Oct. 13, 1973.

  “I’m not knocking what my parents were trying to do” “Oh! Those Movie Meanies,” Cynthia Lindsay, Cosmopolitan, Sept. 1966.

  “The past few weeks seemed unbearable”: Undated.

  “For god’s sake don’t let anything that can happen…” From Courtenay to Monte, Jan 28, 1941.

  “As to money, Oh hell”: Ibid.

  “My father had him in public high school”: AI, July 21, 1994.

  “Here on the afternoon of June 21, 1940”: Letter to Monte.

  “I live in fear of you today”: Ibid.

  “Lee just appeared”: “Lakelanders Recall Former Resident, Actor Lee Marvin,” Lakeland Ledger, Travis Ingham, April 20, 1966.

  “When I was fourteen”: AI w/Betty Ballantine, June 14, 1996.

  “Lee just though his father hung out the sun,”: “Ex-Lakelander Lee Marvin’s Name Is Really Lee Marvin,” Larry Vickers, Tampa Tribune, April 21, 1966.

  “If you don’t see a father as often”: AI, July 21, 1994.