Jim Mitchum, who starred alongside his father, Oscar-nominated actor Robert Mitchum, in the 1958 moonshine drama Thunder Road while appearing in about three dozen films and TV shows during his career, has died. He was 84.
Mitchum died Sept. 20 at his ranch home in Skull Valley, Arizona, after a long illness, a family spokesperson announced.
The first-born son of Robert Mitchum and Dorothy Spence Mitchum, Jim Mitchum appeared in the war films The Victors (1963), starring George Peppard, Albert Finney and George Hamilton; the Otto Preminger-directed In Harm’s Way (1965), starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas; and Ambush Bay (1966), starring Hugh O’Brian and Mickey Rooney.
He also had a part in Dennis Hopper’s critical and financial disaster The Last Movie (1971) and made a short documentary about the experience working in Peru with Hopper, Peter Fonda and Kris Kristofferson called The Last Movie Movie.
Mitchum’s mom was determined to keep him out of show business as long as possible, but when he was 16, he was cast as Robert’s younger brother, Robin Doolin, in the cult classic Thunder Road. It was his first credited film role. (The part was originally written for Elvis Presley, a family friend of the Mitchums, but he wanted too much money.)
Also produced by Robert, the movie, about Southern whiskey runners pitted against federal agents and organized crime, was filled with car chases and stunts. Playing a car mechanic, James discovered a talent for tinkering with engines and had a stint as a stock car racer and real mechanic, notably working on Presley’s hot rods.
He also appeared with his father in the 1961 war comedy The Last Time I Saw Archie, directed by and starring Jack Webb.
Named for his paternal grandfather, James Robin Spence Mitchum was born in Los Angeles on May 8, 1941. When Dorothy went into labor, Robert was appearing as a Russian peasant in a small theater production, and he rushed to the hospital in full make-up.
Jim and his parents lived a converted chicken coop behind a rented West Hollywood bungalow that housed Robert’s mother, stepfather, three siblings and a nephew. By 1943, Robert was making enough money from acting to rent a house nearby — just in time for the birth of Jim’s brother, Christopher, who would also become an actor.
Robert and Dorothy Mitchum at home in 1947 with sons Christopher (left) and Jim.
Courtesy Everett Collection
James appeared in his first film, Raoul Walsh’s Colorado Territory (1949), when he was 8, then attended University High School in West Los Angeles, where his classmates included Frank Sinatra Jr. He passed on college and a potential career in baseball to pursue acting.
Inspired by Presley, he also flirted in 1961 with becoming a singer and was given a contract by 20th Century Fox. A baritone, he recorded a single, “Lonely Birthday,” but it never caught on.
His acting résumé also included Ride the Wild Surf (1964), featuring Fabian and Shelley Fabares, and Moonrunners (1975), a comedy about the illegal whiskey business that echoed Thunder Road and was redeveloped as the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard. He retired from acting in 1994.
In 1968, Mitchum married late actress Wende Wagner, whose daughter, Tiffany, was 3, and they lived in the hills above Malibu. The couple had a son, Will, in 1969, before their marriage ended in 1978.
While he was residing in Santa Barbara as the co-founder of a publishing company, Mitchum married Vivian Ferrand in 1985, and they moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona, where he managed his parents’ quarter horse ranch, overseeing the breeding and racing operations. They had two kids, Brian and Caitlin Ann, before divorcing in 1995.
After Robert Mitchum’s death in July 1997 at age 79, Jim continued to breed racing quarter horses at his ranch in Skull Valley. In recent years, he developed a line of premium moonshine, traditional corn whiskey and Robert’s Rye whiskey in tribute to his dad.
In addition to his children Will, Brian and Caitlin Ann, his brother and his stepdaughter, survivors include his third wife, former English professor Pamela K. Smith, whom he first met in 1993 and married this year; another daughter, Ana; grandchildren Jack, Wagner, Paige and Winnry; and sister Petrine.
His life will be celebrated privately by the family.
Robert Mitchum was known for his performances in such films as Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Out of the Past (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Not as a Stranger (1955), Cape Fear (1962), Ryan’s Daughter (1970) and Farewell, My Lovely (1975), to name just a few. He received his Oscar nomination for his supporting turn in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945).
He and Dorothy were married from March 1940 until his death from lung cancer and emphysema. She died in April 2014.