Robert Mitchum's Real Name: Robert Mitchum

Quick answer: The actor was known professionally as Robert Mitchum. The Los Angeles Times gives the name Robert Charles Duran Mitchum. Britannica dates the birth to August 6, 1917, in Bridgeport, Connecticut; the Los Angeles Times independently places the birth on Aug. 16, 1917, in Bridgeport, Conn. Britannica and the Los Angeles Times independently date the death to July 1, 1997, in Santa Barbara County, California.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers identify him under the professional name Robert Mitchum. The Los Angeles Times gives the name Robert Charles Duran Mitchum and places the birth on Aug. 16, 1917, in Bridgeport, Conn. Britannica independently dates the birth to August 6, 1917, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and says he eventually landed in Long Beach, California. The Los Angeles Times independently records early years in Bridgeport and a later bit part in the 1943 Hopalong Cassidy film Hoppy Serves a Writ. Britannica independently records the same 1943 western as the start of his film career.

Career highlights

Britannica records an Academy Award nomination for a supporting performance in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) and later roles in Out of the Past (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), Cape Fear (1962), and Farewell, My Lovely (1975). The Los Angeles Times independently cites those films among later praised performances, notes the same Oscar nomination, and records later television work in The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Britannica says that in 1948 he was arrested for possession of marijuana, served nearly two weeks in jail, and was placed on probation for two years, after which the conviction was struck from his record. The Los Angeles Times independently records a 1948 marijuana arrest and says he emerged from two months of prison with his career intact.

Death

Britannica dates the death to July 1, 1997, in Santa Barbara county, California. The Los Angeles Times, in a July 2, 1997, report, says he died Tuesday at his home in Santa Barbara County, at the age of 79, in his sleep of complications from emphysema and lung cancer, according to his biographer and friend Jerry Roberts.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Robert Mitchum or Robert Charles Duran Mitchum are looking for the same actor, including the later films most often associated with his name. Search traffic often uses the professional name Robert Mitchum.