Dorothy Mitchum Was Robert Mitchum's Wife- 10 Facts About Her Life And Death

Publish date: 2024-03-05

Dorothy Mitchum was a woman filled with ambition and journeyed towards adding to life through her writings. She wrote horoscopes and was also a humanitarian and founding member of Share Happily and Reap Endlessly (SHARE) charity organization. However, more to her fame is tied to her being a glamourous celebrity wife of American actor Robert Mitchum for 57 years until his death in 1997.

Dorothy’s husband wore many hats of acting, directing, writing, and music. Nonetheless, he was most famous for being an actor who appeared in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), River of No Return (1954), The Winds of War (1983), and War and Remembrance (1988) among others.

Table of Contents

Facts About Dorothy Mitchum You Probable Never Came Across

1. Early life of the celebrity-wife

Famous as Dorothy Mitchum, Dorothy Clements Spence Mitchum was born in 1919, in Camden, Delaware, and spent her earliest years in the town.

She would later move to Philadelphia to attend Pierce College to train as a secretary. Nonetheless, she couldn’t complete the education as she moved with her husband to Hollywood.

On the other hand, her husband was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on August 6, 1917. He later moved to the town where Dorothy was born – Delaware.

2. She dated his younger brother

Prior to the time that Dorothy had met her then-husband of more than 5 decades, she had already met his younger brother, late actor John Mitchum with whom she had a brief relationship.

She met Robert when she was 14 and the narrative changed with a love affair that would lead to marriage in 1940. The late couple married when Robert was 23 years old and his then-wife was about the age of 21.

3. Dorothy Mitchum married Robert Mitchum before he became an acclaimed actor

Around the 1930s, Robert was a writer for astrologer Caroll Righter. However, his sister Julie Mitchum who was also an actress convinced him to join the local theatre guild.

Still in 1940 when they became married, her then-husband did not start a career in the movie industry. Instead, he worked as a machine operator during World War II.

Nonetheless, after facing some challenges that include hearing and nervous breakdown, he moved to the entertainment industry to start work as an actor. In 1942 and 2 years after they were married, Mitchum professionally started acting in minor roles.

By the time Dorothy and her late husband were 3 years into their marriage, his career as an actor began to bloom in the war film Gung Ho! where he portrayed a Marine private.

Along the line and in their marriage, Robert Mitchum wore the shoes of many characters in different works and was able to make out of himself one of the finest actors of the late 1940s, to the early and mid-1990s.

4. All her 3 children became actors

James Mitchum – 82 years old

James was born on May 8, 1941, in Los Angeles, California to the late Dorothy and her late husband Robert Mitchum. He began acting professionally at the age of 8 in 1949 and has appeared in movies such as:

Christopher Mitchum – 80 years old

He is the second child of Dorothy Mitchum and Robert. He was born on October 16, 1943, in Los Angeles, California. Like his father and older brother, he is an actor and screenwriter. He added to his experience of being a businessman.

The multi-award-winning actor has appeared in several films in about 14 countries. He is best known for featuring in films such as:

Trini Mitchum – 69 years old

Petrine Day Mitchum was born on March 3 1954 as the last child and only daughter of Dorothy and Robert. She is also an American actress who featured in The Mechanic, This Old Horse, and A Night at The Movies: Merry Christmas. 

5. Dorothy Mitchum was married to her husband for 57 years until his demise

The late couple lasted 57 years in marriage from 1940 to 1997. This would raise questions as to how they were able to sustain a marriage in Hollywood that divorce is popular, and how they also survived even when they married young. Although there is no basic answer that may have been given by the couple, it is not farfetched that there were deliberate efforts from both Dorothy and her late husband Robert.

The same story however cannot be said of their children’s marriages. As to their first son James, he was married to actress Wende Wagner in 1967 but divorced in 1978.

Their second son on the other hand Christopher was married to Cynthia Cindy Davis in 1964 and divorced in 1996.

6. Her late husband served in the military

During World War II that erupted in  1939 and lasted till 1954, Robert found a job to work with the army as a machine operator. After 8 months of service, however, he was granted a dependency discharge.

7. He was once arrested for the possession of marijuana

8 years after Robert and Dorothy were married, her then-actor and musician husband landed himself a case with the law after he was arrested alongside actress Lila Leeds were arrested for the possession of marijuana at her house.

The former actor was then sent to jail to serve 60 days.

8. She was Elvis Presley’s family friend

Dorothy didn’t have a clue about one of Elvis Presley who is famous as the King of Rock and Roll until she and Robert visited a small club in Mississippi – a town Elvis was born. There, the late couple reportedly found Elvis’ talent alluring and when they bumped in an acquaintance, Colonel Tom Parker, they told him about the singer.

Tom would later become Elvis’ manager while the Mitchum’s would go on to create a friendship that lasted years.

See Also: Shirley Jones Grandchildren- Meet Them All, Her Children, and Family Members

9. Dorothy Mitchum died at the age of 94

The Delaware-born former celebrity wife died at Serenity House hospice in Santa Barbara, California on April 12, 2014, at the age of 94.

At the time of her death, she was survived by her younger sister Bette Compton, her 3 children, more than a dozen of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nephews including actor Bentley Mitchun and nieces among others.

Her death came after 17 years of her late husband’s death in 1997 at the age of 79. He also died in Santa Barbara, California following complications of lung cancer and emphysema.

The body of her then-husband of 57 years was cremated and his ashes thrown at sea.

10. Net worth of her husband, Robert Mitchum before his death

Robert Mitchum who married Dorothy in 1940 had several careers that contributed to his making an estimated net worth of $10 million. The most notable work of the Academy Awards nominee is acting. However, he also had a career as a writer, director, poet, and singer known for songs such as The Ballad of Thunder Road (1958), You Deserve Eachother (1967), and Litle Old Wine Drinker Mer (1967)

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