Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was born on 6 August 1917 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was best known as an American actor, though he also worked as a singer. He began his acting career on stage before appearing in numerous Hollywood films. After a long acting career that began in the 1940s, Mitchum released his first album, Calypso – is like so..., in 1957, followed the next year by the single "The Ballad of Thunder Road," which peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. He later moved further into country music, and in 1967 his single "Little Old Wine Drinker Me" reached the top ten of the country radio charts. Its follow-up, "You Deserve Each Other," also charted on the Billboard Country Singles chart. Mitchum's musical output remained modest compared with his film work, but his recordings marked a lesser-known side of his long career. He died on 1 July 1997 in Santa Barbara, California, from complications of lung cancer and emphysema, leaving a legacy of successful chart records, pioneering jazz arrangements, and contributions to radio, film, and live performance in mid‑twentieth‑century Britain.
