Brando, Marlon

From New World Encyclopedia
 
(48 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{redirect|Brando}}{{Epname}}{{Claimed}}{{Contracted}}{{Started}}
+
{{Copyedited}}{{Paid}}{{approved}}{{images OK}}{{Submitted}}
 +
{{epname|Brando, Marlon}}
 +
 
 
{{Infobox Actor  
 
{{Infobox Actor  
 
| bgcolour = silver
 
| bgcolour = silver
Line 5: Line 7:
 
| image =Marlon_Brando_1963.jpg
 
| image =Marlon_Brando_1963.jpg
 
| imagesize =300px
 
| imagesize =300px
−
| caption =Marlon Brando at the 1963 [[Civil Rights]] March on [[Washington, D.C.]]
+
| 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
 
| location = Omaha, [[Nebraska]], [[USA]]
 
| location = Omaha, [[Nebraska]], [[USA]]
Line 13: Line 15:
 
| location = Omaha, [[Nebraska]],  
 
| location = Omaha, [[Nebraska]],  
 
| birthname = Marlon Brando Jr.
 
| birthname = Marlon Brando Jr.
−
| academyawards = '''Academy Award for Best Actor'''<br> 1955 ''On the Waterfront'' <br>1973 ''The Godfather''
+
| academyawards = '''Academy Award for Best Actor'''<br/> 1955 ''On the Waterfront'' <br/>1973 ''The Godfather''
 
}}
 
}}
 +
'''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)''.
  
−
'''Marlon Brando, Jr.''' (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was a prominent [[United States|American]] [[actor]] who transformed [[Hollywood]] with his innovative practice of [[method acting]] that inspired 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 Ceasar,''(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 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.  
−
 
+
{{toc}}
−
In the 1960s Brando was one of the first actor-activists to march for civil 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.
−
 
 
−
In his latter years he came to be known as much for his bizarre behaviour as for his acting. In 1999 the [[American Film Institute]] named him the ''Fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time.''
 
  
 
==Early life==
 
==Early life==
−
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]].  
+
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]].  
  
 
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.  
 
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.  
  
−
Brando's 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 Fairbault, [[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.
+
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|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]].
+
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]].
  
 
==Career==
 
==Career==
−
[[Image:Marlon Brando Streetcar 1948 e.jpg|thumb|Marlon Brando in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1948]]
+
[[Image:Marlon Brando Streetcar 1948 e.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Marlon Brando in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1948.]]
  
−
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 star-power. The play opened in 1947 and was directed by the famed [[Elia Kazan]]. Brando did not casually happen upon this role, he sought it out. Brando even drove out to Provincetown, [[Massachusetts]] to give an audition for Williams himself. Williams said that as soon as he opened the door, he knew he had his ideal Stanley.
+
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.
 +
[[File:Eva marie saint marlon brando waterfront 10.jpg|thumb|400px|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 [[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.  
  
−
After the success of his play, Hollywood came calling at Brando's door. They asked him to do a screen test for Warner Brothers studio, and when the results came in, Warner Brothers offered Brando a contract for six years. Brando was skeptical to sign a  contract for that duration of time, and he turned it down. To many, that move seemed faulty, but Brando never regretted it. [http://www.cinematical.com/2006/03/28/lost-brando-screen-test-for-rebel-surfaces-but-its-not-for-th] The screen test can be seen on the 2006 DVD release of [[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|''Streetcar'']] as a special feature. In 1950, Brando prepared for his first on screen role in the style that became characteristic of him. When he won the role of a bitter and crippled war veteran, Brando immediately started preparing by spending a month in bed at a veteran's hospital. The film, ''Then Men'' released in 1950.
+
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.  
 +
[[File:Marlon Brando publicity for One-Eyed Jacks.png|thumb|300px|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''.  
  
−
However, Brando would impress the cinema-going public the same way he made an impression on the audience who watched him nightly in ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. He won the film role of Stanley Kowalski, and worked with director Elia Kazan for his second time. When the film premiered in 1951, Brando became a star, and he received his first nomination for an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. Brando followed that first success with many. He went on to receive nominations for his next three roles: and  ''Viva Zapata!'' in 1952, ''Julius Caesar'' in 1953 as Marc Antony, and ''On the Waterfront'' in 1954. It was in 1954 that he won his first Oscar under the direction of Kazan once again. With each performance of these first five films, Marlon Brando became a household star, but more than that, he became respected and treated with a sense of awe for his amazing talent. His performances were nothing less than genius, and Brando became what future actors aspired to be. He raised the bar in acting, so much so, that even he felt pressure to better himself. Brando finished up the year 1953 by appearing in the last stage play he would ever do. He worked for $500 per week (compared to the $10,000 per week he was offered to act on Broadway again) in [[Lee Falk]]'s play ''Arms and the Man'' that opened in Boston.
+
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.''
  
−
When Marlon Brando signed on for the role of Johnny Strabler in ''The Wild One'', he likely had no idea just what an impact he would have on the younger generation and fellow performers. In ''The Wild One'' Brando portrayed a motorcycle rebel as no one had ever played a rebel before, and with this new character, Brando found an eager audience with the nation's teenagers. They idolized his rebellion and it helped to spur forward the new [[rock and roll|rock-and-roll]] era. From his image in the film came the teenage fascination with motorcycles, leather jackets, and jeans. He inspired [[Elvis]], who imitated Brando's look and character in his rock and roll performances, and then copied the character of Johnny for his character as Vince in the 1957 film ''Jailhouse Rock''. But, the actor considered Marlon Brando his hero, who wanted to be like him in every way, was a young man named [[James Dean]]. When Dean won the role of Jim Stark in ''Rebel Without a Cause'', he studied Brando's work, especially that in ''The Wild One'' intently, and then he emphasized certain points just enough to make the role uniquely his own.
+
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.
  
−
[[Image:AnnexBrando_On_the_Waterfront)_02.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Brando as Terry Malloy in ''[[On The Waterfront]]'']]
+
===''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.
  
−
Winning an Oscar for Brando, however, was not a crowning achievement. His desire to push himself in his craft became evident in his next roles. In the musical ''Guys and Dolls'' Marlon surprised everyone with his singing voice. 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 1950's, Brando played a Nazi officer in ''The Young Lions'', but something was happening to him. There was that loss of energy and spark for the characters he played in that later half of the 1950s compared with his earlier roles.
+
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.)
 +
 +
Despite his protest, Brando's performance in ''Last Tango in Paris'' (1972), directed by [[Bernardo Bertolucci]], was also nominated for best actor.
  
−
During the 1960s many fans believed he was finished as an actor. His performances in ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' and other films were uninspiring and disappointing. There were only a few that could be deemed exceptional, including ''One-Eyed Jacks''in 1961 (his one and only time playing director), ''Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967) and ''Burn!'' (1969)—which Brando claimed was his favorite film to do. Because of his reputation as being difficult, and the amount of commercial failures that Brando starred in, by the end of the decade, he was almost out of work.
+
===''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.  
  
−
==''The Godfather''==
+
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.
−
[[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.]]
 
−
His performance as [[Vito Corleone]] in ''[[The Godfather]]'' in 1972 changed Brando's disappearance and lack of success in the film world. It was director [[Francis Ford Coppola]] who convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test for a role in his film, a role that he new Brando was meant to play. Brando did submit a make-up test, and it was make-up he had applied himself. He even thought to use little cotton balls to puff his cheeks out for the memorable Vito character. Coppola was mesmerized by the performance and begged the studio to allow the casting of Brando as the head of the famous crime family. Brando's improvisation gave humanity to Vito Corleone, a role that easily could have been trite and cliche. The academy recognized his work by the nomination and subsequent win of his second  [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. However, Brando was not the new actor he had been for his first win, he was a man dedicated to many causes and reliefs. He had been angered for a long time at Hollywood's depiction of Native Americans in film and television. For this reason, he decided to boycott the ceremony, and he send actress [[Sacheen Littlefeather]] to refuse the award on his behalf and to state the reasons why.  
 
  
−
The actor followed the Godfather series with perhaps his greatest performances in ''Last Tango in Paris'', directed by controversial [[Bernardo Bertolucci]]. Despite Brando's refusal of his last win at the Academy Awards, he was again nominated for best actor for his performance.  
+
===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.
  
−
Brando slowly started to gain weight around the time he appeared as Colonel Kurtz in ''[[Apocalypse Now]]''. As his health continued to decline and his weight increased, he wasn't as sought after for the roles he usually played.
+
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]].
  
−
==''Superman''==
+
==Activism==
 +
[[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]]]]
 +
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.
  
−
Brando demanded a large sum of money for a very small part as Jor-El in the first ''Superman'' movie. His conditions were many, he didn't want to read the script beforehand or audition for anyone, and he wanted his lines 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.
+
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.
  
−
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]].
+
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.
  
−
==Personal life==
+
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.
−
[[Image:Brandotime.jpg|thumb|left|Marlon Brando, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' cover, 1973]]
 
  
−
Brando was a fighter and a crusader for the things he believed in, namely the [[civil rights]]movement, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] rights and other political causes. He was passionate for these causes, often participating in marches and boycotts to make his points known.
+
==Personal Life==
 +
===Marriages===
 +
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]].
  
−
In addition to this, he was also known as a Hollywood "bad boy" for his behavior. Often he was seen have public outbursts and antics, in 1973, he even broke the jaw of Ron Galella, a member of the [[paparazzo|Paparazzi]]. Brando gained an even more reckless reputation, along with an infected hand. Whenever Galella would photograph Brando after that incident, he wore a football helmet.  
+
In 1960, Brando married another actress, Movita Castaneda, who was seven years older than Brando. They had two children.
  
−
To add to the "bad boy" reputation, Brando dished on his major love affairs in his autobiography, ''Songs My Mother Taught Me''. In his book, Brando claimed he showed up one night at [[Marilyn Monroe]]'s apartment.The attraction between them was instant and they started an affair. Marilyn reported that Brando was "sweet and tender". Brando claimed several other romances in his book, but he never discussed that which was closest to him:  his marriages, his wives, or his children.
+
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.  
−
 
−
In 1957, Brando married his first wife, actress Anna Kashfi. Brando believed her to be of Asian [[India|Indian]], 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, she was seven years older than Brando, and from [[Mexico]]. In fact, she had played in the original version of ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' in 1935, this was 27 years earlier than Brando's own version of the film was made. While filming the film, Brando met the Tahitian beauty [[Tarita Teriipia]], who played his love interest in the film. She became Marlon Brando's third wife. He claimed to love just how naïve and unsophisticated she was. The couple had two children together.
+
Brando also had three children with his maid Christina Maria Ruiz who lived with him in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
  
−
===Children===
+
Brando also adopted three children.
−
Although Brando is reported as having eleven children (as per recognizing them in his will), the number is truly uncertain. All three of his wives were pregnant when he married them.  
 
  
−
* by his marriage to actress [[Anna Kashfi]]:
+
===Family tragedies===
−
** [[Christian Brando]] (46)
+
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.
−
* 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:
+
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.
−
* [[Ninna Priscilla Brando]] ('''born''': 1989)
 
−
* [[Myles Brando]] ('''born''': 1992 as Myles Jonathan Brando)
 
−
* [[Timothy Brando]] ('''born''': 1994 as Timothy Gahan Brando)
 
  
 
===Final years and death===
 
===Final years and death===
−
Brando's off-screen life attracted more attention than any acting that he did in his later years. The controversies surrounding his children, his health and [[obesity]], as well as his self-exile from Hollywood. He was a contradiction in the world of film. Many directors reported that he was difficult and temperamental, while his co-stars reported that he was generous, caring, funny, supportive, and kind.  
+
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.
  
−
On July 1, 2004, at 6:30 p.m. local time, Brando died at the age of 80. At first, the cause of his death was withheld, but it was eventually revealed that he died at UCLA Medical Center of [[respiratory failure]] brought on by [[pulmonary fibrosis]]. Marlon Brando had recently 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 [[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==
Line 171: 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 />
 
  
−
==See also==
+
==References==
−
*''Songs My Mother Taught Me'', his autobiography. ISBN 0679410139
+
*Bosworth, Patricia. 2001. ''Marlon Brando''. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670882364
−
*''Marlon Brando'' by Patricia Bosworth (2001). First published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001 - republished by Phoenix, 2002. ISBN 0-7538-1379-3
+
*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==
 
==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}}
−
*[http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/s/stix/2004/stix071304.htm  Marlon Brando: Contender, Champ, Bum]
+
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23157-2004Jul2.html Actor Marlon Brando, 80, Dies] ''The Washington Post''
−
*[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5934307/the_oddfather The Oddfather], ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Jod Kaftan, April 25, 2002
+
*[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/may/01/features.magazine Behind the scenes - Marlon Brando] ''The Guardian''.
−
*[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)]
 
−
 
 
−
{{Persondata
 
−
|NAME=Brando, Marlon
 
−
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Brando, Marlon, Jr. (full name)
 
−
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
 
−
|DATE OF BIRTH=April 3, 1924
 
−
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], [[USA]]
 
−
|DATE OF DEATH=July 1, 2004
 
−
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[USA]]
 
−
}}
 
  
 +
{{Academy Award Best Actor}}
 
[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 
[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
−
[[Category:History and biography]]
 
 
[[Category:Biography]]
 
[[Category:Biography]]
−
 
+
[[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

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Marlon_Brando&oldid=1103886

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki