Brando, Marlon

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{{Infobox Actor  
 
{{Infobox Actor  
 
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| image =Marlon_Brando_1963.jpg
 
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| caption =Marlon Brando at the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.]]
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| caption =Marlon Brando at the August 28, 1963, [[African-American Civil Rights Movement|Civil Rights]] March on [[Washington, D.C.]]
 
| birthdate = April 3, 1924
 
| birthdate = April 3, 1924
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| location = [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], [[USA]]
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| location = Omaha, [[Nebraska]], [[USA]]
 
| height = 5 ft 9 in / 1.75 m
 
| height = 5 ft 9 in / 1.75 m
 
| deathdate = July 1, 2004 (Age 80)
 
| deathdate = July 1, 2004 (Age 80)
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| deathplace = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[USA]]
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| deathplace = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]],  
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| location = [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], [[USA]]
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| location = Omaha, [[Nebraska]],  
 
| birthname = Marlon Brando Jr.
 
| birthname = Marlon Brando Jr.
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| academyawards = '''[[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]'''<br> 1955 ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' <br>1973 ''[[The Godfather (film)|The Godfather]]''
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| academyawards = '''Academy Award for Best Actor'''<br/> 1955 ''On the Waterfront'' <br/>1973 ''The Godfather''
 
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'''Marlon Brando, Jr.''' (April 3, 1924 &ndash; July 1, 2004) was a prominent [[United States|American]] [[actor]] who transformed [[Hollywood]] with his innovative practice of [[method acting]], inspiring the likes of [[James Dean]] and [[Robert De Niro]]. He brought the techniques of method acting to prominence in the films ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and ''On the Waterfront'', both directed by [[Elia Kazan]] in the early 1950s. He was nominated for Best Actor by the Academy for four straight years for: ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951), ''Viva Zapata'' (1952), ''Julius Caesar'' (1953), and ''On the Waterfront'' (1954). Brando won the Best Actor [[Oscar]] in 1954 and 1973 ''(The Godfather)''.
  
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'''Marlon Brando, Jr.''' (April 3, 1924 &ndash; July 1, 2004) was a prominent [[United States|American]] actor. Brando won two [[Oscar|Academy Awards]] and is known as one of the world's greatest actors.
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In the 1960s Brando was one of the first actor-activists to march for [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|civil rights]] and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] rights. He refused to accept his Oscar for "The Godfather," in protest of discrimination against Native Americans in the film industry and in government policy.  
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{{toc}}
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-winning [[United States|American]] [[actor]] who is widely regarded as one of the greatest film actors of the 20th century. He brought the techniques of [[method acting]] to prominence in the films ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' and ''[[On the Waterfront]]'', both directed by [[Elia Kazan]] in the early 1950s. His probably most remembered role was as Mafia godfather Vito Corleone in the 1972 film ''[[The Godfather]]''. His acting style, combined with his public persona as an outsider uninterested in the Hollywood of the early 1950s, had a profound effect on a generation of actors that would come after him.  
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In 1999 the [[American Film Institute]] named him the ''Fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time.'' In his latter years he came to be known as much for his bizarre behavior as for his acting.  
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Brando was also an activist, lending his presence to many issues, including the [[American Indian Movement]].
 
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He was named the fourth [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars|Greatest Male Star of All Time]] by the [[American Film Institute]].
 
  
 
==Early life==
 
==Early life==
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Marlon Brando was the youngest of three children born to Marlon Brando Sr. (1895–1965) and [[Dodie Brando|Dorothy Pennebaker Brando]] (1897-1954). His elder sister were [[Jocelyn Brando]] (1919–2005) and Frances Brando (b. 1922). Marlon Brando's childhood was spent in [[Omaha, Nebraska]] until 1935. At the young age of 11, Brando's parents decided to separate, Dorothy keeping all three children, and taking them to live with her mother[[Santa Ana, California]]. After two brief years in California, Marlon Sr. and Dorthoy reconciled and reunited the family, making a home in a small town close to [[Chicago]] called Libertyville, [[Illinois]]. During Brando's life, there was speculation on his ancestry, Brando providing often false details about his heritage. Brando's grandparents are now know to be Eugene Brando and Marie Holloway. The couple married and had one son, Marlon Brando, Sr. When Marlon Sr. was five years old, Marie Holloway abandoned her husband and child forever.  
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Marlon Brando was the youngest of three children born to Marlon Brando Sr. (1895-1965) and [[Dodie Brando|Dorothy Pennebaker Brando]] (1897-1954). His elder sisters were [[Jocelyn Brando]] (1919) and Frances Brando (1922). Marlon Brando's childhood was spent in Omaha, [[Nebraska]] until 1935 when his parents separated. Dorothy kept all three children and took them to live with her mother in Santa Ana, [[California]]. After two years in California, Marlon Sr. and Dorothy reconciled and reunited the family, settling in a small town close to [[Chicago]] called Libertyville, [[Illinois]].  
  
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Brando's early life was neither stable nor particularly easy. His mother, though known as a talented and kindhearted person, suffered greatly from the effects of [[alcoholism]]. She also worked long hours and was often gone from home, not being invovled in Brando's early life as he might wish her to be. Dorothy Brando worked at the local theater and is known for helping [[Henry Fonda]] to begin his acting career. Brando and his sister, Jocelyn, learned a lot from early days spent at the theater, and his mother encouraged her children's interest in [[Theatre|stage acting]]. From the very beginning, Marlon Brando had an amazing talent, he was able to[[imitation|mimic]] many different people and he started to developed his rare and characteristic ability to assimilate the tics and mannerisms of the characters he was portraying. He could perform these traits very dramatically and believably.
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Brando's early life was neither stable nor particularly easy. His mother, though known as a talented and kindhearted person, suffered from the effects of [[alcoholism]]. She worked long hours and was often gone from home. Dorothy Brando worked at the local theater and is known for helping [[Henry Fonda]] begin his acting career. Brando and his sister, Jocelyn, spent many hours at the theater and their mother encouraged an interest in acting. From a young age he was able to mimic many different people.  
  
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Brando's childhood was marked by a rebellious nature and he experienced several tumultuous events. At one point he was held back in school for a year, and later he was [[Expulsion (academia)#Famous Expulsions|expelled]] from his high school in Liberty. Hoping that military school would help him, Marlon Sr. sent Brando to the Shattuck Military Academy in Fairbault, Minnesota when Brando was just 16 years old. Marlon Sr. had attented this same school when he was younger.  
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His childhood was marked by a rebellious nature and he was expelled from his high school in Liberty. As a result his father sent Brando to the Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, [[Minnesota]] when Brando was 16 years old. Marlon Sr. had attended this same school when he was younger. It was at Shattuck that Marlon flourished in theater. He also began to do well in academics, the rigorous structure proving to be just what he needed. During his final year of high school, 1943, his rebellious attitude again got the better of him. He was put on probation for talking back to an officer and expelled for breaking his probation. The students, who loved Brando, were angered and fought for him to come back. The school finally invited him back for the end of his education, but Brando decided not to finish.
  
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Brando left [[Illinois]] and moved to [[New York City]]. Both of his sisters were living in New York, and Jocelyn had already performed on [[Broadway]]. Brando enrolled at the [[American Theatre Wing|American Theatre Wing Professional School]], [[The New School|New School]] Dramatic Workshop, and the [[Actors' Studio]]. While at the New School's Dramatic Workshop, Brando had an experience that would change his life. It was here that he met [[Stella Adler]] and studied the methods of the [[Stanislavski System]].
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where his father had gone before him. At Shattuck, he excelled at theater and got along well within the structure of the school. In his final year (1943), he was put on probation for talking back to an officer during maneuvers. A part of his probation was that he be confined to the school campus. But he eventually tried sneaking off campus into town and was caught. The faculty voted to expell him. He received support from his fellow students who thought the punishment too harsh. He was later invited back for the next year, but decided not to finish school.
 
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He worked as a ditch-digger in his hometown as a summer job arranged by his father. But he had decided to follow his sisters to New York. One sister was trying to be a painter and the other had already appeared on Broadway. He had actually visited his sister Frances in New York at Christmas 1942 and liked the experience. Brando was given six months of support from his father, after which his father offered to help him get a job as a salesman. Brando left Illinois for [[New York City]], where he studied at the [[American Theatre Wing|American Theatre Wing Professional School]], [[The New School|New School]] Dramatic Workshop, and the [[Actors' Studio]]. It was at the New School's Dramatic Workshop that he studied with [[Stella Adler]] and learned the techniques of the [[Stanislavski System]].
 
  
 
==Career==
 
==Career==
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[[Image:Marlon Brando Streetcar 1948 e.jpg|thumb|Marlon Brando in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1948]]
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[[Image:Marlon Brando Streetcar 1948 e.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Marlon Brando in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1948.]]
  
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Brando used his [[Stanislavski System]] skills for his first [[summer-stock]] roles in [[Sayville, New York]]. His behavior got him kicked out of the cast of the New School's production in Sayville, but he was discovered in a locally produced play there and then made it to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in the bittersweet drama ''I Remember Mama'' in 1944. Critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" for his role as an anguished, paraplegic veteran in ''Truckline Café'', although the play was a commercial failure. He achieved real stardom, however, as [[Stanley Kowalski]] in [[Tennessee Williams]]' play ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' in 1947, directed by [[Elia Kazan]]. Brando sought out that role, driving out to [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]], where Williams was spending the summer, to audition for the part. Williams recalled that he opened the screen door and knew, instantly, that he had his Stanley Kowalski.
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His dedication to [[method acting]] landed him a role on [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] in the 1944 drama ''I Remember Mama''. After much acclaim in the role he followed up by starring in ''Truckline Café'', where he portrayed a disheartened, paraplegic veteran, and although the play was a financial failure, critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor." His next role as Stanley Kowalski in [[Tennessee Williams]]' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' gave Brando the break that launched him to stardom. The play opened in 1947 and was directed by the famed [[Elia Kazan]]. Brando wanted the part so badly that he drove to Provincetown, [[Massachusetts]] to give an audition for Williams himself. Williams would later say that as soon as he opened the door, he knew he had his ideal Stanley.
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[[File:Eva marie saint marlon brando waterfront 10.jpg|thumb|400px|With Eva Marie Saint in ''On the Waterfront'', 1954]]
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After the success of this play [[Hollywood]] came calling at Brando's door. They asked him to do a screen test for [[Warner Brothers Studios]], who then offered Brando a contract for six years. Brando was skeptical about a long term contract so he turned it down. The screen test can be seen on the 2006 DVD release of [[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|''Streetcar'']] as a special feature. In 1950 he won the role of a bitter and crippled war veteran in ''The Men'' and prepared by spending a month in bed at a veteran's hospital.  
  
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Afterward, Brando was asked to do a screen test for Warner Brothers studio. The screen test used script fragments from prospective film called ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]''. The title came from a book that Warner Brothers had optioned in 1944. However, the 1947 project had nothing to do with the 1955 film beyond the title just as the 1955 film has nothing to do with the original book beyond the title. The script for ''Rebel Without a Cause'' as it appeared on screen was not written until years after the Brando test. Brando turned down a contract offer from Warner Brothers because he did not think the six-year duration of the contract was in his best interests.[http://www.cinematical.com/2006/03/28/lost-brando-screen-test-for-rebel-surfaces-but-its-not-for-th] The screen test appears as an extra in the 2006 DVD release of [[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|''Streetcar'']].
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Brando impressed the cinema-going public the same way he did those who watched him nightly in ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. He won the film role of Stanley Kowalski and worked with director Elia Kazan for the second time. When the film premiered in 1951 Brando received his first nomination for an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. He went on to receive nominations for his next three roles: ''Viva Zapata!'' in 1952, ''Julius Caesar'' in 1953, and ''On the Waterfront'' in 1954. He finally won on the fourth try while once again working with Kazan. With each new performance Brando gained more respect and his performances were soon hailed as the work of a genius.
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[[File:Marlon Brando publicity for One-Eyed Jacks.png|thumb|300px|Brando in a publicity photo for the film ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961)]]
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In 1953 he also starred in [[Lee Falk]]'s play ''Arms and the Man''. It would be the last time he ever acted in a stage play. It was a busy year for Brando as he also appeared as Johnny Strabler in ''The Wild One.'' His portrayal of a motorcycle rebel set the standard for rebellious characters and found a large audience in the nation's teenage population. The movie had a big impact on the sale of motorcycles, leather jackets, and jeans. [[Elvis Presley]] was so impressed by the performance that he imitated Brando's look and character in his [[rock and roll]] performances, and also copied the character of Johnny for his character of Vince in the 1957 film ''Jailhouse Rock''.  
  
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Brando's first screen role was as the bitter crippled veteran in ''[[The Men]]'' in 1950. True to his method, Brando spent a month in bed at a veterans' hospital to prepare for the role.
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Throughout the 1950s Brando continued to take on roles that enabled him to challenge himself in many areas. In ''Guys and Dolls'' he took on a singing role. In ''The Teahouse of the August Moon'' he played a Japanese interpreter named Sakini in postwar [[Japan]]. Then he played an Air Force officer in ''Sayonara'' and won his sixth Oscar nomination. To finish off the 1950s, Brando played a [[Nazism|Nazi]] officer in ''The Young Lions.''
  
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He made a much stronger impression the following year when he brought his performance as [[Stanley Kowalski]] to the screen in Kazan's adaptation of [[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|''Streetcar'']] in 1951. He was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for that role, and again in each of the next three years for his roles in ''[[Viva Zapata!]]'' in 1952, ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 movie)|Julius Caesar]]'' in 1953 as [[Marc Antony]], and ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' in 1954. These first five films of Brando's career featured performances of monumental proportions and essentially set a new standard not just for all other actors but also for Brando himself.
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In the 1960s Brando starred in films such as ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct; ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1962); ''Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), portraying a repressed gay army officer; and ''Burn! '' (1969), which Brando would later claim as his personal favorite, although it was a commercial failure. By the end of the decade his career was in decline as his reputation as a difficult star and his long string of commercial failures took a toll on his box-office appeal.
  
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In 1953, he also starred in [[Lee Falk]]'s play ''Arms and the Man''. Falk was proud to tell people that Marlon Brando turned down an offer of $10,000 per week to act on Broadway, in favor of working on Falk's play in Boston. His Boston contract was less than $500 per week. It would be the last time he ever acted in a stage play.
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===''The Godfather''===
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By 1972 Brando had a string of 11 straight commercial film failures. That string was broken with his performance as [[Vito Corleone]] in ''The Godfather.'' It was director [[Francis Ford Coppola]] who convinced Brando to submit to a screen test for a role in his film. He convinced Brando to a videotaped "make-up" test in which Brando did his own makeup (he used cotton balls to simulate the character's puffed cheeks). Coppola was mesmerized by the performance and begged the studio to allow the casting of Brando as the head of the famous crime family. The role resulted in his second [[Academy Award]] for Best Actor.  
  
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Brando became a hero for the younger generation by playing motorcycle rebel Johnny Strabler in the movie ''[[The Wild One]]''. He created the rebel image for the [[rock and roll|rock-and-roll]] era. Many rock-and-rollers like Elvis Presley imitated Brando's look and character. [[Elvis]] took it to another level by bringing the rebel image to the rock-and-roll fans. Elvis also copied Brando's role as Johnny while playing Vince in his 1957 movie ''[[Jailhouse Rock (1957 film)|Jailhouse Rock]]''.
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Brando used the occasion of receiving his second Oscar to protest the poor treatment of [[Native Americans]] in film and [[TV|television]]. He [[boycott]]ed the ceremony and he sent actress [[Sacheen Littlefeather]] to refuse the award on his behalf. (Later she was revealed to be an actress named Maria Cruz, a former winner of the 1970 Miss American Vampire competition.)  
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Marlon Brando was a hero for [[James Dean]], who idolized him and copied his acting and persona. For his role as Jim Stark in his 1955 movie ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'', [[James Dean]] studied Marlon's role as Johnny and took it to a new level. (Marlon Brando's name is even mentioned in the movie.) Director [[Nicholas Ray|Nick Ray]] even took the gang image from the movie ''[[The Wild One]]'' and brought it to this movie
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and thus emphasized Brando's effect on the youth.
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Despite his protest, Brando's performance in ''Last Tango in Paris'' (1972), directed by [[Bernardo Bertolucci]], was also nominated for best actor.
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All the rebel culture that included motorcycle, leather jackets, jeans and the whole rebel image, that inspired generations of rebels, came thanks to the movie ''[[The Wild One]]'' and Brando's own unique image and character.
 
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[[Image:AnnexBrando_On_the_Waterfront)_02.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Brando as Terry Malloy in ''[[On The Waterfront]]'']]
 
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Brando finally won the Oscar for his role of Terry Malloy in ''[[On The Waterfront]]''. Under [[Elia Kazan|Kazan's]] direction, and with a talented ensemble around him, Brando used his [[Stanislavski System]] training and improvisational skills. Brando claimed that he had improvised much of his dialogue with [[Rod Steiger]] in the famous, much-quoted scene with him in the back of a taxicab ("I could have been a contender"). Kazan disputed this.
 
  
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Brando followed that triumph by a variety of roles in the 1950s that defied expectations: as Sky Masterson in ''[[Guys and Dolls (film)|Guys and Dolls]]'', where he managed to carry off a singing role; as Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. Army in postwar [[Japan]] in ''[[The Teahouse of the August Moon]]''; as an Air Force officer in ''[[Sayonara]]''; and a Nazi officer in ''[[The Young Lions]]''. While he won an Oscar nomination for his acting in ''Sayonara'', his acting had lost much of its energy and direction by the end of the 1950s.
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===''Superman''===
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As Brando's career declined his demands to appear and his bizarre behavior made more headlines than his portrayals. He demanded a large sum of money for a very small part as Jor-El in the first ''Superman'' movie in 1978. His conditions included not reading the script beforehand or auditioning for anyone and his lines had to be written down and displayed on cards off screen.  
  
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Brando's star sank even further in the 1960s as he turned in increasingly uninspired performances in ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' and several other forgettable films. Even at this professional low point, though, Brando still managed to produce a few exceptional films, such as ''[[One-Eyed Jacks]]'' (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct; ''[[Reflections in a Golden Eye]]'' (1967), portraying a repressed gay army officer; and ''[[Burn!]]'' (1969), which Brando would later claim as his personal favorite, although it was a commercial failure. Nonetheless, his career had gone into almost complete eclipse by the end of the decade thanks to his reputation as a difficult star and his record in overbudget or marginal movies.
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Brando filmed scenes for ''Superman II'', but when the studio refused to pay him what he asked, he refused permission to use the footage in the film. Thus the world had to wait until Brando's death to see the film as intended by Richard Donner in the 2006 re-cut, ''Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut''. That same footage was also used in the newer version made in 2006 ''[[Superman Returns]]''. In addition to the footage used, Brando's recorded voice-overs were used throughout the film.
  
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==''The Godfather''==
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===Final roles===
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[[image:Godfather15.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Brando as ''Don Vito Corleone'' in ''[[The Godfather]]'', the character that gave him a second Academy Award, but he refused it.]]
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In 1979 he demanded and received one million dollars a week to play Colonel Kurtz in ''Apocalypse Now''. He was supposed to show up slim, fit, and to have read the book ''Heart of Darkness''. He showed up weighing around 220 pounds and had not read the book.
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His performance as [[Vito Corleone]] in ''[[The Godfather]]'' in 1972 changed this. Director [[Francis Ford Coppola]] convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test, in which Brando did his own makeup (it is a little-known fact he used cotton balls to simulate the puffed-cheek look). Coppola was electrified by Brando's characterization as the head of a crime family, but had to fight the studio in order to cast him.  Brando won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his performance; once again, he improvised important details that lent more humanity to what could otherwise have been a clichéd role.
 
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<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Godfathr.gif|thumb|Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather]] —>
 
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Brando turned down the Academy Award, the second actor to refuse an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] (the first being [[George C. Scott]] for [[Patton (film)|Patton]]). Brando boycotted the award ceremony, sending little-known actress [[Sacheen Littlefeather]] to state his reasons, which were based on his objections to the depiction of Native Americans by Hollywood and television.
 
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The actor followed with one of his greatest performances in ''[[Last Tango in Paris]]'', but the performance was overshadowed by an uproar over the [[erotic]] nature of the [[Bernardo Bertolucci]] film. Despite the controversies which attended both the film and the man, the Academy once again nominated Brando for the Best Actor.
 
  
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His career afterward was uneven. He gained a great deal of weight around the time he appeared as Colonel Kurtz in ''[[Apocalypse Now]]''. His weight limited him in terms of roles he could play.
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Despite announcing his retirement from acting in 1980, he decided to play supporting roles ''A Dry White Season'' (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), ''The Freshman'' in 1990 and ''Don Juan DeMarco'' in 1995 (during which time he met and befriended [[Johnny Depp]]). In his final film, ''The Score'' (2001), he starred with [[Robert De Niro]].
  
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==''Superman''==
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==Activism==
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Brando also played [[Jor-El]], Superman's father, in the first ''[[Superman (movie)| Superman]]'' movie — a role he agreed to only on condition that he was paid an enormous sum for what amounted to a small part, that he did not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere offscreen.
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[[File:Heston Baldwin Brando Civil Rights March 1963.jpg|thumb|350px|Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. in 1963. Author [[James Baldwin]] with Marlon Brando and [[Charlton Heston]]]]
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Outside the studios Brando was an activist who participated in the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement]], and the effort to acknowledge [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] rights.  
  
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Brando also filmed scenes for the movie's sequel, ''[[Superman II]]'', but the producers refused to pay him the enormous percentage he was paid for the first movie, so he denied them permission to use the footage. However, after Brando's death the footage was re-incorporated into the 2006 re-cut of the film, ''[[Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut]]''.
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In the early 1960s Brando contributed thousands of dollars to both the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] (SCLC) and to a scholarship fund established for the children of slain Mississippi [[NAACP]] leader [[Medgar Evers]]. By this time, Brando was already involved in films that carried messages about human rights: “Sayonara,” which addressed interracial romance, and the “The Ugly American“, depicting the conduct of American officials abroad and its deleterious effect on the citizens of foreign countries.
  
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Two years after his death, he "reprised" the role of Jor-El in the 2006 "loose sequel" ''[[Superman Returns]]'', in which both used and unused archive footage of Brando as Jor-El from the first two Superman films was remastered for a scene in the [[Fortress of Solitude]], as well as Brando's voice-overs being used throughout the film.
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Shortly after Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]]'s death in 1968, Brando announced that he was bowing out of the lead role of a major film ''(The Arrangement)'' in order to devote himself to the civil rights movement. He participated in many marches and [[boycott]]s.
  
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==Late Career==
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Brando also participated in "Free Huey" protests after [[Black Panther]] leader [[Huey P. Newton]] was tried in 1968 for allegedly killing an Oakland, California policeman.
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Other later performances, such as ''[[The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film)|The Island of Dr Moreau]]'', earned him some of the most uncomplimentary reviews of his career. Despite announcing his retirement from acting in 1980, he subsequently gave interesting supporting performances in movies such as ''[[A Dry White Season]]'' (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), ''[[The Freshman (1990 film)|The Freshman]]'' in 1990 and ''[[Don Juan DeMarco]]'' in 1995 (during which time he met and befriended [[Johnny Depp]]). In his last film, ''[[The Score (film)|The Score]]'' (2001), he starred with fellow method actor [[Robert De Niro]].
 
  
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==Personal life==
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==Personal Life==
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[[Image:Brandotime.jpg|thumb|left|Marlon Brando, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' cover, 1973]]
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===Marriages===
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Brando became known as much for his crusades for [[civil rights]], [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] rights and other political causes as he was for his acting. He also earned a "bad boy" reputation for his public outbursts and antics. In June 1973, Brando broke [[Paparazzi|paparazzo]] [[Ron Galella]]'s jaw. His hand became infected as a result. In the following year, Galella wore a football helmet when snapping photos of Brando.
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In 1957 Brando married his first wife, actress Anna Kashfi. Brando thought she was of Asian [[India|Indian]] descent, and Anna, knowing that Brando had a reputation for liking exotic women, kept up the charade. In truth, she was an [[Ireland|Irish]] [[Roman Catholic]] from [[Wales]] named Joan O'Callaghan. The marriage ended in 1959 with the couple having one son, [[Christian Brando]].
  
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In his autobiography ''[[Songs My Mother Taught Me]]'', Brando claimed he showed up one night at [[Marilyn Monroe]]'s apartment and they started an affair that lasted many years. He also claimed numerous other romances, although he did not discuss his marriages, his wives, or his children in his autobiography.
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In 1960, Brando married another actress, Movita Castaneda, who was seven years older than Brando. They had two children.
  
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In his 1976 biography ''The Only Contender'' by Gary Carey, Brando was quoted as saying, ''"Like a large number of men, I, too, have had [[homosexuality|homosexual]] experiences, and I am not ashamed." ''Photographs circulate on the Internet that appear to confirm this. A 2006 book, ''Brando Unzipped'' by Darwin Porter alleges affairs with [[Rock Hudson]] and [[Cary Grant]].
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In 1962 while filming ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' Brando met the [[Tahiti|Tahitian]] beauty [[Tarita Teriipia]], who played his love interest in the film. She was 18 years younger than him and became his third wife. He had two children with her.  
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An alleged long time lover was [[Wally Cox]]. Brando is quoted as saying: ''"If Wally had been a woman, I would have married him and we would have lived happily ever after."'' <ref>Quoted in Brando Unzipped, Darwin Porter, 2006</ref> After Cox died, Brando kept his ashes for 30 years, and they were eventually scattered with his own. Cox's third wife only discovered he possessed them after reading an interview in [[Time]] where Brando is quoted as saying: ''"I have Wally's ashes in my house. I talk to him all the time."'' She wanted to sue, but her lawyers would not accept the case.<ref>Patricia Cox Shapiro, quoted in "The Wild One and the Mild One" by Robert W. Welkos, Los Angeles Times, [[24 October]] 2004</ref>
 
  
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He married actress Anna Kashfi in 1957, mistakenly believing her to be of Asian [[India|Indian]] descent when she was in fact from [[Wales]] and of [[Irish people|Irish]] [[Roman Catholic]] extraction: Her real name was Joan O'Callaghan. O'Callaghan did not discourage Brando's mistake; in fact, she dressed and made herself up as an Indian beauty after learning that Brando gravitated toward [[exotic]] women. They divorced in 1959 after having one son, [[Christian Brando]], together.
+
Brando also had three children with his maid Christina Maria Ruiz who lived with him in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
  
−
In 1960, Brando married Movita Castaneda, a [[Mexican]] actress seven years his senior who had appeared in the first ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' film in 1935, some 27 years before Brando's own version was released. A remake of ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' in 1962, with Brando as [[Fletcher Christian]], seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in directors and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either.
+
Brando also adopted three children.
  
−
The ''Bounty'' experience affected Brando's life in a profound way: He fell in love with [[Tahiti]] and its people. He took a 99-year lease on part of an atoll island, [[Tetiaroa]], which he intended to make part environmental laboratory and part resort. Tahitian beauty [[Tarita Teriipia]], who played Fletcher Christian's love interest, became Brando's third wife. A 1961 article on Teriipia in the fan magazine ''Motion Picture'' described Brando's delight at how naïve and unsophisticated she was. Teriipia became the mother of two of his children. The hotel on Tetiaroa was eventually built; it went through many redesigns due to changes demanded by Brando over the years, but it is now closed. A new hotel consisting of 30 deluxe villas is due to open in 2008.
+
===Family tragedies===
 +
In 1990 Brando's son Christian was arrested for the murder of his sister's boyfriend, Dag Drollet. He pleaded guilty and received a ten year sentence. The sister he defended, Cheyenne, committed suicide in 1995.
  
−
===Children===
+
After the deaths of family and friends he fell into depression and became quite obese. He spent the last decade of his life the object of media curiosity.
−
All three of Brando's wives were pregnant when he married them. The number of children he had is still in dispute, although he recognized 11 children in his will; they were (ages as given in 2004):
 
−
* by his marriage to actress [[Anna Kashfi]]:
 
−
** [[Christian Brando]] (46)
 
−
* by his marriage to actress [[Movita Castaneda]]:
 
−
** [[Miko Brando]] (43)
 
−
** Rebecca Brando Kotlinzky (38)
 
−
* by his marriage to [[Tarita Teriipia]]:
 
−
** Simon Teihotu Brando (43) - the only inhabitant of Tetiaroa
 
−
** [[Cheyenne Brando|Cheyenne]] (committed [[suicide]] in 1995 at the age of 25)
 
−
* by [[adoption]]:
 
−
** Petra Brando-Corval (32), daughter of Brando's assistant Caroline Barrett
 
−
** Maimiti Brando (28)
 
−
** Raiatua Brando (23)
 
−
 
 
−
Brando married his maid Christina Maria Ruiz and had the following children with her:
 
−
* [[Ninna Priscilla Brando]] ('''born''': 1989)
 
−
* [[Myles Brando]] ('''born''': 1992 as Myles Jonathan Brando)
 
−
* [[Timothy Brando]] ('''born''': 1994 as Timothy Gahan Brando)
 
−
 
 
−
In [[1990#May|May 1990]], [[Christian Brando|Christian]] shot and killed Dag Drollet, the [[Tahiti]]an lover of Christian's half-sister [[Cheyenne Brando|Cheyenne]], at the family's hilltop home above [[Beverly Hills]]. Christian, then 31, claimed the shooting was accidental.
 
−
 
 
−
After a heavily publicized trial, Christian was found guilty of [[voluntary manslaughter]] and use of a [[gun]]. He was sentenced to 10 years. Before the sentencing, Brando delivered an hour of rambling testimony in which he said he and his ex-wife had failed Christian. He commented softly to members of the Drollet family: "I'm sorry... If I could trade places with Dag, I would. I'm prepared for the consequences." Afterward, Drollet's father said he thought Brando was acting and his son was "getting away with murder." The tragedy was compounded in 1995, when [[Cheyenne Brando|Cheyenne]], said to still be depressed over Drollet's death, committed suicide by hanging herself in [[Tahiti]] at the age of 25. Only months after Marlon Brando's death, Brando's ex-wife [[Tarita Teriipia]] wrote her memoires entitled ''[[Marlon, My Love and My Torment]]'' in which she says that Brando had sexually abused their daughter Cheyenne [http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/28892004.htm].
 
−
 
 
−
===Friendship with Karl Malden===
 
−
Brando's friendship with [[Karl Malden]] began in the early 1940's, when they met as students in an acting class. It was in 1947 when they first worked on a stage play, ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', that both Brando's & Malden's careers have launched. Their first movie was ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', where they had a wonderful chemistry together. Three years later, they would also work on ''[[On The Waterfront]]'', a film where they both gained honorable recognition. His last movie that Brando co-starred with Malden was ''[[One Eyed Jacks]]'', in 1961. When Brando died in 2004, Malden received word about this and attended his friends' funeral.
 
  
 
===Final years and death===
 
===Final years and death===
−
Brando's notoriety, his family's troubled lives, his self-exile from Hollywood, and his [[obesity]] attracted more attention than his late acting career. He also earned a reputation for being difficult on the set, often unwilling or unable to memorize his lines and less interested in taking direction than in confronting the film director with odd and childish demands. On the other hand, most other actors found him generous, funny and supportive. Although more and more reclusive in his declining years, Brando was by nature a casual and friendly man.
+
On July 1, 2004, at 6:30 p.m. local time, Brando died at the age of 80. He died at the UCLA Medical Center of [[respiratory failure]] brought on by [[pulmonary fibrosis]]. Brando had also been diagnosed with [[liver]] [[cancer]], as well as simultaneously suffering from [[congestive heart failure]]. In 2006, it was known that Brando had suffered from [[dementia]] in the final years of his life.
−
 
 
−
He dabbled with some innovation in his last years. Brando has several patents issued in his name from the US Patent and Trademark Office, all of which are directed to a drumhead tensioning device and method, between June 2002 and November 2004. For example see {{US Patent|6812392}} and its equivalents.
 
−
 
 
−
The actor was a long-time close friend of the entertainer [[Michael Jackson]] and paid regular visits to his [[Neverland Ranch]], resting there for weeks. Brando also participated in the singer's solo career 30th anniversary celebration concerts in 2001, as well as starring in his 15-minute-long music video ''[[You Rock My World]]'' the same year. The actor's son Miko was Jackson's bodyguard for several years, and is also a friend of the singer.
 
  
−
On July 1, 2004, at 6:30 p.m. local time, Brando died at the age of 80. The cause of his death was intentionally withheld, with his lawyer citing privacy concerns. It was later revealed that he died at UCLA Medical Center of [[respiratory failure]] brought on by [[pulmonary fibrosis]]. He had also been suffering from [[congestive heart failure]] and, had also recently been diagnosed with [[liver cancer]]. It was revealed in 2006 that Brando had suffered from [[dementia]] in the final years of his life.
+
Brando was [[Cremation|cremated]] and his ashes were scattered in two places. Part of his ashes were scattered in [[Tahiti]] and part of his ashes were scattered in [[Death Valley]].
−
 
 
−
Brando was [[Cremation|cremated]] and his ashes were scattered in two places. Part of his ashes were scattered in Tahiti and part of his ashes were scattered in [[Death Valley]].
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
==Trivia==
 
−
{{toomuchtrivia}}
 
−
[[Image:Marlon Brando 1948.jpg|thumb|Brando in 1948, as photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]]]]
 
−
* Despite his later obesity, Brando was very health conscience in his early and mid career. He often dieted, ran, and lifted weights.
 
−
* Brando turned down the title role in ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), starring [[Peter O'Toole]].
 
−
* He also turned down ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) in order to make ''Burn!'' (1969).
 
−
* Until ''The Godfather'' was released in 1972, Brando has 11 straight commercial film failures.
 
−
* Brando was listed as one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" five times: 1954, 1955, 1958, 1972, and 1973.
 
−
* When making ''Superman'', Brando agreed on a salary of $3.7 million, plus 16.86% of the gross. When the film grossed over  $300 million worldwide, Brando's earnings figured at $14 million for 12 days' work.
 
−
* In Superman, Brando came up with the idea for Jor-El, father of Superman, to wear the "S" symbol on his chest as a sort of family shield.
 
−
* Brando's role of Don Corleone in ''The Godfather'' garnered him such respect and admiration from various mafiosi, that he said he never had to pay for another meal in Little Italy again.
 
−
* For most of Brando's career, his height was reported as being 5'10" (178 cm). However, many people say he was closer to 5'8" (173 cm). In a few of his later films, he was known to wear elevator shoes.
 
−
* Brando refused to memorize his lines, and thus often used cue cards during the shooting of his films. During the filming of ''The Island of Dr. Moreau'', Brando wore a very small radio receiver to help him with his lines.
 
−
* Marlon Brando was paid $1 million to appear briefly at the Michael Jackson 30th anniversary concert a few days before the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
 
−
* Brando is mentioned in the songs "Pocahontas", by Neil Young, "China Girl", by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, "We Didn't Start the Fire", by Billy Joel, "Vogue", by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], "Advertising Space", by [[Robbie Williams]], "Eyeless", by [[Slipknot (band)|Slipknot]], "Sly", by [[The Cat Empire]], "Karen By Night", by [[Jill Sobule]], "It's So Hard to Be a Saint In the City", by [[Bruce Springsteen]], "Clown Prince", by [[Hilltop Hoods]], "The Ballad of Michael Valentine", by [[The Killers (band)|The Killers]], "Back to Tupelo", by [[Mark Knopfler]], "Close but no Cigar", by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], "¿Para Qué?", by [[Andrés Calamaro]] and "Let It Roll", by [[Andrew Morris]]. Songs directly about him are "I'm Stuck In a Condo (With Marlon Brando)", by [[The Dickies]], and "I Wanna Be Marlon Brando", by [[Russell Crowe]].
 
−
* On the set of ''Guys and Dolls'' there was endless friction between Brando and [[Frank Sinatra]]. Sinatra hated Brando for taking the main role of Sky Masterson, especially as Brando had never done any singing before. Sinatra dubbed Brando "Mumbles", claiming that Brando could never be heard or understood. Their personalities clashed over shooting scenes as well. Sinatra was impatient and prefered one-take to many. Brando on the other hand, was a perfectionist and preferred mulitiple takes of each scene. Often, Brando would purposefully make mistakes, thus causing them to have to do the scene over and over again.
 
−
 
 
−
* He only made two television appearances in his career: 1979's ''Roots: The Next Generations'' for which he won an [[Emmy]] and in 1949 on "Actor's Studio" in the episode "I'm No Hero".
 
−
* In a vote by fellow actors, Brando was named the "World's Greatest Actor".
 
−
* In the 2006 film ''Superman Returns,'' Brando is credited with reprising his role as Jor-El from ''Superman'' even though he passed away in 2004.  This was accomplished by digitally re-creating an image of Brando using footage from the original film as a reference[http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=23646], and matching it with lines spoken by Brando in both the original movie and those shot for ''Superman II'' (later removed from the latter film).
 
−
* After the 1988 suicide of [[Gloria Vanderbilt]]'s son, Brando telephoned her to offer his condolences. He hadn't spoken to her since 1954.
 
  
 
==Filmography==
 
==Filmography==
−
[[Image:Van Vechten Marlon Brando image 170904.jpg|thumb|280px|Brando photographed on the set of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' by [[Carl Van Vechten]] (1948)]]
 
 
*''The Men'' (1950)
 
*''The Men'' (1950)
 
*''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951)
 
*''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951)
Line 203: Line 143:
 
*''Superman Returns'' (2006) - ''Posthumous appearance, appears in [[archive footage]] as [[Jor-El]]''
 
*''Superman Returns'' (2006) - ''Posthumous appearance, appears in [[archive footage]] as [[Jor-El]]''
 
*''Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut'' (2006)
 
*''Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut'' (2006)
−
Upcoming:
 
−
*''Big Bug Man'' (2008) (voice)
 
−
 
−
 
−
{{start box}}
 
−
{{s-awards}}
 
−
{{succession box
 
−
| title=[[Academy Award for Best Actor]]
 
−
| years=1954<br>'''for ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' '''
 
−
| before=[[William Holden (actor)|William Holden]]<br>for ''[[Stalag 17]]''
 
−
| after=[[Ernest Borgnine]]<br>for ''[[Marty]]''
 
−
}}
 
−
{{succession box
 
−
| title=Academy Award for Best Actor
 
−
| years=1972<br>'''for ''[[The Godfather]]'' '''
 
−
| before=[[Gene Hackman]]<br>for ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]''
 
−
| after=[[Jack Lemmon]]<br>for ''[[Save the Tiger]]''
 
−
}}
 
−
{{end box}}
 
  
−
==Notes==
+
==References==
−
<references />
+
*Bosworth, Patricia. 2001. ''Marlon Brando''. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670882364
−
 
+
*Brando, Marlon, and Robert Lindsey. 1994. ''Brando: Songs my Mother Taught Me''. New York: Random House. ISBN 0679410139
−
==See also==
+
*Downing, David. 1984. ''Marlon Brando''. New York: Stein and Day. ISBN 0812829816
−
*''Songs My Mother Taught Me'', his autobiography. ISBN 10 0679410139
+
*Thomas, Tony. 1973. ''The Films of Marlon Brando''. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press. ISBN 080650370X
−
*''Marlon Brando'' by Patricia Bosworth (2001). First published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001 - republished by Phoenix, 2002. ISBN 0-7538-1379-3
+
*Schickel, Richard. 1991. ''Brando: A Life in Our Times''. New York: Atheneum. ISBN 0689121083
 +
*Manso, Peter. 1994. ''Brando: The Biography''. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0786860634
 +
*Staggs, Sam. 2005. ''When Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of "A Streetcar Named Desire".'' New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312321643
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
{{wikiquote}}
+
All links retrieved November 6, 2022.
−
{{commons|Marlon Brando}}
 
 
*{{imdb name|id=0000008|name=Marlon Brando}}
 
*{{imdb name|id=0000008|name=Marlon Brando}}
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*{{tcmdb name|id=21204|name=Marlon Brando}}
+
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23157-2004Jul2.html Actor Marlon Brando, 80, Dies] ''The Washington Post''
−
*{{ibdb name|id=32868|name=Marlon Brando}}
+
*[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/may/01/features.magazine Behind the scenes - Marlon Brando] ''The Guardian''.
−
*[http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/s/stix/2004/stix071304.htm  Marlon Brando: Contender, Champ, Bum]
 
−
*[http://brando.crosscity.com/ Brando Tribute Site]
 
−
*[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5934307/the_oddfather The Oddfather], ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Jod Kaftan, April 25, 2002
 
−
*[http://www.geocities.com/timmlimm/brando.htm Brando's Early Career]
 
−
*[http://home.comcast.net/~brandoland/ Brandoland]
 
−
*[http://home.nyc.rr.com/alweisel/premieremarlonbrando.htm Marlon Brando: The Actor's Actor]
 
−
*[http://www.twohandedman.com/brando.html Quotes from an interview with Newsweek March 13,1972]
 
−
*[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/christian_brando/1.html?sect=12 Court TV: Christian Brando: A Hollywood Family Tragedy]
 
−
*[http://www.leninimports.com/marlon_brando.html Brando bio at Lenin imports]
 
−
*[http://premiere.com/brando Premiere: Remembering Brando]
 
−
 
 
−
===Obituaries===
 
−
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23157-2004Jul2.html Obituary from ''The Washington Post'']
 
−
*[http://slate.msn.com/id/2103320/ Obituary at Slate]
 
−
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5351267 MSNBC: Marlon Brando dies in Los Angeles hospital]
 
−
*[http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1473954,00.html Long article on auction of Brando's possessions at ''The Observer'' (UK)]
 
−
 
 
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{{Persondata
 
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|NAME=Brando, Marlon
 
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|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Brando, Marlon, Jr. (full name)
 
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|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
 
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|DATE OF BIRTH=April 3, 1924
 
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|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], [[USA]]
 
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|DATE OF DEATH=July 1, 2004
 
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|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[USA]]
 
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}}
 
  
 +
{{Academy Award Best Actor}}
 
[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 
[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
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[[Category:History and biography]]
 
 
[[Category:Biography]]
 
[[Category:Biography]]
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[[Category:Actors and playwrights]]
  
 
{{Credit|96961684}}
 
{{Credit|96961684}}

Latest revision as of 08:33, 10 March 2023

Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando 1963.jpg
Marlon Brando at the August 28, 1963, Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.
Birth name: Marlon Brando Jr.
Date of birth: April 3, 1924
Birth location: Omaha, Nebraska,
Date of death: July 1, 2004 (Age 80)
Death location: Los Angeles, California,
Height: 5 ft 9 in / 1.75 m
Academy Awards: Academy Award for Best Actor
1955 On the Waterfront
1973 The Godfather

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was a prominent American actor who transformed Hollywood with his innovative practice of method acting, inspiring the likes of James Dean and Robert De Niro. He brought the techniques of method acting to prominence in the films A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, both directed by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s. He was nominated for Best Actor by the Academy for four straight years for: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Viva Zapata (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), and On the Waterfront (1954). Brando won the Best Actor Oscar in 1954 and 1973 (The Godfather).

In the 1960s Brando was one of the first actor-activists to march for civil rights and Native American rights. He refused to accept his Oscar for "The Godfather," in protest of discrimination against Native Americans in the film industry and in government policy.

In 1999 the American Film Institute named him the Fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time. In his latter years he came to be known as much for his bizarre behavior as for his acting.

Early life

Marlon Brando was the youngest of three children born to Marlon Brando Sr. (1895-1965) and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando (1897-1954). His elder sisters were Jocelyn Brando (1919) and Frances Brando (1922). Marlon Brando's childhood was spent in Omaha, Nebraska until 1935 when his parents separated. Dorothy kept all three children and took them to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California. After two years in California, Marlon Sr. and Dorothy reconciled and reunited the family, settling in a small town close to Chicago called Libertyville, Illinois.

Brando's early life was neither stable nor particularly easy. His mother, though known as a talented and kindhearted person, suffered from the effects of alcoholism. She worked long hours and was often gone from home. Dorothy Brando worked at the local theater and is known for helping Henry Fonda begin his acting career. Brando and his sister, Jocelyn, spent many hours at the theater and their mother encouraged an interest in acting. From a young age he was able to mimic many different people.

His childhood was marked by a rebellious nature and he was expelled from his high school in Liberty. As a result his father sent Brando to the Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota when Brando was 16 years old. Marlon Sr. had attended this same school when he was younger. It was at Shattuck that Marlon flourished in theater. He also began to do well in academics, the rigorous structure proving to be just what he needed. During his final year of high school, 1943, his rebellious attitude again got the better of him. He was put on probation for talking back to an officer and expelled for breaking his probation. The students, who loved Brando, were angered and fought for him to come back. The school finally invited him back for the end of his education, but Brando decided not to finish.

Brando left Illinois and moved to New York City. Both of his sisters were living in New York, and Jocelyn had already performed on Broadway. Brando enrolled at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, New School Dramatic Workshop, and the Actors' Studio. While at the New School's Dramatic Workshop, Brando had an experience that would change his life. It was here that he met Stella Adler and studied the methods of the Stanislavski System.

Career

Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1948.

His dedication to method acting landed him a role on Broadway in the 1944 drama I Remember Mama. After much acclaim in the role he followed up by starring in Truckline Café, where he portrayed a disheartened, paraplegic veteran, and although the play was a financial failure, critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor." His next role as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire gave Brando the break that launched him to stardom. The play opened in 1947 and was directed by the famed Elia Kazan. Brando wanted the part so badly that he drove to Provincetown, Massachusetts to give an audition for Williams himself. Williams would later say that as soon as he opened the door, he knew he had his ideal Stanley.

With Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront, 1954

After the success of this play Hollywood came calling at Brando's door. They asked him to do a screen test for Warner Brothers Studios, who then offered Brando a contract for six years. Brando was skeptical about a long term contract so he turned it down. The screen test can be seen on the 2006 DVD release of Streetcar as a special feature. In 1950 he won the role of a bitter and crippled war veteran in The Men and prepared by spending a month in bed at a veteran's hospital.

Brando impressed the cinema-going public the same way he did those who watched him nightly in A Streetcar Named Desire. He won the film role of Stanley Kowalski and worked with director Elia Kazan for the second time. When the film premiered in 1951 Brando received his first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He went on to receive nominations for his next three roles: Viva Zapata! in 1952, Julius Caesar in 1953, and On the Waterfront in 1954. He finally won on the fourth try while once again working with Kazan. With each new performance Brando gained more respect and his performances were soon hailed as the work of a genius.

Brando in a publicity photo for the film One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

In 1953 he also starred in Lee Falk's play Arms and the Man. It would be the last time he ever acted in a stage play. It was a busy year for Brando as he also appeared as Johnny Strabler in The Wild One. His portrayal of a motorcycle rebel set the standard for rebellious characters and found a large audience in the nation's teenage population. The movie had a big impact on the sale of motorcycles, leather jackets, and jeans. Elvis Presley was so impressed by the performance that he imitated Brando's look and character in his rock and roll performances, and also copied the character of Johnny for his character of Vince in the 1957 film Jailhouse Rock.

Throughout the 1950s Brando continued to take on roles that enabled him to challenge himself in many areas. In Guys and Dolls he took on a singing role. In The Teahouse of the August Moon he played a Japanese interpreter named Sakini in postwar Japan. Then he played an Air Force officer in Sayonara and won his sixth Oscar nomination. To finish off the 1950s, Brando played a Nazi officer in The Young Lions.

In the 1960s Brando starred in films such as One-Eyed Jacks (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct; Mutiny on the Bounty (1962); Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), portraying a repressed gay army officer; and Burn! (1969), which Brando would later claim as his personal favorite, although it was a commercial failure. By the end of the decade his career was in decline as his reputation as a difficult star and his long string of commercial failures took a toll on his box-office appeal.

The Godfather

By 1972 Brando had a string of 11 straight commercial film failures. That string was broken with his performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. It was director Francis Ford Coppola who convinced Brando to submit to a screen test for a role in his film. He convinced Brando to a videotaped "make-up" test in which Brando did his own makeup (he used cotton balls to simulate the character's puffed cheeks). Coppola was mesmerized by the performance and begged the studio to allow the casting of Brando as the head of the famous crime family. The role resulted in his second Academy Award for Best Actor.

Brando used the occasion of receiving his second Oscar to protest the poor treatment of Native Americans in film and television. He boycotted the ceremony and he sent actress Sacheen Littlefeather to refuse the award on his behalf. (Later she was revealed to be an actress named Maria Cruz, a former winner of the 1970 Miss American Vampire competition.)

Despite his protest, Brando's performance in Last Tango in Paris (1972), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, was also nominated for best actor.

Superman

As Brando's career declined his demands to appear and his bizarre behavior made more headlines than his portrayals. He demanded a large sum of money for a very small part as Jor-El in the first Superman movie in 1978. His conditions included not reading the script beforehand or auditioning for anyone and his lines had to be written down and displayed on cards off screen.

Brando filmed scenes for Superman II, but when the studio refused to pay him what he asked, he refused permission to use the footage in the film. Thus the world had to wait until Brando's death to see the film as intended by Richard Donner in the 2006 re-cut, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. That same footage was also used in the newer version made in 2006 Superman Returns. In addition to the footage used, Brando's recorded voice-overs were used throughout the film.

Final roles

In 1979 he demanded and received one million dollars a week to play Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. He was supposed to show up slim, fit, and to have read the book Heart of Darkness. He showed up weighing around 220 pounds and had not read the book.

Despite announcing his retirement from acting in 1980, he decided to play supporting roles A Dry White Season (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), The Freshman in 1990 and Don Juan DeMarco in 1995 (during which time he met and befriended Johnny Depp). In his final film, The Score (2001), he starred with Robert De Niro.

Activism

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. in 1963. Author James Baldwin with Marlon Brando and Charlton Heston

Outside the studios Brando was an activist who participated in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, and the effort to acknowledge Native American rights.

In the early 1960s Brando contributed thousands of dollars to both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and to a scholarship fund established for the children of slain Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers. By this time, Brando was already involved in films that carried messages about human rights: “Sayonara,” which addressed interracial romance, and the “The Ugly American“, depicting the conduct of American officials abroad and its deleterious effect on the citizens of foreign countries.

Shortly after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death in 1968, Brando announced that he was bowing out of the lead role of a major film (The Arrangement) in order to devote himself to the civil rights movement. He participated in many marches and boycotts.

Brando also participated in "Free Huey" protests after Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton was tried in 1968 for allegedly killing an Oakland, California policeman.

Personal Life

Marriages

In 1957 Brando married his first wife, actress Anna Kashfi. Brando thought she was of Asian Indian descent, and Anna, knowing that Brando had a reputation for liking exotic women, kept up the charade. In truth, she was an Irish Roman Catholic from Wales named Joan O'Callaghan. The marriage ended in 1959 with the couple having one son, Christian Brando.

In 1960, Brando married another actress, Movita Castaneda, who was seven years older than Brando. They had two children.

In 1962 while filming Mutiny on the Bounty Brando met the Tahitian beauty Tarita Teriipia, who played his love interest in the film. She was 18 years younger than him and became his third wife. He had two children with her.

Brando also had three children with his maid Christina Maria Ruiz who lived with him in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Brando also adopted three children.

Family tragedies

In 1990 Brando's son Christian was arrested for the murder of his sister's boyfriend, Dag Drollet. He pleaded guilty and received a ten year sentence. The sister he defended, Cheyenne, committed suicide in 1995.

After the deaths of family and friends he fell into depression and became quite obese. He spent the last decade of his life the object of media curiosity.

Final years and death

On July 1, 2004, at 6:30 p.m. local time, Brando died at the age of 80. He died at the UCLA Medical Center of respiratory failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. Brando had also been diagnosed with liver cancer, as well as simultaneously suffering from congestive heart failure. In 2006, it was known that Brando had suffered from dementia in the final years of his life.

Brando was cremated and his ashes were scattered in two places. Part of his ashes were scattered in Tahiti and part of his ashes were scattered in Death Valley.

Filmography

  • The Men (1950)
  • A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
  • Viva Zapata! (1952)
  • Julius Caesar (1953)
  • The Wild One (1953)
  • On the Waterfront (1954)
  • Désirée (1954)
  • Guys and Dolls (1955)
  • Operation Teahouse (1956) (short subject)
  • The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
  • Sayonara (1957)
  • The Young Lions (1958)
  • The Fugitive Kind (1959)
  • One-Eyed Jacks (1961) (also director)
  • Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
  • The Ugly American (1963)
  • Bedtime Story (1964)
  • Morituri (1965)
  • The Chase (1966)
  • The Appaloosa (1966)
  • Meet Marlon Brando (1966) (short subject)
  • A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)
  • Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
  • Candy (1968)
  • The Night of the Following Day (1968)
  • Burn! (1969)
  • King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary)
  • The Nightcomers (1972)
  • The Godfather (1972)
  • Last Tango in Paris (1972)
  • The Missouri Breaks (1976)
  • Raoni (1978) (documentary) (narrator)
  • Superman: The Movie (1978)
  • Apocalypse Now (1979)
  • The Formula (1980)
  • A Dry White Season (1989)
  • The Freshman (1990)
  • Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) (documentary)
  • Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)
  • Don Juan DeMarco (1995)
  • The Island of Dr Moreau (1996)
  • The Brave (1997)
  • Free Money (1998)
  • The Score (2001)
  • Superman Returns (2006) - Posthumous appearance, appears in archive footage as Jor-El
  • Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Bosworth, Patricia. 2001. Marlon Brando. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670882364
  • Brando, Marlon, and Robert Lindsey. 1994. Brando: Songs my Mother Taught Me. New York: Random House. ISBN 0679410139
  • Downing, David. 1984. Marlon Brando. New York: Stein and Day. ISBN 0812829816
  • Thomas, Tony. 1973. The Films of Marlon Brando. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press. ISBN 080650370X
  • Schickel, Richard. 1991. Brando: A Life in Our Times. New York: Atheneum. ISBN 0689121083
  • Manso, Peter. 1994. Brando: The Biography. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0786860634
  • Staggs, Sam. 2005. When Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of "A Streetcar Named Desire". New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312321643

External links

All links retrieved November 6, 2022.

Academy Award for Best Actor
1928–1950

Emil Jannings (1928) · Warner Baxter (1929) · George Arliss (1930) · Lionel Barrymore (1931) · Fredric March / Wallace Beery (1932) · Charles Laughton (1933) · Clark Gable (1934) · Victor McLaglen (1935) · Paul Muni (1936) · Spencer Tracy (1937) · Spencer Tracy (1938) · Robert Donat (1939) · James Stewart (1940) · Gary Cooper (1941) · James Cagney (1942) · Paul Lukas (1943) · Bing Crosby (1944) · Ray Milland (1945) · Fredric March (1946) · Ronald Colman (1947) · Laurence Olivier (1948) · Broderick Crawford (1949) · José Ferrer (1950)

1951–1975

Humphrey Bogart (1951) · Gary Cooper (1952) · William Holden (1953) · Marlon Brando (1954) · Ernest Borgnine (1955) · Yul Brynner (1956) · Alec Guinness (1957) · David Niven (1958) · Charlton Heston (1959) · Burt Lancaster (1960) · Maximilian Schell (1961) · Gregory Peck (1962) · Sidney Poitier (1963) · Rex Harrison (1964) · Lee Marvin (1965) · Paul Scofield (1966) · Rod Steiger (1967) · Cliff Robertson (1968) · John Wayne (1969) · George C. Scott1 (1970) · Gene Hackman (1971) · Marlon Brando1 (1972) · Jack Lemmon (1973) · Art Carney (1974) · Jack Nicholson (1975)

1976–2000

Peter Finch (1976) · Richard Dreyfuss (1977) · Jon Voight (1978) · Dustin Hoffman (1979) · Robert De Niro (1980) · Henry Fonda (1981) · Ben Kingsley (1982) · Robert Duvall (1983) · F. Murray Abraham (1984) · William Hurt (1985) · Paul Newman (1986) · Michael Douglas (1987) · Dustin Hoffman (1988) · Daniel Day-Lewis (1989) · Jeremy Irons (1990) · Anthony Hopkins (1991) · Al Pacino (1992) · Tom Hanks (1993) · Tom Hanks (1994) · Nicolas Cage (1995) · Geoffrey Rush (1996) · Jack Nicholson (1997) · Roberto Benigni (1998) · Kevin Spacey (1999) · Russell Crowe (2000)

2001–present

Denzel Washington (2001) · Adrien Brody (2002) · Sean Penn (2003) · Jamie Foxx (2004) · Philip Seymour Hoffman (2005) · Forest Whitaker (2006) · Daniel Day-Lewis (2007) · Sean Penn (2008) · Jeff Bridges (2009) · Colin Firth (2010) · Jean Dujardin (2011) · Daniel Day-Lewis (2012) · Matthew McConaughey (2013) · Eddie Redmayne (2014) · Leonardo DiCaprio (2015) · Casey Affleck (2016) · Gary Oldman (2017) · Rami Malek (2018) · Joaquin Phoenix (2019) · Anthony Hopkins (2020) · Will Smith (2021) ·

1 refused award that year

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