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 regarded as one of the most influential actors of all time. Brando is best known for his roles in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, both directed by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s, and his Academy-Award winning performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather and as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, the latter two directed by Francis Ford Coppola in the 1970s.
Brando was also an activist, lending his presence to many issues, including the American Civil Rights and American Indian Movements. He was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute.
Brando was born to Marlon Brando Sr. (1895–1965) and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando (1897-1954) in Omaha, Nebraska.[1] In 1935, when he was 11 years old, his parents separated. His mother briefly took her three children (Marlon, Jocelyn (1919–2005) and Frances Brando (1922-1994) to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California, until 1937 when the parents reconciled and moved to Libertyville, Illinois, a village northwest of Chicago.
Brando used his Stanislavski System skills for his first summer-stock roles in Sayville, New York on Long Island. 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 in the bittersweet drama I Remember Mama in 1944.
His performance as Vito Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather was a mid-career turning point. Director Francis Ford Coppola 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.
Brando became known as much for his crusades for civil rights, Native American rights and other political causes as he was for his acting. He also earned a “bad boy” reputation for his public outbursts and antics. In June 1973, Brando broke paparazzo Ron Galella’s jaw. His hand became infected as a result. In the following year, Galella wore a football helmet when snapping photos of Brando.
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