Trivia

While at RKO Radio Pictures, Mitchum became the first male movie star to refuse to shave his chest for shirtless roles. In order to avoid that, he allowed himself to develop a pot belly to avoid having to take his shirt off at all.

He claimed his famous eyes were the result of a combination of injuries from his boxing days and chronic insomnia, which he suffered from throughout his life.

Turned down the lead role of Gen. George S. Patton in Patton (1970), allegedly because he believed he would ruin the film due to his indifference. During a Turner Classic Movies interview with Robert Osborne, Mitchum said that he knew the movie could be a great one due to the script, but that the studio would want to concentrate on battles and tanks moving around on screen rather than on the character of Patton. Mitchum believed that with himself in the role, the movie would turn out mediocre; what was needed was a passionate actor who would fight his corner to keep the focus on Patton, an actor like George C. Scott, whom Mitchum recommended to the producers.

Though respectful of Robert De Niro's talent, Mitchum was amused by the young Method actor's habit of remaining in character all day as film studio chief Monroe Stahr during the filming of The Last Tycoon (1976). Mitchum gave De Niro the nickname "Kid Monroe", and made many jokes about him with the older actors on the set like Ray Milland and Dana Andrews.

Turned down the role that eventually went to Tony Curtis in The Defiant Ones (1958). Mitchum, a real-life veteran of a Southern chain gang, did not believe the premise that a black man and a white man would be chained together and said that such a thing would never happen in the South. Over the years, this reason was corrupted to the point where many people now believe Mitchum turned down the role because he did not want to be chained to a black man, an absolute falsehood. Curtis repeated the inaccurate story in his autobiography, but later recanted after Mitchum's real reason was explained to him.

He was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea by wife Dorothy Mitchum and neighbor Jane Russell. At Mitchum's insistence, no memorial service was held.

He had a photographic memory. He was able to glance at a page and memorize all his lines instantly and he rarely rehearsed as a result.

In 1959, the Mitchums moved out of Hollywood and into a farm they had bought on the Maryland shore of Chesapeake Bay, near the town of Trappe. In 1965, the family returned to Hollywood, largely at wife Dorothy Mitchum's insistence, and moved into a modest, ivy-covered mansion in Bel Air. Mitchum also purchased a 76-acre ranch near Los Angeles, mostly as a home for his growing collection of quarter horses.

His arrest for marijuana possession in the late 1940s was one of the first times a major actor had been jailed for this crime. According to Lee Server's 2001 biography, "Robert Mitchum: Baby I Don't Care", he was still smoking pot into his old age.

In 1981, he fired his secretary, Reva Frederick, when he closed his office. Mitchum was subsequently sued as she claimed he owed her a pension back-dated to 1961. There was no paperwork to support this claim, and she dropped her suit when evidence was discovered that she had stolen millions of dollars from Mitchum over the years. As part of the "deal", he agreed not to prosecute. During the course of these events, Ms. Fredrick suffered a stroke from which she never fully recovered.

He was a huge fan of Elvis Presley's early music, and wanted Presley to star with him in Thunder Road (1958). Unfortunately, Tom Parker's demands for Presley's salary could not be met in this independent production, which Mitchum was financing himself.

Sidelines: Played the saxophone and wrote poetry.

Was one of four actors (with Jack Nicholson, Bette Davis, and Faye Dunaway) to have two villainous roles ranked in the American Film Institute's 100 years of The Greatest Heroes and Villains, as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1962) at #28 and as Reverend Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter (1955) at #29.

Infamous for his "indifference" towards acting, director Howard Hawks confronted Mitchum on the set of "El Dorado", telling him, "You pretend not to care, but you really work very hard." Mitchum answered, "Don't tell anybody.".

Katherine Hepburn once shouted at him: "You can't act! You know you can't act and you would never have gotten a single picture if you weren't handsome! I'm sick of working with people who have nothing to offer!" Mitchum's only response was to shrug his shoulders.

While filming El Dorado (1966) Mitchum was amused by co-star John Wayne's attempts to play his screen persona to the hilt in real life. He recalled that Wayne wore four-inch lifts to increase his height and had the roof of his car raised so he could drive wearing his Stetson.

Mitchum once said that Reverend Harry Powell, the murderous villain he played in The Night of the Hunter (1955), was his favorite role.

He is considered to be one of the most underrated actors of the Golden Age.

Briefly served in the United States Army during World War II, with service number 39 744 068, from April 12 - October 11, 1945, after he was drafted. According to Lee Server's 2001 biography, "Robert Mitchum: Baby I Don't Care", Mitchum said he served as a medic at an induction department, checking recruits' genitals for venereal disease (a "pecker checker"). Always the iconoclast, although he did not want to join the military, he served honorably and was discharged as a Private First Class and received the World War II Victory Medal.

Died one day before his The Big Sleep (1978) co-star James Stewart.

During a break in filming War and Remembrance (1988) in August 1987, Mitchum replaced his friend John Huston as an aging millionaire in Mr. North (1988) after Huston, who suffered from emphysema, was hospitalized with pneumonia. In October 1987, Mitchum filled in for Edward Woodward, who was recovering from a heart attack, in a special two-part episode of The Equalizer (1985).

Met the girl who would become his wife when they were in their teens.

Treated for alcoholism at the Betty Ford Center in 1984.

Visited his son Christopher Mitchum on the set of Rio Lobo (1970). Director Howard Hawks asked the elder Mitchum to reprise his El Dorado (1966) role as a drunken sheriff, but Mitchum claimed he was now retired. John Wayne responded, "Mitch has been retiring ever since the first day I met him.".

Mitchum was cast by Howard Hughes in Holiday Affair (1949) because Hughes felt that Mitchum needed to "soften" his image after his marijuana conviction and prison sentence.

Was named #23 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends by the American Film Institute.

He had initially wanted to be a writer.

Was the defendant in FTC (Federal Taxation Commissioner) vs. Mitchum (1965), a famous taxation case in Australia, in relation to income earned in Australia while working there on The Sundowners (1960).

Although he had numerous affairs throughout his marriage, he remained with wife Dorothy Mitchum for nearly 60 years.

He was accused of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial after an interview he gave to Barry Rehfeld of "Esquire" magazine promoting The Winds of War (1983) at his home in February 1983. Mitchum wrote an apologetic letter on 9 March 1983 to Herbert Luft, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Hollywood columnist. Mitchum claimed he had recited views expressed by the bigoted football coach he had played in That Championship Season (1982), which Rehfeld "mistakenly believed to be my own. From that point on, he approached me as the character in the script and in playing the devil's advocate in a prankish attempt to string him along we compounded a tragedy of errors." Mitchum added he was "truly sorry that this misunderstanding has upset so many people, especially since it is so foreign to my principle. The attendant misfortune is that it has brought me a spate of mail from people and organizations who are encouraged to believe that I share their bigotry and discrimination.".

In the film 'Angel Face he was told to slap Jean Simmons across the face which he did while holding himself back. Director Otto Preminger wasn't happy with the result and kept asking him to do it again and not to hold back. Mitchum turned round gave him a good slap across the face and asked if it was hard enough.

He seriously considered retiring from acting in 1968 due to concerns over the quality of his recent movies. After a year's absence, during which he spent much of the time driving around America visiting old friends and staying in motels, he was lured back to star in Ryan's Daughter (1970).

Mitchum wrote an oratorio that was produced and directed by Orson Welles at the Hollywood Bowl in the 1940s.

In his 1973 autobiography "Anything for a Quiet Life" Jack Hawkins wrote that Mitchum would drink 49 glasses of rum before having dinner when they were filming Rampage (1963).

5 Card Stud (1968), the showdown between Hollywood's two deities of indifference, produced no sparks on or off the screen. Dean Martin remained in his trailer watching television after filming was completed, and delivered his lines as though he had memorized them phonetically. The only excitement came when a massive camera collapsed and nearly hammered Mitchum into the ground. Instead, the star moved casually aside while thousands of dollars worth of equipment smashed around him.

Robert DeNiro, his co-star in The Last Tycoon (1976), has named Mitchum as one of his favorite actors.

Had a longstanding dislike of fellow tough guy actors Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson.

In 1947, he and Gary Gray recorded the songs from Rachel and the Stranger (1948) for Delta Records' soundtrack album. In 1968, he recorded another album, entitled "That Man Robert Mitchum... Sings". It included the track "Little Old Wine Drinker Me", which later became a hit for Dean Martin. In 1998, these songs were released on CD as "Robert Mitchum Sings".

Charles Laughton called him one of the best actors in the world.

After two weeks of shooting on the movie Tombstone (1993), the studio fired writer (director) Kevin Jarre and hired George P. Cosmatos. He, with Kurt Russell's input, cut a number of scenes (for actors) and changed them to new action scenes, weakening a beautifully written script. Part of what was cut was the old man Ike's character. As Mitchum had already signed the contract, they had him do the voice-over instead.

Early in his career many newspapers and fan magazines promoted him as a "new" Clark Gable, perhaps because both actors had strongly masculine images and powerful, distinctive voices. With Out of the Past (1947) however, Mitchum proved that he was a great star in his own right.

He was a talented storyteller, poet and skilled at impersonating the voices of others.

He was voted the 61st Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

His performance as Reverend Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter (1955) is ranked #71 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Michael Madsen called Mitchum his "role model" and inspiration to take up acting as a profession.

His vocal support for the Vietnam War failed to affect his appeal with American youth, and in 1968, a poll of teenagers declared him the coolest celebrity. Mitchum responded that they must have missed his recent films.

He was fired from Blood Alley (1955), allegedly for getting drunk and arguing with a crew member whom he then proceeded to throw into a nearby river, a charge Mitchum always denied.

Mitchum was in poor health while filming The Winds of War (1983), and once again there was talk of retirement. He filmed Maria's Lovers (1984) despite suffering from a solid case of pneumonia.

His driving license from 1950 gave his height as 6' even, one inch less than usually reported. However, Mitchum described himself as being exactly six feet tall in interviews.

He has appeared in three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Story of G.I. Joe (1945), Out of the Past (1947) and The Night of the Hunter (1955).