Who was Marlon Brando? Information about the life, biography, movies and film career of legendary American actor and director Marlon Brando.
Marlon Brando (1925-2004) was an American actor and director, he received two Oscar statuettes for Best Actor with the films “The Thieves Syndicate” (1954) and “The Godfather” (1972).
Marlon Brandon Jr. (1925-2004) was born in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, on April 3, 1924. The son of merchant Marlon Brando and actress Dorothy Brando, he was 11 years old when his parents separated. He attended Libertyville High Scholl, and at age 16 he entered the Shattuck Military Academy in Fairbault, Minnesota, where he excelled in acting classes.
At the age of 20, he went to New York and enrolled at the Actor’s Studio drama school. Then he joined Stella Adler Studio of Acting. At the age of 23, he made his Broadway debut with the play “A Streetcar Named Desire”, which opened the doors to Hollywood for him. In 1950, he made his film debut with “Indomitable Spirits”, which tells the story of a World War II veteran. He then acted in the film Uma Rua Chamada Pecado (1951), with a screenplay based on the play, A Streetcar Called Desire. The film received 12 Oscar nominations, including Best Actor for Marlon Brando.
In the following years, he received two more Oscar nominations for Best Actor in “Viva Zapata” (1952) and “Júlio César” (1953). In 1954, he acted in “Sindicatos de Thieves”, when he received the “Oscar for Best Actor”, in 1955. In 1961, Marlon Brando directed “A Face Hidden”, receiving critical acclaim.
Marlon Brando was a black civil rights activist and participated in Native American rights movements. In 1969, he acted in the film, “Queimada”, which shows a historical view of what would have been the policy of European colonization in America, when he plays “William Walker”, an American soldier who became president of Nicaragua.
After a series of films with several Oscar nominations, his career returned to shine in the interpretation of “Don Corleone”, in the film “The Godfather” (1972), by Francis Ford Coppola, which won him the second Oscar for Best Actor in 1973. On the night of the Oscars, Marlon Brando sent a Hispanic actress, representing indigenous peoples, to speak on his behalf protesting the way Hollywood discriminates against Indians. He also acted in the classic “Last Tango in Paris” (1972) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979). In the 1980s, Marlon Brando took a break from his career and isolated himself on an island he owned in French Polynesia.
In 1989, Marlon Brando returned to film in the film “Murder in Custody”, starring Donald Sutherland and Janet Suzman, when he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. In 1990, he acted in “A Newbie in the Mafia”, a crime comedy, when he played Carmine Sabatini, who makes a parody of Dom Corleone from The Godfather.
Marlon Brando had a tumultuous family life, had several children, the result of several marriages and relationships. In 1990, her son Christian murdered her sister Cheyenne’s fiancé, and was sentenced to five years in prison. In 1995, after several years of depression, Cheyenne committed suicide. In 2001, Marlon Brando starred in his last film, “The Final Card”. He spent the last few years of his life, alone and in debt, at his home on Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles.
Marlon Brando passed away in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 1, 2004.