Jim Mitchum, Thunder Road Actor, Dies at 84

James “Jim” Mitchum, eldest son of Robert Mitchum, died Sept. 20 at his ranch in Skull Valley, Arizona, at age 84 after a long illness, his family said. Born in Los Angeles in 1941, he began acting as a child and at 16 had his breakthrough opposite his father in the 1958 cult classic Thunder Road, launching a career of roughly three dozen film and television credits. Mitchum appeared in war films and genre pictures including The Victors, In Harm’s Way and Ambush Bay, took part in Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie (and made a short behind-the-scenes documentary about it), and featured in Moonrunners and later projects into the 1990s. Off screen he pursued a lifelong passion for cars—working on Elvis Presley’s hot rods and racing—and briefly recorded the 1961 single "Lonely Birthday." After retiring to Arizona he tended racehorses and bred Quarter Horses on his ranch and produced small-batch moonshine and whiskey inspired by his screen persona. He is survived by his wife Pamela, siblings including Christopher and Petrine Day Mitchum, five children and several grandchildren.