Lee Marvin was a popular actor, perhaps best remembered for portraying tough guys in films. Beyond his success as a character actor, Marvin was an active athlete in his formative years and remained a sports enthusiast throughout his life.
Born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr. in New York City in 1924. He enjoyed outdoor sports in his youth, including hunting and fishing. Marvin later attended St. Leo College Preparatory School in Florida. He wasn’t a strong student, but he excelled in sports, joining the track and field team, running the quarter-mile hurdles and throwing the javelin. Marvin was also on the school’s swimming team.
Later in life, Marvin took up martial arts and earned a black belt in karate after training with martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
Marvin in “The Wild One” (photo courtesy of Photographer from his Facebook page)
Marvin was also a motorcycle enthusiast and brought those skills to the silver screen, though he had to learn more about riding so fans would see him as a convincing rider. Marvin played Chinon in The Wild One (1953), the leader of a motorcycle gang that rode Harley-Davidsons.
He expanded his love of riding by taking the next step: racing. He competed with his Triumph 200cc Tiger Cub, also known as a ‘57 Triumph Cub. Marvin raced in off-road and desert races in the Mojave Desert alongside fellow actor Keenan Wynn and competed in events at Catalina and Big Bear Grand Prix.
Marvin’s ‘57 Triumph Cub also had a four-stroke engine, which was essential when riding on dirt trails. Like many desert riders at the time, Marvin took off the tail-end headlights and added a skid pad to ready his Triumph Cub for the Mojave. A natural athlete, he had a healthy appetite for competition, especially winning.
Of course, much of Marvin’s athletic prowess was unknown to filmgoers, but they all knew his name because of his starring roles in A-level Hollywood films. He had a long career that spenned the early 1950s through the late 1980s, including Seminole (1953), The Glory Brigade (1953), The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953), The Big Heat (1953), Gun Fury (1953), Gorilla at Large (1954), The Caine Mutiny (1954), The Raid (1954), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Violent Saturday (1955), Not as a Stranger (1955), A Life in the Balance (1955), Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955), Seven Men from Now (1956), Pillars of the Sky (1956), The Rack (1956), Raintree County (1957), The Comancheros (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Donovan’s Reef (1963), The Killers (1964), Cat Ballou (1965), Ship of Fools (1965), The Professionals (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Point Blank (1967). Hell in the Pacific (1968), Paint Your Wagon (1969), Monte Walsh (1970), Emperor of the North (1973), The Spikes Gang (1974), Shout at the Devil (1976), The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976), The Big Red One (1980), Death Hunt (1981), Gorky Park (1983), and The Delta Force (1986).
On television, Marvin portrayed Detective Lieutenant Frank Ballinger on the program M Squad (1957-1960). He also appeared in Dragnet, Climax!, Wagon Train, Route 66, The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Dr. Kildare, and Lawbreakers.
For all that Marvin accomplished, he did it all during a relatively short life. A heavy smoker and drinker for most of his life, that lifestyle likely did him in. He died from a heart attack at 63 in 1987.
