by Lee Server
Of all the many people who agreed to speak with me I must make special note of two women whose experiences and perspectives were particularly helpful in my attempt to tell Robert Mitchum’s life story. First: Mitchum’s personal assistant for more than thirty years, Reva Frederick Youngstein. She is as sharp, tough-minded, and all knowing today as she must have been in her boss’s heyday. Though her relationship with Mitchum concluded unpleasantly, she was never other than fair and sympathetic in recollecting their time together—indeed, she would often correct for me rumors or printed stories that painted her old associate in a bad light.
Second: Robert’s sister, Julie Mitchum Sater, who gave generously and prodigiously from her memories of a beloved brother during many hours of conversation. Intelligent, iconoclastic, and possessing a remarkable memory, she is a fascinating character in her own right.
More than one thousand documents and published works were consulted for this book. A collective thank-you to the numerous journalists and writers who chronicled—in some cases anonymously—my subject’s life and career from the 1940s to his demise. Of particular value were the various columns, articles, or archived files of Hedda Hopper, Ruth Waterbury, Sidney Skolsky, Bob Thomas, William Tusher, Grover Lewis, Robert Ward, Helen Lawrenson, James Bacon, Army Archerd, Bart Mills, Bill Davidson, Andrew Sarris, and Pauline Kael. Of book-length works devoted to Mitchum, I have enjoyed and found most helpful the biographic efforts by Mike Tomkies and George Eells and bibliographic volume by Jerry Roberts. In a special category all its own is brother John Mitchum’s wonderful, rollicking memoir.
My great appreciation and thanks to organizations and facilities who gave me access to the materials consulted: the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an invaluable institution, ditto the Special Collections department of the U.C.L.A., the New York Public Library (Lincoln Center), the British Film Institute, the Bridgeport Library, Felton High School, the Los Angeles Public Library, Victoria State Library, Melbourne (Australia), University of California Cinema Archives, Museum of Modern Art; the New York Daily News, the Connecticut Post, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Guardian (Trinidad). More thanks for various services rendered: the Biltmore Hotel; the Otani Hotel; the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles; the Pacific Sands Motel in Santa Monica; the Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena; the Queen Mary, Long Beach; the Dorchester Hotel, London; the Posada Tepozteco, Tepotzlan.
For assisting me in various important ways during the preparation of this book I want to thank writer Dean Server, researcher Dianne Kraft, all-around Hollywood expert Lisa Mitchell, and delightful actress and skilled producer Hope Holiday. To my valued friends Tedd and Pat Thomey who guided me through Long Beach, California’s past and present, and the irascible and indestructible Marc Lawrence who got things kick started in Palm Springs when I would have preferred to do anything else—what can I say? Thank you, thank you.
More thanks to the many who gave aid and comfort when it was needed: Ed Gorman, Burks Hamner, Talmage Powell (pulp vet and my Asheville connection), George P. Pelecanos, Helen Smith, Carol Hardin, Sandy Silverman, Annie Nocenti, Janwillem van de Wetering, Arlene Hellerman, Dick Lochte, Deborah Deal, Neke Carson, Linda Danz, Julie Barker, Sal Ceravolo, Jorge Jaramillo, Alphagraphics, Bryan Cholfin, Tom Leigh, Alan Kaufman, Teresa Zarzycka.
At St. Martin’s Press I am grateful to Cal Morgan who gave this project a home before himself flying the coop; and to my editor, Gordon Van Gelder, guiding the book over the pitfalls of publication with sympathy, discernment, and inspiration.
To my agent Roz Targ I send affection, admiration, and much thanks for your dedication and tender loving care.
To my mother my love and gratitude for everything, and to Terri, amiga and invaluable collaborator from day one: could not have done it without you—more later.
Throw in a tip of the hat to a theatre on Forty-second Street (was it the Lyric or the Brandt? Requiescant in pace in any case) where a kid, long ago, saw Farewell, My Lovely for a dollar and a quarter.
—L. SERVER
[email protected]
Index
Adler, Buddy
African Skies
Agee, James
Agency
Ahier, Robert
Ahlswede, Jane
Albert, Eddie
Aldrich, Robert
Alexander, Adolph
Allen, Irving
Allen, Jay
Allenberg, Bert
Alonzo, John
Altman, Robert
Ambassador, The
Ambrose, Thomas
American Beef Council
Ames, Leon
Amsterdam Kill, The
Anderson, Judith
Anderson, Michael, Jr.
Andrew, Geoff
Angel Face
Angry Hills, The
Anhalt, Edna
Anhalt, Edward
Annakin, Ken
Anzio
Ardrey, Robert
Arnaz, Desi
Arnold, Henry H. “Hap”
Asner, Ed
Atlantic City
Aubrey, James
Aubuchon, Jacques
Bacall, Lauren
Bach, Catherine
Backfire
Bacon, James
Bacon, Lloyd
Baha’i
Baker, Carroll
Baker, Roy
Baker, Stanley
Ball, Lucille
Bandido!
Banks, Ronnie
Barbour, Dave
Barque, Louis
Barque, Manuel
Barr, Alva
Barry, Gene
Baxter, Alan
Beauvoir, Simone de
Beetley, Samuel
Behrmann, Paul
Bel Geddes, Barbara
Bendix, William
Bennett, Charles
Berg, Phil
Bergen, Polly
Betty Ford Center
Beverly Hills Hotel
Bezzerides, A. L
Bick, Jerry
Big Sleep, The
Big Steal, The
Bikel, Theodore
Bischoff, Sam
Bishop, Norm
Blood Alley
Blood on the Moon
Blyth, Ann
Boehm, Sydney
Boetticher, Budd
Bogart, Humphrey
Bolt, Robert
Boone, Richard
Bordeaux, Nanette
Border Patrol
Boulting, Ingrid
Bowers, William
Boyd, William
Boyle, Peter
Brackett, Leigh
Brahm, John
Brando, Marlon
Breakthrough
Breck, Peter
Brennan, Walter
Bridges, Harry
Britton, Layne “Shotgun
Broccoli, Albert “Cubby
Brodie, Steve
Bronson, Charles
Brooks, Richard
Brown, Clarence
Brown, Harry
Brownlow, Kevin
Brubeck, Dave
Bruce, Sally Jane
Brumbaugh, Vemon
Brynner, Rock
Brynner, Yul
Buckley, Richard “Lord
Buono, Victor
Burch, John E.
Burnett, W R.
Burns, George
Burns, Lillian
Burr, Raymond
Burroughs, William
Burstyn, Ellen
Burton, Richard
Busch, Niven
Bush, George
Butler, James
Caan, James
Cabeen, Boyd “Tyrone
Cabeen, Carmen
Cabot, Bruce
Cain, James M.
Cannon Films
Cape Fear
Capra, Frank
Carey, Harry, Jr. “Dobe
&
nbsp; Carey, Harry, Sr.
Carey, Olive
Carpenter, Daniel
Carradine, John
Caruso, Anthony
acting work of
Casablanca
Castle, William
Catto, Max
censorship
Chandler, John Davis
Chandler, Raymond
Chapin, Billy
Chase, Barrie
Chase, Chris
Chase, Donald
Chayevsky, Paddy
Cherry, Helen
Civilian Conservation Corps
Clancy, Bill
Clark,’ Candy
Clark, Mark
Clark, Walter Van Tilburg
Cleary, Jon
Clements, Stanley “Stash
Clothier, Bill
Clouse, Robert
Clyde, Andy
Coghlan, Frank “Junior
Cohen, Mickey
Cohn, Harry
Colbert, Claudette
Coleman, George
Colicos, John
Collins, Joan
Confidential Magazine
Conrad, Barnaby
Conrad, Joseph
Coogan, Jackie
Cooper, Dennis
Cooper, Gary
Cooper, Grant
Corbin, John
Corey, Wendell
Cortez, Stanley
Cosentino, Toni
Cowan, Lester
Craig, William
Crawford, Broderick
Cromwell, John
Crossfire
Cross of Iron
Cukor, George
Curtis, Dan
D’Angelo, Bill
D’Antonio, Joanne
Darnell, Linda
Davidson, Bill
Davis, Carroll
Davis, Jim
Davol, Dick
Day, Elias
Day, Laraine
Day, Oranne Truitt
Dead Man
Decca Records
De Coque, Paul
Defiant Ones, The
DeFore, Don
de Gaulle, Charles
DeHavilland, Olivia
Dejoria, John Paul
DeLaurentiis, Dino
Demick, Irina
DeNiro, Robert
Depp, Johnny
Derek, Bo
Dern, Bruce
Desire Me
Dewey, Donald
DeWitt, Jacqueline
DeYoung, Joe
Dickerson, Doris
Dickinson, Angie
Diller, Phyllis
DiMaggio, Joe
Dmytryk, Edward
Dmytryk, Jean Porter
Domergue, Faith
Donen, Stanley
Donnell, Jeff
Donner, Robert
Doolittle, Jimmy
Dortort, David
Doss, Betty
Doughboys in Ireland
Dougherty, Jim
Douglas, Kirk
in films with RM
Douglas, Melvyn
Dowd, Maureen
Dowtin, Al
Dozier, William
DRM Productions
Dudley, Seymour
Duff, Bonnie
Duff, Warren
Dunaway, Faye
Dunn, James
Eastwood, Clint
Edwards, Nate
Eells, George
Egan, Richard
Eisenhower, Dwight
Eisenschitz, Bernard
Elam, Jack
El Dorado
Ellis, Richard
Enemy Below, The
Equalizer, The
Esmond, Jill
Evans, Vicki
Faithfull, Marianne
Falk, Peter
Family for Joe, A
Farber, Manny
Farewell, My Lovely
Fargo, George
Farnum, Dustine
Farrow, John
Farrow, Mia
Fast, Frederick
Fast, Howard
Faulker, William
Feeder, Bill
Feldman, Charles K.
Fellows, Robert
Felton, Earl
Fenady, Andrew
Fenton, Frank
Fernandez, Abel
Fernandez, Emilio
Ferrer, Mel
Figueroa, Hector
Fike, Lamar
film noir
Mitchum’s roles in
Fire Down Below
Fitzgerald, Charles
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Five Card Stud
flashbacks
Fleischer, Richard
Flynn, Errol
Follow the Band
Fonda, Henry
Ford, John
Ford, Robin “Danny
Foreign Intrigue
Foster, Fred
Foster, Norman
Franklin, Joe
Frederick, Reva, see
Frenke, Eugene
Freund, Leo
Friends of Eddie Coyle, The
Fuller, Samuel
Furthman, Jules
Gable, Clark
Gabriel, John
Gang, Martin
gangster genre films
Gardner, Ava
Garmes, Lee
Garnett, Tay
Garson, Greer
Gersdorf, Phil
Gershuny, Theodore
Gibson, William
Giesler, Jerry
Gilardi, Jack
Gilmore, William S., Jr.
Ginty, Robert
Girl Rush
Gish, Lillian
Gleason, Jackie
Globus, Yoram
Godard, Jean Luc, n
Going Home
Golan, Menahem
Golden Harvest Productions
Goldstick, Oliver
Goldwyn, Samuel, Jr.
Good Guys and the Bad Guys, The
Goodman, David Zelag
Gordon, Leo
Gorman, Cliff
Gosnell, Ray
Gould, Elliott
Grade, Lew
Graham, Sheilah
Grahame, Gloria
Grainger, Edmond
Granet, Bert
Granger, Stewart
Grant, Carv
Grass Is Greener, The
Gray, Gary
Greenfield, Mike
Greer, Jane
in RM’s films
Gregory, Paul
Grey, Zane
Griffith, D. W.
Gross, Jack
Gross, Walter
Grubb, Davis
Guare, John
Gunderson, Charles
Gunderson, Gustav Olaf
Gunderson, Petrine
Guterman, Morty
Guthrie, A. B. “Bud
Haas, Charles
Hacker, Frederick
Haines, William Wister
Hale, Barbara
Hall, Archie
Hall, William
Hamill, Pete
Hamilton, George
Hamilton, Guy
Hamilton, Kitty
Harbin, Vernon
Hardin, Jerry
Hardy, Oliver
Harris, Eleanor
Harris, Richard
Harrison, Joan
Harrison, Robert
Hartman, Don
Hartman, Phil
Hathaway, Henry
Havelock-Allan, Anthony
Hawks, Howard
Hayes, Arthur
Haynes, Lee
Hayward, Lillie
Hayward, Susan
Hayworth, Rita
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
Hecht, Harold
Hedison, David
Heffernon, Harold
Helmick, Paul
Hemsey, Yvonne
Henabery, Joseph E.
Henry, Victor “Pug
Hepburn, Katharine
Herrmann, Bernard
&nbs
p; Hess, Dean E.
Higgins, George V
Higham, Charles
Hill, Jim
His Kind of Woman
Hitchcock, Alfred
Hodgett, A. Q.
Holden, William
Holiday Affair
Holland, Cecil
Hollywood Ten
Holmes, Earl
Holt, Tim
Home from the Hill
homosexuality
Hopalong Cassidy series
Hopper, Hedda
Horta, Walter
Houseman, John
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
Houston, Norman
Howard, Trevor
Howe, James Wong
Hoyle, Mickey
Hoyle, Red
Hudson, Rock
Hughes, Howard
eccentric behavior of
female stars cultivated by
RKO management by
RM’s prosecution and
Human Comedy, The
Humphrey, William
Hunnicutt, Arthur
Hunt, J. Roy
Hunter, Kim
Hunters, The
Huston, Danny
Huston, John
Huston, Virginia
Hutcheson, Ken
Ireland, John
Jackpot
Jacks, Robert
Jackson, Beverley
Jagger, Dean
Jake Spanner, Private Eye
Jarmusch, Jim
Jarre, Kevin
Jeffreys, Anne
Jenson, Roy
Jewell, Richard
Jewish Defense League (JDL)
Johns, Glynis
Johns, Larry
Johnson, Lyndon B.
Johnson, Van
Jones, Christopher
Jones, Elmer Ellsworth
Jordan, Charles
Jurgens, Curt
Kael, Pauline
Kastner, Elliott
Katzin, Lee
Kazan, Elia
Keach, Stacy
Keaton, Buster
Kefauver, Estes
Keith, Jack
Kellogg, Marjorie
Kemper, Victor
Kennedy, Arthur
Kennedy, Burt
Kennedy, George
Kennedy, John E
Kenyatta, Jomo
Kerouac, Jack
Kerr, Deborah
Killer in the Family
Killy, Edward
King Brothers
Kinski, Nastassja
Kirby, Jay
Klekner, Ben
Knowles, Patric
Koch, Howard
Koerner, Charles
Konchalovsky, Andrei
Kramer, Stanley
Krasna, Norman
Kulik, Buzz
LaCoeur, Joan
Ladd, Alan
Lally, Paul
Lancaster, Burt
Lanchester, Elsa
Lang, Otto
Lange, Henry
Langella, Frank
Langford, Frances
Lantos, Robert
Lasker, Edward
Last Time I Saw Archie, The