Jim Mitchum was the eldest son of Robert Mitchum, who made his name in films like The Story of G.I. Joe and The Night Of The Hunter, and the older brother of Christopher Mitchum, who would also go on to become an actor. Mitchum’s mom tried to keep him out of show business for as long as possible, THR reports, but in 1958, he was cast to star as the younger brother of his father’s character in Arthur Ripley’s Thunder Road. It was the younger Mitchum’s first credited role; he was only 16. (The outlet notes that the role was originally written for Elvis Presley, a friend of the family, but the salary offered was too low.) Mitchum also starred with his father in films like The Last Time I Saw Archie and Jake Spanner, Private Eye.
Mitchum carved out his own niche by starring in a series of war films in the ’60s, including The Victors (1963), In Harm’s Way (1965), and Ambush Bay (1966). He also starred in Dennis Hopper’s flop The Last Movie, and followed it up with a short documentary about the experience of filming with Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Kris Kristofferson called The Last Movie Movie. Other notable film credits include Trackdown, Hollywood Cop, Two-Lane Blacktop, and The Beat Generation. He also appeared in a few television series, such as Have Gun – Will Travel and The High Chaparral.
Mitchum performed his last credited role in 1992’s Genghis Khan: The Story Of A Lifetime. In the proceeding decades, he bred and tended to race horses on his 20-plus-acre ranch. “I’m pretty much in my own little world down here,” he told the Prescott Daily Courier in 2005.
