WE just love bringing you nostalgic stories of famous faces in Essex places.
Our newspaper archives date back to 1875 so you can imagine how many lost and forgotten articles of celebrities, royalty and screen legends all visiting our fair county are just waiting to be re-discovered.
Today we’ve uncovered a real A List encounter for you- when Hollywood mega star Robert Mitchum turned up at Southend Airport, much to the bewilderment and joy of fellow passengers.
It was in May 1963 and the Southend Standard newspaper was hot on the story. “Tough Guy Mitchum at the Airport” was the headline.
The story explained: “The few passengers waiting in the immigration bay at Southend Airport blinked. Could it be? No.. surely not? Those sleepy eyes.. that burly he-man frame- yes it was Robert Mitchum!
“Autograph books and notepads were whipped out and tourists’ cameras clicked as the Hollywood tough guy went through immigration formalities.”
The star had landed just minutes earlier on a British United Airways Car Ferry flight from Calais, along with his sleek, expensive, Aston Martin sports car.
“I’ve been holed up in St Germaine,” he told a reporter. And stretching himself in the bright sunshine he added: “It’s better here, it was damned dreary over there!
Mitchum, who was aged 45 at the time of his whirlwind Essex visit, was in Britain for two months to make ‘Man in the Middle’.
The film, set in World War II India, tells the story of the murder trial of an American Army officer who killed a British soldier. Mitchum plays Lieut. Col. Barney Adams, who has been assigned as the accused man’s defence counsel.”
Not surprisingly, Mitchum didn’t hang around long at the airport and sped off to his five star hotel in London.
The Standard reported: “After a short stop at the airport, the burly figure in the open necked shirt and baggy suit climbed into his sports car and drove to London. I only hope I can find it!” he told the airline official who directed him
The actor, originally from Connecticut in America, is still considered one of the greatest movie stars of all time. He featured in more than 100 films during his career, most famously Cape Fear (1962), The Night of the Hunter (1955) and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
He is ranked number 23 on the American Film Institute’s greatest male stars of all time (Humphrey Bogart is number 1).
Despite his success Mitchum was known to be self-effacing and disliked actors who took their jobs too seriously. In an interview with Barry Norman for the BBC Mitchum, in true, nonchalant style, said: “Look, I have two kinds of acting. One on a horse and one off a horse. That’s it.”
He added how acting was actually very simple and that his job was to “show up on time, know his lines, hit his marks, and go home”.
A heavy smoker, Mitchum died in 1997 of complications arising from lung cancer. He had been married to his wife Dorothy, for 57 years.
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