Christopher Mitchum

'Christopher Mitchum' (qv) is the second son of actor 'Robert Mitchum' (qv) destined, like older brother 'James Mitchum' (qv), to follow in the footsteps of his famous dad. Chris grew up avoiding the limelight and was educated at the University of Pennsylvania (1962-1966), attending Dublin's Trinity College as part of his Junior Year Abroad program. He attained a BA at the University of Arizona before developing a serious interest in filmmaking. He began as an extra while at the University of Arizona working in westerns at Old Tucson (1966-1967). That led to to acting jobs on the TV shows _Dundee and the Culhane (1967)_ (qv) starring Britisher 'John Mills' (qv) and _The Danny Thomas Hour (1967)_ (qv), which featured 'Sammy Davis Jr.' (qv). Chris worked as a "gofer" in two of his father's westerns in 1969 before receiving his big acting break. He auditioned for 'John Wayne' (qv) and won a small role in the western _Chisum (1970)_ (qv) as Billy the Kid's sidekick. Duke introduced him to director 'Howard Hawks' (qv), who screen-tested Chris and gave him a starring roles in Hawks' last film, _Rio Lobo (1970)_ (qv). Chris saddled up one more time with the Duke in _Big Jake (1971)_ (qv) before striking out on his own. With such a strong foundation now formed and fully equipped with his father's laid-back good looks and adventurous nature, Chris proved to be an assured action lead. After a long dry spell, however, he was told by the casting director of _Steelyard Blues (1973)_ (qv) that she could not interview him because he had worked with Wayne. In those highly political times, Chris' career took a downturn and he went to Europe to find work. The films he found, however, were of a lesser grade and quite violent in comparison to his father's sturdy work, with such obvious titles as _Savage Harbor (1987)_ (qv), _SFX Retaliator (1987)_ (qv), _Aftershock (1990)_ (qv), _Striking Point (1995)_ (qv) and _Lycanthrope (1999)_ (qv). He was popular in such foreign market as Spain, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Phillipines, however, so he continued to churn out product there including _Die unerbittlichen Drei (1974)_ (qv), _Chinese Commandos (1975)_ (qv), _American Commandos (1985)_ (qv) and _Final Score (1986)_ (qv). Chris actually prefers writing these days and co-penned the screenplay for _Triple Cross (1992)_ (qv). After a noticeable absence, he filmed a role recently in son 'Bentley Mitchum' (qv)'s horror yarn _The Ritual (2009)_ (qv). Chris' son, who also produced, wrote and directed, is part of a third generation of acting Mitchums, which includes older daughter 'Carrie Mitchum' (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net