Born in New York on February 19, 1924, Lee Marvin joined the Navy after
graduating. Wounded in the Second World War, he became a plumber, then a stage
and screen actor. A prototypical supporting actor in westerns and war films, he
made a name for himself with the rough-hewn roles he played in L'Équipée sauvage
(1953), L'Homme qui tua Liberty Valance (1962) and Les douze salopards (1966),
but it was for a comedy film, Cat Ballou (1965), that he won the Oscar for Best
Actor. He also sang the theme songs, as in La Kermesse de l'Ouest (1969), with
Clint Eastwood. One of the film's so...