www.nadaquehablar.com: Sons of Lee Marvin

Jarmusch is the founder of The Sons of Lee Marvin, a humorous 'semi-secret society'. Members of the society reportedly include musician Tom Waits and actor John Lurie, both of whom have worked with Jarmusch on several occasions. Richard Bose, Nick Cave, Iggy Pop (who has also worked with Jarmusch), Thurston Moore, Mickey Rourke and Neil Young are also rumored to be members. The entry criterion for the club is that the person must have some physical resemblance or plausibly look like a son of the actor Lee Marvin — as such, women are not allowed to join. Most current members also share what seems to be a beat mentality in that they represent and express the lives of the down and out.

The club supposedly meets occasionally to watch Lee Marvin movies together. Its members perpetuate the joke in the media.

"I'm not at liberty to divulge information about the organization, other than to tell you that it does exist. I can identify three other members of the organization: Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Richard Bose. You have to have a facial structure such that you could be related to, or be a son of, Lee Marvin. There are no women, obviously, in the organization. We have communiques and secret meetings. Other than that, I can't talk about it."

—Jim Jarmusch: Interview: Vol. XIX - No. 11, 1989: pp 146-150.

The real son of Lee Marvin objected to the existence of the organization when he encountered Waits in a bar.