Is Robert Mitchum Dead or Still Alive? Robert Mitchum Birthday and Date of Death

Robert Mitchum Death

Robert passed away on July 1, 1997 at the age of 79 in Santa Barbara, California, USA. Robert's cause of death was lung cancer.

Robert Mitchum Birthday and Date of Death

Robert Mitchum was born on August 6, 1917 and died on July 1, 1997. Robert was 79 years old at the time of death.

Birthday: August 6, 1917
Date of Death: July 1, 1997
Age at Death: 79

Robert Mitchum - Biography

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer, and singer. Mitchum rose to prominence for his starring roles in several classic films noir, and is generally considered a forerunner of the anti-heroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s. His best-known films include The Story of G.I. Joe, Crossfire (1947), Out of the Past (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), The Enemy Below (1957), Cape Fear (1962), and El Dorado (1966).
Mitchum is regarded by some critics as one of the finest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Roger Ebert called him "the soul of film noir." Mitchum, however, was self-effacing; in an interview with Barry Norman for the BBC about his contribution to cinema, Mitchum stopped Norman in mid flow and in his typical nonchalant style, said, "Look, I have two kinds of acting. One on a horse and one off a horse. That's it." He had also succeeded in annoying some of his fellow actors by voicing his puzzlement at those who viewed the profession as challenging and hard work. He is quoted as having said in the Barry Norman interview that acting was actually very simple and that his job was to "show up on time, know his lines, hit his marks, and go home". Mitchum had a habit of marking most of his appearances in the script with the letters "n.a.r.", which meant "no action required", which critic Dirk Baecker has construed as Mitchum's way of reminding himself to experience the world of the story without acting upon it.

A lifelong heavy smoker, Mitchum died on July 1, 1997, in Santa Barbara, California, due to complications of lung cancer and emphysema. He was about five weeks shy of his 80th birthday. His body was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. He was survived by his wife of 57 years, Dorothy Mitchum (died April 12, 2014, Santa Barbara, California, aged 94), and actor sons, James Mitchum, Christopher Mitchum, and writer-daughter, Petrine Day Mitchum. His grandchildren, Bentley Mitchum and Carrie Mitchum, are actors, as was his younger brother, John, who died in 2001. Another grandson, Kian, is a successful model. Cappy Van Dien, Grace Van Dien, and Wyatt Mitchum Cardone are the children of Carrie Mitchum, the grandchildren of Christopher Mitchum, and the great grandchildren of Robert and Dorothy Mitchum.