Marvin Mitchelson, the famed “divorce lawyer to the stars,” died Saturday of cancer. He was 76.
Mitchelson opened a law practice in 1957 and soon became famous for handling celebrity splits.
In his first such case, in the early 1960s, he represented actor James Mason’s wife, Pamela – and won a $1 million settlement, an astonishing figure in those days. He coined the term “palimony” when he represented Lee Marvin’s live-in girlfriend, Michelle Triola, who sued the actor after their break-up.
In a career that spanned five decades, he also handled the divorces of Quincy Jones, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hugh Hefner, Robert De Niro, Bob Dylan, Sonny Bono and Mick Jagger. Ironically, his most lasting victory had nothing to do with boldfaced names: Mitchelson won a Supreme Court decision in 1963 guaranteeing attorneys for indigent people.
The divorce specialist had no need for his own counsel. He is survived by Marcella, his wife of 45 years.