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Marlon Brando

 
Marlon Brando

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Marlon Brando



 
 
Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an Academy Award-winning American actor whose body of work spanned over half a century. He is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time, and was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars

Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars is a list of the top 50 stars of United States Cinema of the United States. They were presented by 50 stars of today, adding up to the total of 100 stars....
 by the American Film Institute
American Film Institute

The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B....
.

As a young sex symbol
Sex symbol

A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, Supermodel, teen idol, or sports star who is found to be sexual attraction by the public or by a substantial niche audience....
, he is best known for his roles as Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski

Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire ....
 in A Streetcar Named Desire and Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a United States drama film about mob violence and corruption among stevedore. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg....
, both directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan, September 7 1909 – September 28 2003, was an United States award-winning film director and Theatre direction, film producer and theatrical producer, screenwriter, novelist and co-founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947....
 in the early 1950s.






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Quotations


An actor's a guy, who if you ain't talking about him, ain't listening.

The Observer (1956)

Bertolucci is extraordinary in his ability to perceive, he's a poet...he is very easy to work for.

Rolling Stone Issue No. 213 (May 20, 1976) on Bernardo Bertolucci.

Chaplin you got to go with. Chaplin is a man whose talents is such that you have to gamble. First off, comedy is his backyard. He's a genius, a cinematic genius. A comedic talent without peer.

Rolling Stone Issue No. 213 (May 20, 1976) on Charlie Chaplin

Kazan is a performer's director, the best director I ever worked with... Most actors don't get any help from directors. Emotional help, if you're playing an emotional part. Kazan is the only one I know who really gives you help.

Rolling Stone Issue No. 213 (May 20, 1976) on Elia Kazan

Even today I meet people who think of me automatically as a tough, insensitive, coarse guy named Stanley Kowalski. They can't help it, but, it is troubling.

Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994)

The power and influence of a movie star is curious: I didn't ask for it or take it; people gave it to me. Simply because you're a movie star, people empower you with special rights and privileges.

Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994)





Encyclopedia


Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an Academy Award-winning American actor whose body of work spanned over half a century. He is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time, and was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars

Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars is a list of the top 50 stars of United States Cinema of the United States. They were presented by 50 stars of today, adding up to the total of 100 stars....
 by the American Film Institute
American Film Institute

The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B....
.

As a young sex symbol
Sex symbol

A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, Supermodel, teen idol, or sports star who is found to be sexual attraction by the public or by a substantial niche audience....
, he is best known for his roles as Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski

Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire ....
 in A Streetcar Named Desire and Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a United States drama film about mob violence and corruption among stevedore. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg....
, both directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan, September 7 1909 – September 28 2003, was an United States award-winning film director and Theatre direction, film producer and theatrical producer, screenwriter, novelist and co-founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947....
 in the early 1950s. In middle age, his well-known roles include his Academy Award-winning performance as Vito Corleone
Vito Corleone

Vito Andolini Corleone, known by his alias The Godfather, is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , as well as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather based on it....
 in The Godfather
The Godfather

The Godfather is an Cinema of the United States crime film film based on the The Godfather by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne, who was not credited....
, Colonel Walter Kurtz in Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is an Cinema of the United States 1979 in film epic film war film set during the Vietnam War. It tells the tale of United States Armed Forces Captain Benjamin L....
, both directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford "Frank" Coppola is a five-time Academy Award-winning United States film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, publisher and Hotel manager....
, an Academy Award-nominated performance as Paul in Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris

Last Tango in Paris is a 1973 film directed by italy Bernardo Bertolucci which tells of an United States widower drawn into a sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman....
, and as Jor-El
Jor-El

Jor-El is a fictional character from the Superman comic books, published by DC Comics. Created by United States of America writer Jerry Siegel and Canada-born artist Joe Shuster, he first appeared in Action Comics #1 as Superman's biological father....
, the Kryptonian
Kryptonian

Kryptonians are a fictional race of the DC Comics universe who hail from the planet Krypton . The best-known Kryptonian is Superman. "Kryptonian" may also be used as an adjective to refer to anything created by or associated with the planet itself or the culture that existed on it....
 father of Superman
Superman

Superman is a Character , a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio, and sold to DC Comics in 1938, the character first appeared in Action Comics Action Comics 1 and subseque...
 in Superman, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a 2006 re-edit of the 1980 superhero film, Superman II.It stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Margot Kidder and Marlon Brando....
, and (posthumously) Superman Returns
Superman Returns

Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Superman. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Brandon Routh as Superman, as well as Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden and Parker Posey....
.

Brando was also an activist, lending his presence to many issues, including the American Civil Rights and American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement

The American Indian Movement , is an Native Americans in the United States activist organization in the United States. AIM burst onto the international scene with its Bureau of Indian Affairs building takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 1972 and the 1973 Wounded Knee incident, South Dakota, on the P...
s.

Early life

Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River....
 on April 3, 1924, the son of Dorothy Julia Pennebaker Brando
Dodie Brando

Dorothy Pennebaker "Dodie" Brando, was the mother of Marlon Brando and among the members of the Omaha Community Playhouse's first cast....
 (1897–1954), an actress, and Marlon Brando, Sr.
Marlon Brando, Sr.

Marlon Brando, Sr. was an American film producer and the father of Academy Award-winning actor Marlon Brando.BiographyMarlon Brando, Sr....
 (1895–1965), a pesticide
Pesticide

A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest .A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest ....
 and chemical feed manufacturer. The family moved to Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois directly north of the Chicago, Illinois, east of Skokie, Illinois, and south of Wilmette, Illinois, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003....
 and in 1935, when he was eleven years old, his parents separated. His mother briefly took her three children Marlon, Jocelyn Brando
Jocelyn Brando

Jocelyn Brando was an American film, stage and television actress.Her film debut came in the 1953 war movie China Venture with Edmond O'Brien and Barry Sullivan ....
 (1919–2005) and Frances Brando (1922–1994) to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California

Founded in 1869, Santa Ana is the most populous city in Orange County, California, USA and is the county seat, with an estimated 353,184 people....
 until 1937, when the parents reconciled and moved to Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville, Illinois

Libertyville is a northern suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. It is located 5 miles from Lake Michigan, and is west of the Des Plaines River....
, a village north of Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
. The family was of mixed Dutch
Dutch people

The Dutch are the people native to the Netherlands, a country in north-western Europe.Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities world wide,See the Dutch #Dutch diaspora. and form a mentionable part of the population of Canada,Australia, South Africa and the United States....
, Irish
Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
, German, and English
English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England who speak English language in England. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
 descent. Brando was raised a Christian Scientist
Church of Christ, Scientist

The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which offered a unique interpretation of Christian faith....
. Contrary to what is stated in some biographies, Brando's grandfather Eugene E. Brando was not French but was born in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 state. Brando's grandmother Marie Holloway abandoned Eugene and their son Marlon Brando Sr. when he was five years old and used the money to support her gambling and constant drinking.

Brando's mother, Dodie, was an unconventional, intelligent, and talented woman. She smoked, wore trousers
Trousers

Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately . Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants in countries such as Canada, South Africa and The United States....
 and drove automobiles at a time when it was unusual for women to do so. However, she suffered from alcoholism
Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions to describe the detrimental effects of alcohol intake.In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite health problems and negative social consequences....
 and often had to be retrieved from Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 bars by Brando's father. She later became a member of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who share a desire to stop drinking alcoholic beverage. AA suggests members completely abstain from alcohol, regularly attend meetings with other members, and follow its program to help each other with their common purpose; to help members "stay sober and help other alcoholics...
. Dodie was an actress and administrator in local theater and the Omaha newspapers wrote about her for her theatrical work. She helped a young Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda

Henry Jaynes Fonda was an United States Academy Awards-winning film and Stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. Fonda's subtle, Naturalism acting style preceded by many years the popularization of method acting....
 to begin his own acting career, and fueled Brando's interest in stage acting
Theatre

Theatre is the branch of the performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one or more actor, isolated in time and/or Theater , present themselves to Audience." By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of human tendency for story telling....
. His father, Marlon Sr., was a gifted amateur photographer. Brando's maternal grandmother, Bessie Gahan Pennebaker Meyers, to whom Brando was perhaps closer than his own mother, was also unconventional. Widowed at a young age, she worked to support herself as a secretary and later as a Christian Science
Christian Science

Christian Science is a religious belief system claimed to have been discovered in the year 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy. Practiced most prominently by members of the Church of Christ, Scientist that she founded, Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are, correctly viewed, spiritual rather than material; that truth an...
 healer, and was well known in Omaha. Her father, Myles Gahan, was a doctor from Ireland and her mother, Julia Watts, was from England. Brando was a gifted mimic
Imitation

Imitation is an advanced behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's. The word can be applied in many contexts, ranging from animal training to international politics....
 from early childhood and developed a rare ability to absorb the tics and mannerisms of people he played and to display those traits dramatically while staying in character. His sister, Jocelyn Brando
Jocelyn Brando

Jocelyn Brando was an American film, stage and television actress.Her film debut came in the 1953 war movie China Venture with Edmond O'Brien and Barry Sullivan ....
, however, was the first to pursue a career in acting, going to New York to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. She later appeared on Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
, in movies and on television. Next, Marlon's sister Frannie left college in California to study art in New York. Marlon followed.

Brando had a tumultuous youth. He was held back a year in school and was later expelled
Expulsion (academia)

Expulsion at a school or university is defined as removing a student from the institution for violating rules or honor codes....
 from Libertyville High School
Libertyville High School

Libertyville High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Libertyville, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States....
 for riding his motorcycle through the school. At the age of sixteen years, he was sent to Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota
Faribault, Minnesota

Faribault is a city in Rice County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 20,818 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Rice County, Minnesota....
, where his father had gone before him. At Shattuck, he excelled at theatre 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 expel 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.

Brando worked as a ditch
Ditch

A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Old English language, the word dic already existed and was pronounced with a hard c in northern England and as ditch in the south....
-digger in his hometown as a summer job arranged by his father, but 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
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
. He visited his sister Frances in New York at Christmas
Christmas

Christmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts Twelve Days of 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 sales
Sales

A sale is the pinnacle activity involved in selling products or services in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
man. Brando left Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
 for New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, where he studied at the American Theatre Wing Professional School
American Theatre Wing

The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement....
, New School
The New School

The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly around Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research....
 Dramatic Workshop, and the Actors' Studio. It was at the New School's Dramatic Workshop that he studied with Stella Adler
Stella Adler

Stella Adler was an United States actor and an acclaimed acting teacher , who founded the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York City , where she taught the Method acting technique of acting for over four decades ....
 and learned the techniques of the Stanislavski System
Stanislavski System

Stanislavski's system is an approach to acting developed by Constantin Stanislavski, a Russian actor, Theatre director, and theatre administrator at the Moscow Art Theatre ....
. There is a possibly apocryphal story in which Adler spoke about teaching Brando, saying that she had instructed the class to act like chickens, then adding that a bomb was about to fall on them. Most of the class clucked and ran around wildly, but Brando sat calmly and pretended to lay an egg. When Adler asked Brando to explain his action, he replied, "I'm a chicken - What do I know from a bomb?"

Career


Early work

on the set of the stage version of A Streetcar Named Desire, photographed by Carl Van Vechten
Carl van Vechten

Carl Van Vechten was an United States writer and photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein....
 in 1948.]]

Brando used his Stanislavski System
Stanislavski System

Stanislavski's system is an approach to acting developed by Constantin Stanislavski, a Russian actor, Theatre director, and theatre administrator at the Moscow Art Theatre ....
 skills for his first summer-stock roles in Sayville, New York
Sayville, New York

Sayville is the name of a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island. The population was 16,735 at the 2000 census....
 on Long Island
Long Island

Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are Borough s of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban....
. 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
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 in the bittersweet drama I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama

I Remember Mama is a play by John Van Druten. Based on the memoir Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, it focuses on a loving family of Norway immigrants living on Steiner Street in San Francisco, California in the 1910s....
 in 1944. Critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" for his role as an anguished veteran in Truckline Café
Truckline Cafe

Truckline Cafe was the title of a 1946 Broadway theatre play written by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Harold Clurman, produced by Elia Kazan, and starring Marlon Brando and Karl Malden....
, although the play was a commercial failure
Failure

Failure in general refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success....
. In 1946 he appeared on Broadway as the young hero in the political drama A Flag is Born
A Flag is Born

A Flag Is Born was a play promoting the creation of a Jewish State in the ancient land of Israel. It opened on Broadway on September 4, 1946....
, refusing to accept wages above the Actor's Equity rate because of his commitment to the cause of Israeli independence. Brando achieved stardom, however, as Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski

Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire ....
 in Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was an American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards. He moved to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his name to "Tennessee", the state of his father's birth....
's 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan, September 7 1909 – September 28 2003, was an United States award-winning film director and Theatre direction, film producer and theatrical producer, screenwriter, novelist and co-founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947....
. Brando sought out that role, driving out to Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts

Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census....
, where Williams was spending the summer, to audition
Audition

An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing ...
 for the part. Williams recalled that he opened the screen door and knew, instantly, that he had his Stanley Kowalski. Brando's performance revolutionized acting technique and set the model for the American form of method acting
Method acting

Method acting is a technique in which actors aim to engender in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters in an effort to create a lifelike performance....
. This approach to a role had never been seen before and all similar roles mirror Brando's.

Afterward, Brando was asked to do a screen test for Warner Brothers
Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. is one of the world's largest film producer of film and television.It is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York City....
 studio for the film Rebel Without A Cause
Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 in film film directed by Nicholas Ray that tells the story of a rebellious Adolescence#Teenagers played by James Dean, who comes to a new town, meets a girl, defies his parents, and faces the local high school bullies....
, which James Dean
James Dean

James Byron Dean was a two-time Academy Award-nominated American film actor. Dean's status as a cultural icon is best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause, in which he starred as troubled stereotypical high school rebel Jim Stark....
 was later cast in. The screen test appears as an extra in the 2006 DVD release of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Brando's first screen role was as the bitter paraplegic 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.

Rising to the top

Brando made a strong impression in 1951 when he brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski

Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire ....
 to the screen in Kazan's adaptation of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was an American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards. He moved to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his name to "Tennessee", the state of his father's birth....
's A Streetcar Named Desire. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
 for that role, and again in each of the next three years for his roles in Viva Zapata!
Viva Zapata!

Viva Zapata! is a 1952 in film biographical film directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using as a guide Edgcomb Pinchon's book, 'Zapata the Unconquerable', a fact that is not credited in the titles of the film....
 in 1952, Julius Caesar in 1953 as Mark Antony
Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Marc Antony, was a Roman Republic politician and General. He was an important supporter and the best friend of Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia....
, and On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a United States drama film about mob violence and corruption among stevedore. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg....
 in 1954. These first five films of his career established Brando as perhaps the premier acting talent in the world, as evidenced in his winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Awards presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film....
 in three consecutive years, 1951 to 1953.

In 1953, Brando also starred in Lee Falk
Lee Falk

Leon Harrison Gross, more known by the alias of Lee Falk , was an United States writer, director and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, who at the height of their popularity secured him over a hundred million readers every day....
's play Arms and the Man. Falk was proud to tell people that Marlon Brando turned down an offer of $10,000 per week 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.

Brando's explosive screen presence exuded a raw sexuality that drew repeat ticket purchases among female theatre-goers of all ages. Theater managers related accounts of sold out weekday matinées at which small children ran up and down the aisle making motorcycle noises while their mothers sat transfixed.

Director Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray

Nicholas Ray was an United States film director....
 took the gang image from the movie The Wild One
The Wild One

The Wild One is a 1953 in film outlaw biker film directed by L?szl? Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is remembered for Marlon Brando's portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler, dressed in a Perfecto motorcycle jacket and riding a 1950 Triumph_Thunderbird....
 and brought it to his movie, Rebel Without A Cause
Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 in film film directed by Nicholas Ray that tells the story of a rebellious Adolescence#Teenagers played by James Dean, who comes to a new town, meets a girl, defies his parents, and faces the local high school bullies....
, and thus emphasized Brando's effect on youth.

Aspects of the rebel culture that included motorcycles, leather jackets, jeans and the rebel image, which inspired generations of rebels, came thanks to that film and Brando's own unique image and character. The sales of motorcycle-related paraphernalia, leather jackets, jeans, boots and t-shirts skyrocketed throughout the country. The film had a similar effect on overseas audiences. Local authorities and religious figures lamented the effect it was having on the youth of their respective countries. Under Kazan's
Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan, September 7 1909 – September 28 2003, was an United States award-winning film director and Theatre direction, film producer and theatrical producer, screenwriter, novelist and co-founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947....
 direction, and with a talented ensemble around him, Brando won the Oscar for his role of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a United States drama film about mob violence and corruption among stevedore. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg....
. For the famous I coulda' been a contender scene, Brando convinced Kazan that the scripted scene was unrealistic, and with Rod Steiger
Rod Steiger

Rod Steiger was an United States Academy Award-winning actor known for his intense performances in such films as In the Heat of the Night , Waterloo , On the Waterfront, and Doctor Zhivago ....
, improvised the final product.

Brando followed that triumph by a variety of roles in the 1950s that defied expectations: as Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls (film)

Guys and Dolls is a 1955 in film musical film starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. The movie was made by the Samuel Goldwyn Company, released by MGM, directed by Joseph L....
, where he managed to carry off a singing role; as Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. Army in postwar Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 in The Teahouse of the August Moon; as an Air Force officer in Sayonara
Sayonara

Sayonara is a film which tells the story of an United States United States Air Force flier who was a fighter "Ace" during the Korean War. The film's screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn from the novel by James Michener, and the film was produced by William Goetz and directed by Joshua Logan....
, and a Nazi officer in The Young Lions
The Young Lions

The Young Lions is a novel by Irwin Shaw and a 1958 film based upon the book starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin....
. Although 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.

In the 1960s, Brando starred in films such as Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 in film film starring Marlon Brando, based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall....
 (1962); One-Eyed Jacks
One-Eyed Jacks

One-Eyed Jacks, a western movie released in 1961, is the only film directed by Marlon Brando, who replaced the original director, Stanley Kubrick....
 (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct; a star-studded but unsuccessful potboiler The Chase
The Chase (1966 film)

The Chase is a 1966 in film American, drama film directed by Arthur Penn who afterwards went on to direct Bonnie and Clyde .Marlon Brando's portrayal of Sheriff Calder is, by many, regarded as one of his best later roles....
 (1966), in which he played an uncorrupted Texas sheriff; Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), portraying a repressed gay army officer, and Burn!
Burn!

Burn! is a 1969 film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo; starring Marlon Brando. The plot is loosely based on events in the history of Guadeloupe....
 (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, some say, thanks to his reputation as a difficult star and his record in overbudget or marginal movies.

However, in truth, Brando's reputation as a "difficult star", no matter how justifiably earned, was not the real reason for the downslide in his career. The fact is, as noted progressive writer Dave Zirin points out, Hollywood created what became known as the "Brando Blacklist" that shut him out of many bigtime roles. The reason for that blacklist was his growing activism, and his financial and moral support of the Black Panthers, Native American Rights groups and other progressive causes.

The Godfather


Brando's performance as Vito Corleone
Vito Corleone

Vito Andolini Corleone, known by his alias The Godfather, is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , as well as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather based on it....
 in 1972's The Godfather
The Godfather

The Godfather is an Cinema of the United States crime film film based on the The Godfather by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne, who was not credited....
 was a mid-career turning point. Director Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford "Frank" Coppola is a five-time Academy Award-winning United States film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, publisher and Hotel manager....
 convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test, in which Brando did his own makeup (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 the temperamental Brando, whose reputation for difficult behavior and demands was the stuff of backlot legend. Mario Puzo
Mario Puzo

Mario Gianluigi Puzo was a two time Academy Award-winning Italian American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, especially The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into The Godfather with Francis Ford Coppola....
 always imagined Brando as Corleone. However, Paramount
Paramount

Paramount may refer to:In companies:*Paramount Motion Pictures Group, a motion picture holding company owned by Viacom*Paramount Pictures Corporation, a Worldwide American motion picture company...
 studio heads wanted to give the role to Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas

Danny Thomas was an United States nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy....
 in the hope that Thomas would have his own production company throw in its lot with Paramount. Thomas declined the role and actually urged the studio to cast Brando at the behest of Coppola and others who had witnessed the screen test.

Eventually, Charles Bluhdorn
Charles Bluhdorn

Charles Bl?hdorn was a Vienna Austrian-born United States industrialist.Per a Who's Who in Ridgefield he was considered such a "hellion" that his father sent the 11-year-old to an English boarding school for disciplining....
, the president of Paramount parent Gulf + Western, was won over to letting Brando have the role; when he saw the screen test, he asked in amazement, "What are we watching? Who is this old guinea?"

Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
 for his performance, but turned down the Oscar, becoming the second actor to refuse a Best Actor award (the first being George C. Scott
George C. Scott

George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, film director, and Film producer. He was best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of General George S....
 for Patton
Patton (film)

Patton is a Biography film war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates , and Karl Michael Vogler....
). Brando boycotted the award ceremony, sending instead American Indian Rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather
Sacheen Littlefeather

Sacheen Littlefeather is an Native Americans in the United States activist who donned Apache Tribe dress and presented a speech on behalf of actor Marlon Brando, for his performance in The Godfather , when he boycotted the 45th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, 1973 in protest of the treatment of American Indians by the film industry....
, who appeared in full Apache dress, to state Brando's reasons, which were based on his objection to the depiction of American Indians by Hollywood and television.

The actor followed with one of his greatest performances in Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci

Bernardo Bertolucci is an Academy Award-winning Italy film director and screenwriter....
's 1973 film, Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris

Last Tango in Paris is a 1973 film directed by italy Bernardo Bertolucci which tells of an United States widower drawn into a sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman....
, but the performance was overshadowed by an uproar over the erotic nature of the film. Despite the controversy which attended both the film and the man, the Academy once again nominated Brando for the Best Actor.

Brando's career afterward was uneven. He was paid one million dollars a week to play the iconic Colonel Kurtz in 1979's Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is an Cinema of the United States 1979 in film epic film war film set during the Vietnam War. It tells the tale of United States Armed Forces Captain Benjamin L....
. He was supposed to show up slim, fit, and to have read the novel Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Poland writer Joseph Conrad. Before its 1902 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine....
, but instead arrived weighing around 220 pounds (100 kg) and had not read the book. As a result, his character was shot mostly in the shadows and most of his dialogue was improvised. After his week was over, director Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford "Frank" Coppola is a five-time Academy Award-winning United States film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, publisher and Hotel manager....
 asked him to stay an extra hour so that he could shoot a close up of Brando saying, "The horror, the horror." Brando agreed for an extra $75,000. After this film his weight began to limit the roles he could play.

Later career

Jor El
Brando then portrayed Superman
Superman

Superman is a Character , a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio, and sold to DC Comics in 1938, the character first appeared in Action Comics Action Comics 1 and subseque...
's father Jor-El
Jor-El

Jor-El is a fictional character from the Superman comic books, published by DC Comics. Created by United States of America writer Jerry Siegel and Canada-born artist Joe Shuster, he first appeared in Action Comics #1 as Superman's biological father....
 in the 1978 Superman: The Movie, donning an English accent for the part. He agreed to the role only on assurance that he would be paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he would not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera. It was revealed in a documentary contained in the 2001 DVD release of Superman, that he was paid $3.7 million for just two weeks of work.

Brando also filmed scenes for the movie's sequel, Superman II
Superman II

Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman . It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors. For this reason the film is surrounded with controversy since original director Richard Donner had completed, by his estimation, roughly 75Percentage of the movie in 1977 before being taken off the project....
, but after producers refused to pay him the same percentage he received for the first movie, he denied them permission to use the footage. However, after Brando's death the footage was reincorporated into the 2006 re-cut of the film, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a 2006 re-edit of the 1980 superhero film, Superman II.It stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Margot Kidder and Marlon Brando....
.

Two years after Brando's death, he "reprised" the role of Jor-El in the 2006 "loose sequel" Superman Returns
Superman Returns

Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Superman. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Brandon Routh as Superman, as well as Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden and Parker Posey....
, 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
Fortress of Solitude

The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis ....
, as well as Brando's voice-overs being used throughout the film.

Some later performances, such as The Island of Dr Moreau
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film)

The Island of Dr. Moreau is a 1996 in film film, the third major movie version of the H. G. Wells novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, a science fiction horror story about a scientist who attempts to convert animals into people....
, earned Brando 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
A Dry White Season

A Dry White Season was created in 1989 in film by Davros Films and Sundance Productions and distributed by MGM. It was directed by Euzhan Palcy and produced by Paula Weinstein, Mary Selway and Tim Hampton....
 (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), The Freshman
The Freshman (1990 film)

The Freshman is a 1990 motion picture comedy starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, in which Brando deliberately parodies his own portrayal of Don Corleone in The Godfather....
 in 1990 and Don Juan DeMarco
Don Juan DeMarco

Don Juan DeMarco is a 1995 film starring Johnny Depp as John R. DeMarco, a man who believes himself to be Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world....
 in 1995. In his last film, The Score
The Score (film)

The Score is a 2001 in film crime drama. The film's cast includes Robert De Niro as Nick Wells, a professional safe cracker from Montreal, who wants out of the criminal life for good because of his age and his girlfriend , Edward Norton as Jack Teller, the ambitious new kid who teams up with Wells for this "inside job", and Marlon Brando...
 (2001), he starred with fellow method actor Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro

Robert Mario De Niro, Jr. is a two-time Academy Award-winning United States actor, director and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors of all time....
.

Brando conceived the idea of a novel called Fan-Tan with director Donald Cammell
Donald Cammell

Donald Seaton Cammell was a United Kingdom film film director who enjoys a cult reputation thanks to his debut film Performance , which he co-directed with Nicolas Roeg....
 in 1979, which was not released until 2005. Cammell dated and eventually married actress China Kong
China Kong

China Kong is an United States actor, writer, and producer of Asian people descent.Kong is the widow of director Donald Cammell, having met him when she was 14 years of age and he was 40 years of age in 1974....
, the daughter of Anita Loo, with whom Brando had an affair.

Personal life

Brando became well known for his crusades for civil rights
Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights ensuring things such as the protection of peoples' physical integrity; procedural fairness in law; protection from discrimination based on sexism, religious intolerance, Racism, Homophobia, etc; individual freedom of freedom of belief, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom...
, Native American rights, and other political causes. He also earned a "bad boy" reputation for his public outbursts and antics. In June 1973, Brando broke paparazzo
Paparazzi

File:Paparazzi by David Shankbone.jpgPaparazzi is a plural term for photographers who take unstaged and/or candid photographys of celebrities caught unaware....
 Ron Galella
Ron Galella

Ronald E. Galella is an United States photographer, known as a pioneer Paparazzi....
's jaw. His hand became infected as a result. In the following year, Galella wore a football helmet when snapping photos of Brando.

In Songs My Mother Taught Me, Brando claimed he met Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model, and a sex symbol.After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946....
 at a party as she played piano, unnoticed by anybody else there, and they started an affair that lasted many years until her death, receiving a telephone call from her several days before she died. He also claimed numerous other romances, although he did not discuss his marriages, his wives, or his children in his autobiography.

Brando married actress Anna Kashfi
Anna Kashfi

Anna Kashfi is a former film actress, who had a brief Hollywood career in the 1950s and is best known for having been married to Marlon Brando....
 in 1957. Kashfi was born in Calcutta and moved to Wales at the end of British rule in India
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
 in 1947. She is said to have been the daughter of a Welsh steel worker of Irish descent, William O'Callaghan, who had been superintendent on the Indian State railways. However, in her book, Brando for Breakfast, she claimed that she really is half Indian and that the press incorrectly thought that her stepfather, O'Callaghan, was her real father. She said her real father was Indian and that she was the result of an "unregistered alliance" between her parents. Others present during the Brando-Kashfi relationship, however, claimed that Kashfi merely convinced Brando she was part Indian, having learned of his attraction to exotic women. In 1959, Brando and Kashfi divorced after the birth of their son, Christian Brando
Christian Brando

Christian Brando was the eldest child of actor Marlon Brando. He pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of the boyfriend of his half-sister Cheyenne Brando....
, on May 11, 1958.

In 1960, Brando married Movita Castaneda
Movita Castaneda

Maria "Movita" Castaneda is a Mexican-American actress best known for being the second wife of the United States actor Marlon Brando.Born on a train travelling between Mexico and Arizona, Movita began her acting career singing Carioca to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared...
, a Mexican actress seven years his senior; they were divorced in 1962. Castaneda had appeared in the first Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1935 in film starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable based on the Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall novel Mutiny on the Bounty ....
 film in 1935, some 27 years before the 1962 remake with Brando as Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian

Fletcher Christian was a Master Mariner on board the HMAS Bounty during William Bligh's fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants .? It was Christian who seized command? of the Bounty from Bligh on April 28, 1789....
. Brando's behavior during the filming of Bounty seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in director and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either.

The Bounty experience affected Brando's life in a profound way. He fell in love with Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
 and its people. He bought a twelve-island atoll, Tetiaroa
Tetiaroa

Tetiaroa, one of the Society Islands, is an atoll located 59 km due north of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia located on the island of Tahiti....
, which he intended to make partly an environmental laboratory and partly a resort. Tahitian beauty Tarita Teriipia
Tarita Teriipia

Tarita Teriipia is a former actress of French Polynesian and Han Chinese descent most famous for being the wife of Marlon Brando. She was usually billed as Tarita....
, who played Fletcher Christian's love interest, became Brando's third wife on August 10, 1962. She was 20 years old, 18 years younger than Brando. A 1961 article on Teriipia in the fan magazine Motion Picture described Brando's delight at how naïve and unsophisticated she was. Because Teriipia was a native French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 speaker, Brando became fluent in the language and gave numerous interviews in French. Teriipia became the mother of two of his children. They divorced in July 1972. Brando eventually had a hotel built on Tetiaroa. It went through many redesigns due to changes demanded by Brando over the years. It is now closed. A new hotel, consisting of thirty deluxe villas, was due to open in 2008.

Children

  • by Anna Kashfi
    Anna Kashfi

    Anna Kashfi is a former film actress, who had a brief Hollywood career in the 1950s and is best known for having been married to Marlon Brando....
    :
    • Christian Devi Brando
      Christian Brando

      Christian Brando was the eldest child of actor Marlon Brando. He pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of the boyfriend of his half-sister Cheyenne Brando....
       (aka Gary Brown)(b. 1958 - d. 2008), died of pneumonia
      Pneumonia

      Pneumonia is an Inflammation illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolus inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
  • by Movita Castaneda
    Movita Castaneda

    Maria "Movita" Castaneda is a Mexican-American actress best known for being the second wife of the United States actor Marlon Brando.Born on a train travelling between Mexico and Arizona, Movita began her acting career singing Carioca to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared...
    :
    • Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1961)
    • Rebecca Brando Kotlinzky (b. 1966)
  • by Tarita Teriipia
    Tarita Teriipia

    Tarita Teriipia is a former actress of French Polynesian and Han Chinese descent most famous for being the wife of Marlon Brando. She was usually billed as Tarita....
    :
    • Simon Teihotu Brando (b. 1963) - the only inhabitant of Tetiaroa
      Tetiaroa

      Tetiaroa, one of the Society Islands, is an atoll located 59 km due north of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia located on the island of Tahiti....
    • Tarita Cheyenne Brando
      Cheyenne Brando

      Tarita Cheyenne Brando was the daughter of Marlon Brando by his third wife Tarita Teriipia, a Tahitian whom he met while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962 in film....
       (b. 1970 - d. 1995), committed suicide
  • by adoption
    Adoption

    Adoption is the act of Family law placing a child with a parent or parents other than those to whom they were born. An adoption order has the effect of severing parental responsibilities and rights of the original parent and transferring those responsibilities and rights to the adoptive parent....
    :
    • Petra Brando-Corval (b. 1972), daughter of Brando's assistant Caroline Barrett and James Clavell
      James Clavell

      James Clavell, born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell was a United Kingdom novelist, screenwriter, Film director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war....
       (aka Charles Edmund DuMaresq de Clavell)
    • Maimiti Brando (b. 1977)
    • Raiatua Brando (b. 1982)
  • by his long-time housekeeper, Maria Christina Ruiz:
    • Ninna Priscilla Brando (b. 1989)
    • Myles Jonathan Brando (b. 1992)
    • Timothy Gahan Brando (b. 1994)


Scandal involving Brando's son, Christian

In May 1990, Dag Drollet, the Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
an lover of Brando's daughter and Christian's half-sister, Cheyenne
Cheyenne Brando

Tarita Cheyenne Brando was the daughter of Marlon Brando by his third wife Tarita Teriipia, a Tahitian whom he met while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962 in film....
, died of a gunshot wound, after a confrontation with Christian, who was drunk, at the family's hilltop home above Beverly Hills. Christian, then 31 years old, claimed the shooting was accidental.

After heavily publicized pre-trial proceedings, Christian pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter
Voluntary Manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion", under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed....
 and use of a gun
GUN

Gun is a Revisionist Western-themed video game developed by Neversoft. It was published by Activision for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2....
. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Before the sentence, Brando delivered an hour of testimony, in which he said he and his former 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
Cheyenne Brando

Tarita Cheyenne Brando was the daughter of Marlon Brando by his third wife Tarita Teriipia, a Tahitian whom he met while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962 in film....
, suffering from lingering effects of a serious car accident and said to still be depressed over Drollet's death, committed suicide by hanging herself in Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
. Christian Brando died of pneumonia at age 49, on January 26, 2008. Cheyenne's son Tuki Brando
Tuki Brando

Tuki Brando is a fashion model and actor from Tahiti and currently the face of Gianni Versace S.p.A. menswear. The son of Cheyenne Brando and Dag Drollet, he is the grandson of Academy Awards-winning United States actor Marlon Brando and Golden Globe-nominated Tahitian actress Tarita Teriipia.....
 is now the advertising face of Versace menswear.

Final years and death

Brando's notoriety, his troubled family life, and his obesity
Obesity

Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that health may be negatively affected. It is commonly defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher....
 attracted more attention than his late acting career. He gained a great deal of weight in the 1980s and by the mid 1990s he weighed over 300 lbs. (136 kg) and suffered from diabetes. 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.

Brando also dabbled with some innovation in his last years. Brando had several patents issued in his name from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, all of which involve a method of tensing drum heads, in June 2002 – November 2004. For example, see and its equivalents.

The actor was a longtime close friend of the entertainer Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson is an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group....
 and paid regular visits to his Neverland Ranch
Neverland Ranch

Neverland Valley Ranch is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, most famous for its association with United States pop musician Michael Jackson....
, resting there for weeks. Brando also participated in the singer's solo career thirtieth-anniversary celebration concerts in 2001, and starred in his 15-minute-long music video, "You Rock My World
You Rock My World

"You Rock My World" is a song by singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was the debut single from Jackson's 2001 in music album Invincible . The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, immensely successful considering the lack of promotion due to a feud between Michael Jackson and his record label....
", in the same year. The actor's son, Miko, was Jackson's bodyguard and assistant for several years, and is a friend of the singer. He stated "The last time my father left his house to go anywhere, to spend any kind of time... was with Michael Jackson. He loved it... He had a 24-hour chef, 24-hour security, 24-hour help, 24-hour kitchen, 24-hour maid service."

On July 1, 2004, Brando died, aged 80. The cause of death was intentionally withheld, his lawyer citing privacy concerns. It was later revealed that he had died at UCLA Medical Center of respiratory failure
Respiratory failure

The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges....
 brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. He also suffered from congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure

Heart failure is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs....
, failing eyesight due to diabetes, and liver cancer
Liver cancer

Hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . These growths can be benign or malignant . They may be discovered on medical imaging , or may be present in patients as an abdominal mass, hepatomegaly, abdominal pain, jaundice, or some other liver dysfunction....
.

Karl Malden
Karl Malden

Mladen George Sekulovich is an American actor, known for his expansive manner. In a career that spanned over seven decades, he was featured in classic films such as A Streetcar Named Desire , On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks, with Marlon Brando, and also starred in the blockbuster movie, Patton ....
, Brando's fellow actor in A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront, and One Eyed Jacks (the only film directed by Brando), talks in a documentary accompanying the DVD of A Streetcar Named Desire about a phone call he received from Brando shortly before Brando's death. A distressed Brando told Malden he kept falling over. Malden wanted to come over, but Brando put him off telling him there was no point. Three weeks later, Brando was dead. Shortly before his death, Brando had apparently refused permission for tubes carrying oxygen to be inserted into his lungs, which, he was told, was the only way to prolong his life.

Brando was cremated
Cremation

Cremation is the process of reducing human remains to basic Chemical element in the form of bone fragments through flame, heat, and vaporization....
, his ashes scattered partly in Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
 and partly in Death Valley
Death Valley

Death Valley is a desert located in the southwestern United States. It is the lowest, driest, and hottest location in North America. Badwater, a depression located within Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 85.5 meter below sea level....
.

In 2007, a 165-minute biopic of Brando, Brando: The Documentary, produced by Mike Medavoy
Mike Medavoy

Morris Mike Medavoy is an United States film producer and executive, co-founder of Orion Pictures , former chairman of TriStar Pictures, former head of production for United Artists and current chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures....
 (the executor of Brando's will) for Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies

Turner Classic Movies is a cable television channel featuring television commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros....
, was released.

Politics


Civil rights

Baldwin Brando Civil Rights March 1963
In 1946, Brando showed his dedication to the Jewish desire for a homeland by performing in Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht

Ben Hecht , , was an United States screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of the most entertaining screenplays or p...
's Zionist play "A Flag is Born
A Flag is Born

A Flag Is Born was a play promoting the creation of a Jewish State in the ancient land of Israel. It opened on Broadway on September 4, 1946....
". Brando's involvement had an impact on three of the most contentious issues of the early postwar period: the fight to establish a Jewish state, the smuggling of Holocaust survivors to Palestine, and the battle against racial segregation in the United States.

In August 1963, Brando participated in the March on Washington along with fellow celebrities Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte

Harold George Belafonte, Jr. is a Jamaican American musician, actor and social activist. One of the most successful popular singers in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso music" a title which he was very reluctant to accept for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s....
, James Garner
James Garner

James Garner is an United States film and television actor.He has starred in several television program spanning a career of more than five decades....
, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston was an United States actor of film, theater and television.Heston is known for having played heroic roles, such as Moses in The Ten Commandments , Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes , El Cid in El Cid , and Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur , for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor....
, Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an United States film actor and star, noted for his athletic physique, distinct smile and, later, his willingness to play roles that went against his initial "tough guy" image....
, and Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier

Sir Sidney Poitier, Order of the British Empire is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Grammy award-winning Bahamas-United States actor, film director, author, and diplomat....
. Brando also, along with Paul Newman
Paul Newman

Paul Leonard Newman was an United States actor, film director, entrepreneur, Humanitarianism, and auto racing enthusiast. He won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for his performance in the 1986 Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money and eight other nominations three Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a...
, participated in the freedom rides
Freedom rides

Civil Rights activists called 'Freedom Riders' rode in interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the Supreme Court of the United States List of United States Supreme Court cases Boynton v....
.

In the aftermath of the 1968 slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Brando made one of the strongest commitments to furthering Dr. King's work. Shortly after Dr. King's death, Brando announced that he was bowing out of the lead role of a major film (The Arrangement) which was about to begin production, in order to devote himself to the civil rights movement. "I felt I’d better go find out where it is; what it is to be black in this country; what this rage is all about", Brando said on the late night ABC-TV Joey Bishop Show.

The actor's participation in the African-American civil rights movement actually began well before King's death. In the early 1960s Brando contributed thousands of dollars to both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) and to a scholarship fund established for the children of slain Mississippi N.A.A.C.P. 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
The Ugly American

The Ugly American is the title of a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. It became a bestseller, was influential at the time, and is still in print....
", depicting the conduct of US officials abroad and its deleterious effect on the citizens of foreign countries. For a time Brando was also donating money to the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party was an African-American organization established to promote Black Power and Right of self-defense through acts of social agitation....
 and considered himself a friend of founder Bobby Seale
Bobby Seale

Robert George "Bobby" Seale , is an United States civil rights activist, and revolutionary, who along with Huey P. Newton, co-founded the Black Panther Party on October 15, 1966....
. However, Brando ended his financial support for the group over his perception of its increasing radicalization, specifically a passage in a Panther pamphlet put out by Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver

Eldridge Cleaver was an author, a prominent United States civil rights leader, and a key member of the Black Panther Party....
 advocating indiscriminate violence, "for the Revolution".

At the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony, Brando refused to accept the Oscar for his performance in The Godfather. Sacheen Littlefeather
Sacheen Littlefeather

Sacheen Littlefeather is an Native Americans in the United States activist who donned Apache Tribe dress and presented a speech on behalf of actor Marlon Brando, for his performance in The Godfather , when he boycotted the 45th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, 1973 in protest of the treatment of American Indians by the film industry....
 represented Mr. Brando at the ceremony. She appeared in full Apache clothing. She stated that owing to the "poor treatment of Native Americans in the film industry" Mr. Brando would not accept the award. At this time the 1973 standoff at Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee Incident

The Wounded Knee incident began February 27, 1973 when the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota was seized by followers of the American Indian Movement ....
 occurred, causing rising tensions between the government and Native American activists.

Outside of his film work, Brando not only appeared before the California Assembly in support of a fair housing law, but personally joined picket lines in demonstrations protesting discrimination in housing developments.

Accusation of anti-Semitism

After the publication of an interview in Playboy
Playboy

Playboy is an American men's magazine, founded in Chicago, Illinois, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, which has grown into Playboy Enterprises, with a presence in nearly every medium....
 magazine in January 1979, Brando was accused of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism

Antisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews.This prejudice or hostility is usually characterized by a combination of Religion, Race , cultural and ethnic group biases....
 in regard to his opinion on double-standards set by Jews in Hollywood: "You've seen every single race besmirched, but you never saw an [unfavorable] image of the kike because the Jews were ever so watchful for that—and rightly so. They never allowed it to be shown on screen. The Jews have done so much for the world that, I suppose, you get extra disappointed because they didn't pay attention to that."

Brando made similar allegation on Larry King Live in April 1996, saying "Hollywood
Cinema of the United States

United States cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, Classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period ....
 is run by Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
s; it is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of — of people who are suffering. Because they've exploited — we have seen the — we have seen the Nigger
Nigger

Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable as a pejorative term and common ethnic slur for black people, and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts....
 and Greaseball
List of ethnic slurs

The following is a list of ethnic slurs that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or to refer to them in a derogatory , pejorative , or insulting manner in the English language-speaking world....
, we've seen the Chink
Chink

Chink is an offensive term for a person of Chinese people descent. Chink may also mean a small crevice or opening, often referring to a weakness such as a "chink in the armor", but also in purely descriptive contexts such as a chink between two bricks....
, we've seen the slit-eyed dangerous Jap
Jap

Jap is an English language abbreviation of the word "Japanese." Today it is regarded as an ethnic slur, though English-speaking countries differ in the degree they consider the term offensive....
, we have seen the wily Filipino
Filipino people

Filipino people refers to an ethnic group in the Philippines, a country in Southeast Asia. The name Filipino was derived from Las Islas Filipinas , the Spanish language name given to the Philippines in the 16th century, by Spanish explorer Ruy L?pez de Villalobos....
, we've seen everything but we never saw the Kike
Kike

In modern English language, the word kike is a pejorative ethnic slur referring to a Jew. In some languages, such as Spanish, this word is a given name or shortened from a longer form and is not considered derogatory....
. Because they knew perfectly well, that that is where you draw the wagons around." King replied, "When you say — when you say something like that you are playing right in, though, to anti-Semitic people who say the Jews are — " at which point Brando interrupted, "No, no, because I will be the first one who will appraise the Jews honestly and say 'Thank God for the Jews.'"

Awards and nominations


Academy Awards
  • 1954: Best Actor, On the Waterfront
    On the Waterfront

    On the Waterfront is a United States drama film about mob violence and corruption among stevedore. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg....
  • 1972: Best Actor, The Godfather
    The Godfather

    The Godfather is an Cinema of the United States crime film film based on the The Godfather by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne, who was not credited....
     (turned down Although Brando won, he declined the award, becoming the second actor after George C. Scott
    George C. Scott

    George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, film director, and Film producer. He was best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of General George S....
    , to refuse a Best Actor award. Brando boycotted the award ceremony, sending Native American Rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather
    Sacheen Littlefeather

    Sacheen Littlefeather is an Native Americans in the United States activist who donned Apache Tribe dress and presented a speech on behalf of actor Marlon Brando, for his performance in The Godfather , when he boycotted the 45th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, 1973 in protest of the treatment of American Indians by the film industry....
     in his place. Sacheen stated Brando's reasons: Brando objected to the depiction of Native Americans
    Native Americans in the United States

    Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
     by Hollywood.)


Nomination:
  • 1951: Best Actor, A Streetcar Named Desire
  • 1952: Best Actor, Viva Zapata!
    Viva Zapata!

    Viva Zapata! is a 1952 in film biographical film directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using as a guide Edgcomb Pinchon's book, 'Zapata the Unconquerable', a fact that is not credited in the titles of the film....
  • 1953: Best Actor, Julius Caesar
    Julius Caesar (1953 film)

    Julius Caesar is an MGM film adaptation of the Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the uncredited screenplay, and produced by John Houseman....
  • 1957: Best Actor, Sayonara
    Sayonara

    Sayonara is a film which tells the story of an United States United States Air Force flier who was a fighter "Ace" during the Korean War. The film's screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn from the novel by James Michener, and the film was produced by William Goetz and directed by Joshua Logan....
  • 1973: Best Actor, Last Tango in Paris
    Last Tango in Paris

    Last Tango in Paris is a 1973 film directed by italy Bernardo Bertolucci which tells of an United States widower drawn into a sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman....
  • 1989: Best Supporting Actor, A Dry White Season
    A Dry White Season

    A Dry White Season was created in 1989 in film by Davros Films and Sundance Productions and distributed by MGM. It was directed by Euzhan Palcy and produced by Paula Weinstein, Mary Selway and Tim Hampton....
BAFTA Awards
  • 1953: Best Foreign Actor, Viva Zapata!
    Viva Zapata!

    Viva Zapata! is a 1952 in film biographical film directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using as a guide Edgcomb Pinchon's book, 'Zapata the Unconquerable', a fact that is not credited in the titles of the film....
  • 1954: Best Foreign Actor, Julius Caesar
    Julius Caesar (1953 film)

    Julius Caesar is an MGM film adaptation of the Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the uncredited screenplay, and produced by John Houseman....
  • 1955: Best Foreign Actor, On the Waterfront
    On the Waterfront

    On the Waterfront is a United States drama film about mob violence and corruption among stevedore. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg....


Nominations:
  • 1973: Best Actor, The Nightcomers
  • 1973: Best Actor, The Godfather
    The Godfather

    The Godfather is an Cinema of the United States crime film film based on the The Godfather by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne, who was not credited....
  • 1974: Best Actor, Last Tango In Paris
    Last Tango in Paris

    Last Tango in Paris is a 1973 film directed by italy Bernardo Bertolucci which tells of an United States widower drawn into a sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman....
  • 1989: Best Supporting Actor, A Dry White Season
    A Dry White Season

    A Dry White Season was created in 1989 in film by Davros Films and Sundance Productions and distributed by MGM. It was directed by Euzhan Palcy and produced by Paula Weinstein, Mary Selway and Tim Hampton....


Emmy Awards
  • 1979: Outstanding Supporting Actor - Miniseries/Movie, Roots: The Next Generations
    Roots: The Next Generations

    Roots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the story of the family of Alex Haley from the time of Reconstruction era of the United States to Haley researching his family history and his travels to Africa to learn of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte....
Golden Globe Awards
  • 1955: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, On the Waterfront
    On the Waterfront

    On the Waterfront is a United States drama film about mob violence and corruption among stevedore. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg....
  • 1973: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, The Godfather
    The Godfather

    The Godfather is an Cinema of the United States crime film film based on the The Godfather by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne, who was not credited....


Nominations
  • 1957: Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, The Teahouse of the August Moon
  • 1958: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Sayonara
    Sayonara

    Sayonara is a film which tells the story of an United States United States Air Force flier who was a fighter "Ace" during the Korean War. The film's screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn from the novel by James Michener, and the film was produced by William Goetz and directed by Joshua Logan....
  • 1964: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, The Ugly American
    The Ugly American

    The Ugly American is the title of a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. It became a bestseller, was influential at the time, and is still in print....
  • 1990: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, A Dry White Season
    A Dry White Season

    A Dry White Season was created in 1989 in film by Davros Films and Sundance Productions and distributed by MGM. It was directed by Euzhan Palcy and produced by Paula Weinstein, Mary Selway and Tim Hampton....
Cannes Film Festival
  • 1954: Best Actor - Viva Zapata!
    Viva Zapata!

    Viva Zapata! is a 1952 in film biographical film directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using as a guide Edgcomb Pinchon's book, 'Zapata the Unconquerable', a fact that is not credited in the titles of the film....

Filmography


Bibliography

  • Bain, David Haward. The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West. New York: Penguin Books, 2004. ISBN 0-14303-526-6.
  • Bosworth, Patricia. Marlon Brando. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001. ISBN 0-297-84284-6.
  • Brando, Anna Kashfi
    Anna Kashfi

    Anna Kashfi is a former film actress, who had a brief Hollywood career in the 1950s and is best known for having been married to Marlon Brando....
     and E. P. Stein
    Richard A. Epstein

    Richard Arnold Epstein , also known under the pseudonym E. P. Stein, is a notable US game theory....
    . Brando for Breakfast. New York: Berkley Pub Group, 1980. ISBN 0-42504698-2.
  • Brando, Marlon, and Donald Cammell. Fan-Tan. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-40004-471-5.
  • Brando, Marlon with Lindsey, Robert. Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me
    Songs My Mother Taught Me (book)

    Songs My Mother Taught Me an autobiography by Marlon Brando with Robert Lindsey as co-author in 1995.Brando writes of his memories as a struggling actor and of his various relationships with other actors, producers and directors....
    . New York: Random House, 1994. ISBN 0-67941-013-9.
  • Pierpont, Claudia Roth. Method Man. New Yorker, October 27, 2008.
  • Porter, Darwin. Brando Unzipped. New York: Blood Moon, 2006. ISBN 0-9748-1182-3.


External links

  • , Rolling Stone
    Rolling Stone

    Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
    , Jod Kaftan, April 25, 2002


Obituaries