Marvin Mitchelson
Encyclopedia
Marvin M. Mitchelson was an American
celebrity lawyer
who pioneered the concept of palimony
, calling it "marriage with no rings attached."
when Marvin was in high school, after graduation he then served a term in the United States Navy
. After leaving the service he entered UCLA
where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree. He obtained a Juris Doctor
degree from Southwestern University School of Law
, and was admitted to the California Bar
on 4 June 1957, having passed the bar exam on his second try. He set up a private legal practice in Los Angeles at that time.
decision, Douglas v. California
, giving indigent defendants the right to legal counsel.
He gained national publicity when he was hired by Michelle Triola
, a lounge singer who lived with actor Lee Marvin
as his personal partner from 1964 until 1970, when Marvin told her to move out because he wanted to marry another woman. Mitchelson helped Triola — who claimed that she was entitled to the same benefits as a divorcée, which meant half of Marvin's then-$3.6 million fortune — win her right to bring suit. Although Triola was awarded $104,000 for "rehabilitation" in 1978 (the ruling was overturned in 1981; Marvin never paid Triola any money), Marvin v. Marvin (Triola assumed Marvin's name during the relationship) set a precedent.
Mitchelson's celebrity clients included Pamela Mason (wife of James Mason
), who received a $2 million divorce settlement from her ex-husband, Robert DeNiro, Mickey Rooney
, Sylvester Stallone
, Zsa Zsa Gabor
, Joan Collins
, Mel Tormé
, Bianca Jagger
, Lesley-Anne Down
, Carl Sagan
, Mrs. William Shatner, and many ex-wives of errant playboy sheiks.
mansion (which now belongs to Johnny Depp
), four Rolls-Royce automobiles, and he epitomised the 1970s California champagne-and-cocaine lifestyle, consuming both in increasingly large quantities until a series of unpaid tax bills and malpractice complaints caught up with him. He was also forcibly evicted, in the late 1970s, from a home he was renting in Beverly Hills. He appeared on an episode ("There Goes the Bride") of the series The Golden Girls
, in the early 1990s, appearing as himself; his role was as a lawyer for an ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak
. In that role he produced a pre-nuptial agreement which Dorothy had to sign. She refused, and the wedding was canceled.
Mitchelson was quoted as saying "A divorce lawyer is a chameleon with a law book." In his Century City
office he had a chair owned by Rudolph Valentino
and an illuminated ceiling of Botticelli
's Venus
which matched his belt buckle.
He was accused of rape by two women in the early 1990s, but the authorities declined to mount a prosecution. However, on 12 April 1993 he was sentenced to 30 months in prison on four counts of felony tax fraud and failure to properly oversee a trust account. In 1994 he was cited for failing to take the professional responsibility exam, had his probation revoked in 1995, and was disciplined in 1996 for failure to provide accountings or return unearned fees in 14 client matters. A 1993 conviction for not paying taxes on some $2 million in income resulted in suspension from the Bar, bankruptcy and eventually two years in jail from 1996 to 1998. The case was initiated by a former girlfriend of Mitchelson's and was investigated by IRS Special Agent James Lawrence Wilson.
He wept on his first day in Lompoc
prison, but ultimately found white-collar incarceration stimulating. He organized an opera appreciation society, ran the library and helped other prisoners with their appeals.
He was able to resume his practice in 2000 after presenting a "humble and contrite" figure to the court. His last high-profile client was longtime friend Phil Spector
, whom Mitchelson was to defend against murder charges, although Mitchelson died before the case was tried.
Mitchelson died in a rehabilitation center in Beverly Hills, succumbing to cancer.
Mitchelson was married for 45 years, to a feisty former Italian starlet, Marcella. They had one son, Morgan. He joked that his matrimonial success was bad for his divorce practice, but the relationship was often stormy. She once used her car in an attempt to run over a suspected mistress of Mitchelson. He filed for divorce a number of times, but admitted he was always too scared to serve her the papers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
celebrity lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who pioneered the concept of palimony
Palimony
Palimony is a popular term used to describe the division of financial assets and real property on the termination of a personal live-in relationship wherein the parties are not legally married. The term is a portmanteau of the words pal and alimony...
, calling it "marriage with no rings attached."
Biography
Mitchelson was the youngest child of three and only son of poor Russian immigrants. The family relocated from Detroit to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
when Marvin was in high school, after graduation he then served a term in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. After leaving the service he entered UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree. He obtained a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from Southwestern University School of Law
Southwestern University School of Law
Southwestern Law School is a private ABA-accredited law school located in Los Angeles, California , with about 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an admired art deco National Register of Historic Places landmark built in 1929...
, and was admitted to the California Bar
State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
on 4 June 1957, having passed the bar exam on his second try. He set up a private legal practice in Los Angeles at that time.
Legal career
In 1963 Mitchelson won a landmark United States Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
decision, Douglas v. California
Douglas v. California
Douglas v. California, , was a case before the United States Supreme Court.-Facts:Two defendants were tried and convicted in a California state court on felony charges including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault with intent to commit murder.A single public defender had been...
, giving indigent defendants the right to legal counsel.
He gained national publicity when he was hired by Michelle Triola
Michelle Triola
Michelle Triola was an American actress who was mainly notable for unsuccessfully suing Lee Marvin in 1977, having cohabited with him from 1965-1970. The trial, which brought about the concept of palimony, was widely covered in the media at the time...
, a lounge singer who lived with actor Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
as his personal partner from 1964 until 1970, when Marvin told her to move out because he wanted to marry another woman. Mitchelson helped Triola — who claimed that she was entitled to the same benefits as a divorcée, which meant half of Marvin's then-$3.6 million fortune — win her right to bring suit. Although Triola was awarded $104,000 for "rehabilitation" in 1978 (the ruling was overturned in 1981; Marvin never paid Triola any money), Marvin v. Marvin (Triola assumed Marvin's name during the relationship) set a precedent.
Mitchelson's celebrity clients included Pamela Mason (wife of James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
), who received a $2 million divorce settlement from her ex-husband, Robert DeNiro, Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
, Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model...
, Lesley-Anne Down
Lesley-Anne Down
Lesley-Anne Down is a British film and television actress, former model and singer.Down achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs...
, Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, Mrs. William Shatner, and many ex-wives of errant playboy sheiks.
Later years and death
During his heyday Mitchelson owned a 38-room Beverly HillsBeverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
mansion (which now belongs to Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
), four Rolls-Royce automobiles, and he epitomised the 1970s California champagne-and-cocaine lifestyle, consuming both in increasingly large quantities until a series of unpaid tax bills and malpractice complaints caught up with him. He was also forcibly evicted, in the late 1970s, from a home he was renting in Beverly Hills. He appeared on an episode ("There Goes the Bride") of the series The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, in the early 1990s, appearing as himself; his role was as a lawyer for an ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak
Dorothy Zbornak
Dorothy Hollingsworth , is a fictional character from the TV series The Golden Girls, portrayed by Bea Arthur for 7 years and 183 episodes. Dorothy was the strong, sarcastic, sometimes intimidating, and arguably most grounded of the four women in the house...
. In that role he produced a pre-nuptial agreement which Dorothy had to sign. She refused, and the wedding was canceled.
Mitchelson was quoted as saying "A divorce lawyer is a chameleon with a law book." In his Century City
Century City, Los Angeles, California
Century City is a 176-acre commercial and residential district on the Westside of the city of Los Angeles. It is bounded by Westwood on the west, Rancho Park on the southwest, Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood on the southeast, and the city of Beverly Hills on the northeast...
office he had a chair owned by Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
and an illuminated ceiling of Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
's Venus
The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)
The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli. It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore...
which matched his belt buckle.
He was accused of rape by two women in the early 1990s, but the authorities declined to mount a prosecution. However, on 12 April 1993 he was sentenced to 30 months in prison on four counts of felony tax fraud and failure to properly oversee a trust account. In 1994 he was cited for failing to take the professional responsibility exam, had his probation revoked in 1995, and was disciplined in 1996 for failure to provide accountings or return unearned fees in 14 client matters. A 1993 conviction for not paying taxes on some $2 million in income resulted in suspension from the Bar, bankruptcy and eventually two years in jail from 1996 to 1998. The case was initiated by a former girlfriend of Mitchelson's and was investigated by IRS Special Agent James Lawrence Wilson.
He wept on his first day in Lompoc
Lompoc, California
Lompoc is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The city was incorporated in 1888. The population was 42,434 at the 2010 census, up from 41,103 at the 2000 census....
prison, but ultimately found white-collar incarceration stimulating. He organized an opera appreciation society, ran the library and helped other prisoners with their appeals.
He was able to resume his practice in 2000 after presenting a "humble and contrite" figure to the court. His last high-profile client was longtime friend Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
, whom Mitchelson was to defend against murder charges, although Mitchelson died before the case was tried.
Mitchelson died in a rehabilitation center in Beverly Hills, succumbing to cancer.
Mitchelson was married for 45 years, to a feisty former Italian starlet, Marcella. They had one son, Morgan. He joked that his matrimonial success was bad for his divorce practice, but the relationship was often stormy. She once used her car in an attempt to run over a suspected mistress of Mitchelson. He filed for divorce a number of times, but admitted he was always too scared to serve her the papers.