Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. entered the world on the 3rd of April 1924 in Omaha Nebraska as the only son of Marlon Brando Sr and Dorothy Pennebaker. His father worked as a salesman who frequently traveled out of state while his mother pursued a career as a stage actress often leaving home for extended periods. This maternal absence caused young Brando to form an intense attachment to the family housekeeper before she departed to get married herself. The loss triggered deep abandonment issues that would echo through his adult relationships and artistic choices. Two elder sisters named Jocelyn and Frances grew up alongside him during these early years. Despite later playing Italian gangsters with such conviction he never possessed any Italian ancestry. His lineage traced back to German Dutch English and Irish roots instead. A patrilineal ancestor named Johann Wilhelm Brandau arrived in New York City from Germany in the early 1700s. Another forebear Louis DuBois was a French Huguenot who settled near New York around 1660. His maternal great grandfather Myles Joseph Gahan served as a medic during the American Civil War. In 1930 when Brando turned six the family relocated to Evanston Illinois where he began mimicking other people. He developed a reputation for pranking and met Wally Cox who remained a friend until Cox died in 1973. By 1936 his parents separated and he moved with his siblings to Santa Ana California. Two years later they reconciled and his father bought a farmhouse in Libertyville Illinois. Brando attended Libertyville High School excelling at sports and drama while failing every other subject. Consequently he was held back for a year and expelled in 1941 due to misbehavior.
Brando decided to follow his sisters to New York studying at the American Theatre Wing Professional School under Erwin Piscator. An 18-year-old Brando found acceptance there for the first time in his life according to George Englund. He spent his initial months sleeping on friends couches including Roy Somlyo who would later become an Emmy-winning producer. Stella Adler became his primary teacher introducing him to techniques from the Stanislavski system. Adler once instructed her class to act like chickens facing an imminent nuclear bomb drop. While others clucked and ran wildly Brando sat calmly pretending to lay an egg. When asked why he chose this reaction he replied I am a chicken what do I know about bombs. This approach encouraged exploring both internal and external aspects of character portrayal. Despite being labeled a method actor Brando disagreed with Lee Strasberg teachings claiming to abhor them. He claimed to have brought a natural approach to film acting rather than following strict method dogma. Dustin Hoffman noted that Brando often talked to cameramen about their weekends even after directors called action. He waited until dialogue felt as natural as casual conversation before speaking lines. Critics later dismissed this behavior as difficulty while fellow actors saw it as part of his technique. In 1944 he made his Broadway debut in I Remember Mama playing the son of Mady Christians. The Lunts wanted him to play Alfred Lunt's son in O Mistress Mine but he failed to read lines during the audition. New York Drama Critics voted him Most Promising Young Actor for Truckline Cafe though the play itself flopped commercially. In 1946 he appeared as Marchbanks alongside Katharine Cornell in Candida and also played the Messenger in Antigone. He turned down Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh falling asleep while reading the script.
Tallulah Bankhead recognized Brando's potential despite her disdain for method acting and hired him for The Eagle Has Two Heads. They clashed greatly during the tour with Bankhead reminding him of his mother who had similar drinking problems. Wilson reached his limit when Brando mumbled through a dress rehearsal shortly before the 28th of November 1946 opening. Brando raised his voice and acted with great power making cast members hug him afterward. A Boston critic remarked that Brando looked like a car searching for parking space in midtown Manhattan. Bankhead eventually dismissed him freeing him up to play Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire. Elia Kazan directed this production casting the far less experienced actor over John Garfield. Tennessee Williams confided to agent Audrey Wood on the 29th of August 1947 that casting a young actor humanized Stanley as youth brutality rather than old man viciousness. Brando based his portrayal on boxer Rocky Graziano whom he studied at a local gymnasium. Graziano attended the production with tickets provided by Brando saying the son of a bitch from the gym was playing him. His first screen role came in 1950 as Ken a paraplegic veteran in The Men. He spent a month bedridden at Birmingham Army Hospital preparing for the part. New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther called the performance vividly real dynamic and sensitive. By 1951 he brought Kowalski to the screen earning his first Academy Award nomination. The next year Viva Zapata! earned another nomination portraying Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. Brando secretly visited Mexico before filming began studying speech patterns and behavior in Zapata's birthplace.
In 1961 Brando made his directorial debut with One-Eyed Jacks after Stanley Kubrick was fired early in production. Paramount expected three months but shooting stretched to six doubling costs to over six million dollars. Inexperience editing delayed postproduction until Paramount took control of the film. Brando later wrote that the studio cut his version making Karl Malden a liar while he walked away bored. His revulsion boiled over on Mutiny on the Bounty filmed in Tahiti where he allegedly sabotaged nearly every aspect. The Saturday Evening Post ran an article the 16th of June 1962 titled Six million dollars down the drain: the mutiny of Marlon Brando. Director Lewis Milestone claimed executives deserved what they got giving complete control to a ham actor. Mutiny on the Bounty nearly capsized MGM while accusations dogged him for years as studios feared his reputation. Critics noted his fluctuating weight becoming disillusioned with acting as merely financial means. Previously signing short-term deals he uncharacteristically signed a five-picture deal with Universal Studios in 1961. The Ugly American rated fairly positively but died at box office while other films like Bedtime Story and The Appaloosa flopped. Candy became especially appalling for many critics calling it the nadir of his career. Washington Post observed self-indulgence over a dozen years cost him public trust. Pauline Kael wrote in March 1966 that rebellious days made him antisocial because society was crap yet now he had become a buffoon mocking reputations. He portrayed repressed gay officer in Reflections in a Golden Eye which Stanley Crouch called his main achievement showing stoic gloom pulverized by circumstances.
Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather marked a turning point in 1972. Paramount production chief Robert Evans hired Coppola after major directors turned down the film. Evans wanted an Italian-American director to provide cultural authenticity since their last Mafia film The Brotherhood failed commercially. Coppola developed a list including Ernest Borgnine Frank de Kova John Marley Richard Conte and Carlo Ponti. He admitted in 1975 that they needed to lure Laurence Olivier or Marlon Brando as the greatest actors. Charles Bluhdorn president of Gulf+Western approved casting after seeing a videotaped make-up test using cotton balls for puffed cheeks. Brando signed for $50,000 but received 1% gross percentage rising to 5% if exceeding $60 million. He later sold points back for $100,000 costing him $11 million according to Evans. During filming he supported creatives serving as head of family like his character Vito Corleone. Al Pacino discussed how Brando helped keep Michael Corleone despite studio pressure to fire him. Critics glowingly reviewed his performance as Don Vito Corleone winning Best Actor Oscar. He declined attending the ceremony sending Sacheen Littlefeather instead who appeared in Plains Indian regalia. She announced rejection protesting treatment of American Indians by film industry and television reruns. Wounded Knee Occupation occurred at time of ceremony with written speech hoping focus attention on rights to remain free independent. Last Tango in Paris followed featuring Maria Schneider with intense graphic scenes involving butter lubrication. The actress confirmed no actual sex occurred yet complained she was not told content until shortly prior. Bertolucci shot a scene showing Brando's genitals which he cut out from shame. Brando refused speaking to Bertolucci for 15 years after production completed.
In 1978 Brando narrated Raoni a French-Belgian documentary focusing on Indigenous tribes in north central Brazil. He portrayed Superman father Jor-El in 1978 film agreeing only for large sum without reading script beforehand. Lines displayed off-camera revealed payment of $3.7 million for two weeks work. He denied permission to use footage in sequel after producers refused same percentage received initially. In 1979 he made rare TV appearance in Roots: The Next Generations portraying George Lincoln Rockwell winning Primetime Emmy Award. Apocalypse Now featured him as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz paid $1 million weekly for three weeks work. Eleanor Coppola documented how overweight Brando arrived despite promising to get in shape. He admitted not reading Heart of Darkness book while pair spent days exploring character and story. This extended filming benefited financially according to producer Fred Roos since clock ticked on deal requiring completion within three weeks. Whispering final words The horror! The horror! became particularly famous with Roger Ebert defending controversial denouement. After Formula poor reception announced retirement returning in 1989 A Dry White Season based on André Brink novel. Agreed to do film free but fell out over editing making rare TV appearance voicing disapproval. Received praise earning Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor plus Tokyo Film Festival win. Scored enthusiastic reviews caricaturing Vito Corleone role as Carmine Sabatini in 1990's The Freshman. Roger Ebert wrote no star repeated triumphs more triumphantly than Brando did there. Starred alongside Johnny Depp in Don Juan DeMarco sharing credits with Selena in her only filming appearance. Later performances included Christopher Columbus Discovery nominated for Worst Supporting Actor Raspberry Island Of Dr Moreau winning same award.
Notoriety troubled family life and obesity attracted attention beyond later acting career. Gained great weight during 1970s weighing over by early-to-mid-1990s suffering from type 2 diabetes. History of fluctuation attributed to stress-related overeating followed compensatory dieting. Earned reputation difficult on set often unwilling unable memorize lines less interested taking direction confronting directors odd demands. Dabbled innovation last years receiving several patents issued June 2002 through November 2004 involving tensioning drumheads method. Made sketches art as hobby recording voice tracks character Mrs Sour unreleased animated film Big Bug Man. This final role marked only female character portrayal. Longtime close friend entertainer Michael Jackson paid regular visits Neverland Ranch resting weeks at time. Participated singer two-day solo career 30th anniversary concerts 2001 starring music video You Rock My World same year. Son Miko served bodyguard assistant several years friend of singer stating father left house spending time with Jackson loved it. Had 24-hour chef security kitchen maid service carte blanche according to Miko. Michael instrumental helping father through last few years breathing hard oxygen much time. Loved outdoors so invited over Neverland where could name trees flowers big place. Got golf cart portable oxygen tank drive around enjoy grounds together. April 2001 hospitalized pneumonia signing director Ridha Behi preproduction project Brando and Brando. Working script week before death anticipation July August 2004 start date died the 1st of July 2004.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When and where was Marlon Brando born?
Marlon Brando Jr. entered the world on the 3rd of April 1924 in Omaha Nebraska as the only son of Marlon Brando Sr and Dorothy Pennebaker.
What ancestry did Marlon Brando have despite playing Italian gangsters?
Marlon Brando never possessed any Italian ancestry because his lineage traced back to German Dutch English and Irish roots instead.
How old was Marlon Brando when he moved to New York to study acting?
An 18-year-old Brando found acceptance at the American Theatre Wing Professional School under Erwin Piscator after deciding to follow his sisters to New York.
Why did Marlon Brando decline attending the Academy Awards ceremony for The Godfather?
Marlon Brando declined attending the ceremony sending Sacheen Littlefeather who appeared in Plains Indian regalia to announce rejection protesting treatment of American Indians by film industry and television reruns.
When did Marlon Brando die and what project was he working on before death?
Marlon Brando died the 1st of July 2004 while anticipating a start date for preproduction project Brando and Brando which he had signed director Ridha Behi for the week before death.