Robert Mitchum - Legacy

Legacy

Mitchum is regarded by critics as one of the finest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Roger Ebert called him 'the soul of film noir'. Mitchum himself, however, was self-effacing; in an interview with Barry Norman for the BBC about his contribution to cinema, Mitchum stopped Norman in mid flow and in his typical phlegmatic style said, "Look, I have two kinds of acting. One on a horse and one off a horse. That's it." He had also succeeded in annoying some of his fellow actors by voicing his puzzlement at those who viewed the profession as challenging and hard work. He is quoted as having said in a BBC interview with Barry Norman that acting was actually very simple and that his job was to "show up on time, know his lines, hit his marks, and go home". Interviewer Larry King has said on a number of occasions that Mitchum's interview was his most challenging. Mitchum, a man of few words, tended to answer simply "Yes" or "No" to many of King's questions.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars lists Mitchum as the 23rd greatest actor in American cinema. AFI also recognized his performance as the menacing rapist Max Cady as the 28th greatest screen villain of all-time as part of AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains. He is also noted for providing the voice of the famous American Beef Council commercials that touted "Beef . . . it's what's for dinner", from 1992 until his death. There is a "Mitchum's Steakhouse" in Trappe, Maryland, where Mitchum and his family lived from 1959 to 1965.