Lee Marvin

LEE MARVIN (1986) interviewed by John Gallagher In a rare and comprehensive interview conducted one year before his death, the legendary star reminisces about John Ford, John Wayne, Robert Aldrich

Marvin was born in New York City, New York, the son of Lamont Waltman Marvin, an advertising executive and the head of the New York and New England Apple Institute, and his wife Courtenay Washington Davidge, a fashion writer and beauty consultant. His father was a direct descendant of Matthew Marvin, Sr., who emigrated from Great Bentley, Essex, England in 1635 and helped found Hartford, Connecticut.
Marvin studied violin when he was young. As a teenager, Marvin "spent weekends and spare time hunting deer, puma, wild turkey and bobwhite in the wilds of the then-uncharted Everglades." He attended St. Leo Preparatory College in St. Leo, Florida after being expelled from several schools for bad behavior.[citation needed]
Marvin left school to join the U.S. 4th Marine Division, serving as a sniper. He was wounded in action during the WWII Battle of Saipan, eight months prior to the Battle of Iwo Jima. Most of his platoon were killed during the battle. This had a significant effect on Marvin for the rest of his life. He was awarded the Purple Heart medal and was given a medical discharge with the rank of Private First Class. Contrary to rumors, Marvin did not serve with Bob Keeshan during World War II.
A father of six, Marvin was married twice. His first marriage to Betty Ebeling began in February 1951 and ended in divorce on January 5, 1967; during this time his hobbies included sport fishing off the Baja California coast and duck hunting along the Mexican border near Mexicali. He then married Pamela Feeley on October 18, 1970 and remained her husband until his death. During the 1970s, Marvin resided off and on in Woodstock, New York, and would make regular trips to Cairns, Australia to engage in marlin fishing.
He died of a coma-induced heart attack, and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.