Actor James ‘Jim’ Mitchum, son of Hollywood legend Robert Mitchum, passed away at his residence in Skull Valley, Arizona, on September 20. Mitchum was 84 at the time of death.

Born back in 1941, James Mitchum spent his young days in a Los Angeles neighbourhood, famously starting life with his family at a converted chicken coop near his grandmother’s bungalow in West Hollywood before his legendary father's career took off.

Mitchum's career began with a role in a Western film at the age of eight. The actor's resemblance to his father soon proved advantageous; at 16, directors cast him as the latter's brother in the 1958 film Thunder Road. Jim Mitchum's role as a mechanic in the film even inspired him to dabble in stock car racing and become an actual mechanic. He even worked on singer Elvis Presley's automobiles.

Presley's influence also prompted Jim Mitchum to try singing, leading him to sign a deal with 20th Century Fox and record the 1961 single ‘Lonely Birthday’.

While his career in singing turned out to be brief, Mitchum’s career as an actor flourished, encompassing over 35 titles between 1949 and 1994. Over the 1960s, he starred alongside major names, including John Wayne and Kirk Douglas in In Harm's Way and George Peppard in The Victors. He later joined Dennis Hopper's notorious 1971 project, The Last Movie, and filmed a behind-the-scenes documentary The Last Movie Movie. Four years later, he starred in Moonrunners, which later served as the basis for The Dukes of Hazzard.

After retiring from acting in 1994, Mitchum relocated himself to Arizona, where he managed a horse ranch for his parents. He also created premium whiskey products, paying a tribute to his father's moonshiner roles.