The Sons of Lee Marvin

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Actor Lee Marvin (1924–1987), to whom the society is devoted

The Sons of Lee Marvin is a tongue-in-cheek secret society devoted to iconic American actor Lee Marvin.[1] The sole entry requirement for the club is that one must have a physical resemblance to plausibly look like a son of Marvin.[2]

Founding member and film director Jim Jarmusch explained, "If you look like you could be a son of Lee Marvin, then you are instantly thought of by the Sons of Lee Marvin to be a Son of Lee Marvin".[3]

Members

Besides Jarmusch, the founding members of the society are said to include the actors and musicians Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Richard Boes.[2][4][5] Musician Nick Cave, whom Jarmusch knew when living in Berlin, was inducted as a member after having been mistaken for a brother of the director.[3] Director John Boorman is an honorary member, having been presented with one of the society's elaborate Waits-designed business cards.[5][6] Others rumored to be members include Thurston Moore, Iggy Pop, Benjamin Biolay, Josh Brolin and Neil Young though none have been formally recognized by the society, which refuses to disclose its inner workings to the public.[6] The society meets occasionally, supposedly to watch Lee Marvin films together.[5]

Mythology

The society's members perpetuate the joke in the media. Tom Waits described it to Rolling Stone in 1986 as "somewhere between the Elks Club and the Academy Awards", and claimed to have met Jarmusch at an annual meeting of the New York chapter.[7] When asked about the society by friend and collaborator Luc Sante in a 1989 interview, Jarmusch commented "I'm not at liberty to divulge information about the organization, other than to tell you that it does exist. I can identify three other members of the organization: Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Richard Boes ... You have to have a facial structure such that you could be related to, or be a son of, Lee Marvin. There are no women, obviously, in the organization. We have communiques and secret meetings. Other than that, I can't talk about it."[2] Jarmusch revealed in a 1992 interview that the real son of Lee Marvin, Christopher, had objected to the existence of the organization in an encounter with Waits at a bar:[8]

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Six months ago Tom Waits was in a bar in somewhere like Sonoma County in Northern California, and the bartender said, ”You’re Tom Waits, right? A guy over there wants to talk to you.”

Tom went over to this dark corner booth and the guy sitting there said, ”Sit down, I want to talk to you.”

So Tom started getting a little aggressive: ”What the fuck do you want to talk to me about? I don’t know you.”

And the guy said, ”What is this bullshit about the Sons of Lee Marvin?”

Tom said, ”Well, it’s a secret organization and I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

The guy said, ”I don’t like it.”

Tom said, ”What’s it to you?”

The guy said, ”I’m Lee Marvin’s son”—and he really was. He thought it was insulting, but it’s not, it’s completely out of respect for Lee Marvin.
— Jim Jarmusch, in interview with Film Comment, June 1992

A professional drummer, Christopher Marvin was later featured as a guest artist on the song "Cold Water" from Waits' album Mule Variations (1999). North Carolina native, Jim Newman, is frequently asked if he is related to Lee Marvin. A quick look and you will know why (see photo).

The Sons

  • Jim Jarmusch.jpg

    Jim Jarmusch

  • Tom Waits

  • Nick Cave 2009 New York City 2.jpg

    Nick Cave

  • Neil Young

  • Jameso77.jpg

    Iggy Pop

  • JohnBoorman 2006.jpg

    John Boorman

  • Josh Brolin LF.jpg

    Josh Brolin

  • Thurston Moore at the Brooklyn Book Festival.jpg

    Thurston Moore

  • Benjamin Biolay - Live.jpg

    Benjamin Biolay

  • 01 John Lurie.jpg

    John Lurie

File:Jim Newman.jpg l Jim Newman

Citations

  1. ↑ Hertzberg 2001, p. 187
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hertzberg 2001, p. 98
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. courtesy link
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

References

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External links

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