Hollywood nights: #12 "Robert Mitchum" Julian Cope (1989)

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This series focuses on musical tributes to Hollywood stars. Everyone knows Robert Mitchum, one of the toughest guys the screen has ever known. The actor was just as tough offscreen growing up hard, boozing, fighting, serving jail time for smoking pot and taking crap from no one. The laconic Mitchum’s sleepy eyes and bad boy persona attracted women and men liked his rugged two fisted machismo. His “I don’t care” anti-hero attitude proved ideal for film noir and physicality perfect for westerns and war pictures. Mitchum could also be a nasty villain as in “Night of the Hunter” and “Cape Fear.” An underrated actor, Robert Mitchum was a major star for decades. British musician Julian Cope started as a punker in 1978 with the Teardrop Explodes then went solo in 1983. The eclectic singer is more a cult figure than commercial with no hits. “Robert Mitchum” appears on the limited edition album “Skellington” and Cope co-wrote with Ian McCullough lead singer of Echo & the Bunnymen. “Robert Mitchum, I wrote a song for you Robert Mitchum, yes , I love you” “Ryan’s Daughter” is the only Mitchum movie mentioned in the song. Cope sings a few lines in French in this quiet odd little song.