Remembering Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando Jr. was born April 3, 1924, in Omaha Nebraska. His father Marlon Brando IV was a pesticide and chemical feed manufacturer. His mother Dorothy Julia Pennebaker Brando, known as Dodie, was unconventional for her time; she smoked, wore pants, had a tattoo of a rat on her neck and drove cars. Marlon had two elder sisters, both named Jocelyn.

When Marlon was 13, Brando began an intense love affair with his governess, Brunhilde. Brunhilde was a big boned woman with a dutch accent. The nanny was 46 at the time, but looked 52. “She was a large buxom woman with a mole on her face and an aching in her heart” said Brando. “Brunhilde made a man out of me in the woodshed.” Brando became attached to her, and was distraught when she left him. For the rest of his life, Brando was distraught over her loss.

Bud

Brando, whose childhood nickname was “Bud” was a mimic from his youth. He developed an ability to absorb the mannerisms of children he played with and display them dramatically while staying in character. He was introduced to neighborhood boy Wally Cox and the two were closest friends until Cox’s death in 1973. Brando had been held back a year in school and was later expelled from Libertyville High School for riding his motorcycle through the corridors.

At age 18, Marlon went to New York to study acting. His first big role was Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan. Brando brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski to the screen in Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). The role is regarded as one of Brando’s greatest. The reception of Brando’s performance was so positive that Brando quickly became a male sex symbol in Hollywood. The role earned him his first Academy Award nomination in the Best Actor category.

Remembering Marlon Brando — Marlon Brando Illustration By Paul King Art

Viva Zapata, Julius Caesar, On The Waterfront, Guys and Dolls, Mutiny on the Bounty and others made Marlon one of the most influential actors of the 20th century. He received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned six decades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and three British Academy Film Awards.

The Wild One

To Brando’s expressed puzzlement, The Wild One inspired teen rebellion and made him a role model to the nascent rock-and-roll generation and future stars such as James Dean and Elvis Presley. After the movie’s release, the sales of leather jackets and motorcycles skyrocketed.

Brando’s greatest role of all is as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. Many agree The Godfather is the greatest movie ever made. Brando was married 3 times and fathered at least 31 children. When it came to famous women, he had them all, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Moreno, Ladybird Johnson, Ethel Merman, Raquel Welch and Grace Slick. Brando passed away July 1, 2004, at the age of 80.