James Mitchum is the oldest son of actor Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...

 and bears a striking resemblance to his famous father. He inherited his father's sleepy eyes and taciturn good looks. The comparison both helped and hurt his career. He had a child with actress Wende Wagner

Wende Wagner

Wende Wagner, also known as Wendy Wagner was an actress famed for her roles in The Green Hornet and Rio Conchos.-Biography:Born to a career U.S. Navy officer and swimming and diving coach father Wende Wagner, also known as Wendy Wagner (December 6, 1941 February 26, 1997) was an actress famed for...

 to whom he was formerly married. Ms. Wagner died of cancer in 1997.

He is also the brother of actor Christopher Mitchum

Christopher Mitchum

Christopher Mitchum , is an American actor. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the second son of film star Robert Mitchum and his wife Dorothy. He is also the younger brother of actor James Mitchum....

 and the uncle of actor Bentley Mitchum

Bentley Mitchum

Bentley Mitchum is an American actor who has appeared in about 40 films and TV series, including Sundance grand jury prize winner Ruby in Paradise, Man in the Moon, The Wonder Years, Conviction, Susie Q, Meatballs 4, Demonic Toys and Shark Attack...

.

Film career

He had his first role which was small and unbilled at the age of 8 in the western Colorado Territory (1949) with Joel McCrea

Joel McCrea

Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...

, Virginia Mayo

Virginia Mayo

Virginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...

 and Dorothy Malone

Dorothy Malone

Dorothy Malone is an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years she played small roles, mainly in B-movies. After a decade in films, she began to acquire a more glamorous image, particularly after her performance in Written on the Wind , for which she won the Academy...

. His credited debut was in Thunder Road

Thunder Road

Thunder Road is the title of a 1958 drama–crime film about running moonshine in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee in the early 1950s. It was directed by Arthur Ripley and starred Robert Mitchum, who also produced the film, co-wrote the screenplay, and is rumored to have directed much of the...

(1958) in which he played his father's much younger "brother," a role written for Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

, who was eager to do it until his manager demanded too much money. This film became a drive-in cult favorite, revived in the '70s and '80s. Curiously, he was again credited as being "introduced" in the Have Gun Will Travel episode "Genesis" (1962). Since then he has appeared in more than 30 films including The Beat Generation

The Beat Generation

The Beat Generation is a film by MGM starring Steve Cochran and Mamie Van Doren, with Ray Danton, Fay Spain, Maggie Hayes, Jackie Coogan, Louis Armstrong, Vampira, and Ray Anthony...

in 1959, The Victors

The Victors (film)

-Overview:The film follows a group of U.S. soldiers through Europe during World War II, from Britain in 1942, through the fierce fighting in Italy and France, to the uneasy peace of Berlin. It is adapted from a collection of short stories called The Human Kind by British author Alexander Baron,...

in 1963, In Harm's Way

In Harm's Way

In Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...

(1965), Ambush Bay

Ambush Bay

Ambush Bay is a 1966 war film filmed on location in the Philippines that was produced by Aubrey Schenck and released through United Artists.-Plot:...

(1966), The Invincible Six

The Invincible Six

The Invincible Six is a 1970 American-Iranian adventure film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Stuart Whitman, Elke Sommer, Curd Jürgens and Ian Ogilvy...

in 1970, Zebra Force

Zebra Force

Zebra Force is a 1976 American film directed by Joe Tornatore. The film is about a group of Vietnam War veterans who declare war on Los Angeles drug dealers and the Mafia...

in 1976, Hollywood Cop in 1987, Jake Spanner, Private Eye in 1987 and Fatal Mission in 1990.
He played a surfer named Eskimo in Ride the Wild Surf

Ride the Wild Surf

Ride the Wild Surf is romantic drama in the beach party style. It was filmed in 1963 and distributed in 1964. Unlike most films in the genre, it is known for its exceptional big wave surf footage – a common sight in surf movies of the time, but a rarity in beach party films...

in 1964. He also starred in Crazy Jungle Adventure (dubbed) in 1982.

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