Lee Marvin (February 19, 1924 – August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his distinctive voice, white hair and 6 ft 1 ⁄2 in (187 cm) stature, Marvin initially appeared in supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters. From 1957 to 1960, he starred as Detective Lieutenant Frank Ballinger in the NBC crime series, M Squad.

In 1966 he won several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor, and Best Actor BAFTA and the Best Actor Golden Globe, for his dual roles in Cat Ballou.

Biography

During the 1970s, Marvin resided off and on in Woodstock, caring for his dying father, and as a keen fisherman he used to make regular trips to Australia to engage in fishing for marlin at Cairns and Great White Shark at Port Fairy. In 1975 Marvin and his second wife Pamela moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he lived until his death.

Marvin was a Democrat who opposed the Vietnam War. He publicly endorsed John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.


Marriages and children
A father of four, 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 and Ebeling had a son, Christopher (1952–2013), and three daughters: Courtenay (b. 1954), Cynthia (b. 1956) and Claudia (1958-2012).

Marvin was married to Pamela Feeley from October 18, 1970 until his death.



Community property case
See also Marvin v. Marvin
In 1971, Marvin was sued by Michelle Triola, his live-in girlfriend from 1965 to 1970, who legally changed her surname to "Marvin". Although the couple never married, she sought financial compensation similar to that available to spouses under California's alimony and community property laws. Triola claimed Marvin made her pregnant three times and paid for two abortions, while one pregnancy ended in miscarriage. She claimed the second abortion left her unable to bear children. The result was the landmark "palimony" case, Marvin v. Marvin, 18 Cal. 3d 660 (1976). In 1979, Marvin was ordered to pay $104,000 to Triola for "rehabilitation purposes" but the court denied her community property claim for one-half of the $3.6 million which Marvin had earned during their six years of cohabitation – distinguishing non-marital relationship contracts from marriage, with community property rights only attaching to the latter by operation of law. Rights equivalent to community property only apply in non-marital relationship contracts when the parties expressly, whether orally or in writing, contract for such rights to operate between them. In August 1981, the California Court of Appeal found there was no such contract, and thus nullified the award she had received. Michelle Triola died of lung cancer on October 30, 2009.

This case was used as fodder for a mock debate skit on Saturday Night Live called "Point Counterpoint", and on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as a skit with Carson as Adam, and Betty White as Eve.

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