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Marlon Brando
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Marlon Brando (1924-2004) was an Academy Award winning film actor known for his method acting, intensity of performance, the rapid weight gain in later years, and the continual mumbling throughout his career. The actor first made a name for himself with his portrayal of Stanley in the stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire, a role he reprised on film in 1951. In addition to a spate of biographical roles in the 1950s (including Emiliano Zapata, Marc Antony, and Napoleon Bonaparte), Brando starred as Terry Molloy in the gritty On the Waterfront (which included his famous "I could have been a contender" speech), for which he won his first Oscar for Best Actor, and in the biker film The Wild One.
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Marlon Brando's film debut is a riveting performance as an ex-WWII GI who returns home after he is paralyzed in battle. Residing in a veteran's hospital with cantankerous roommates Jack Webb and Richard Erdman, Brando struggles to get on with his life while pursuing a doomed romance with Teresa Wright. Powerful drama co-stars Everett Sloane, Arthur Jurado. AKA: "Battle Stripe." 85 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
No other actor since Marlon Brando has had such an influence on the world of acting, or on succeeding generations of actors. He is seen by some as the greatest actor of all time. Although in later life he professed contempt toward acting, Brando would continue to act in films until his death. Marlon Brando was born in 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. A troubled child with an alcoholic, bullying father, his acting skills emerged early to combat loneliness.
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The Associated Press reports that Actor Marlon Brando has passed away at age 80. The death occurred at an undisclosed Los Angeles hospital Thursday, attorney David J. Seeley said Friday. The cause of death was being withheld, Seeley said, noting the actor "was a very private man."
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Considered to be the greatest film actor of all time, Marlon Brando began his career in the theater, perfecting what would come to be known as "The Method" technique of acting. He made his film debut in Fred Zinnemann's The Men (1950) playing a paraplegic soldier. It was his next role as Stanley Kowalski in the movie version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) that gave him his first of eight Academy Award nominations. The young Brando followed that iconic performance with a string of Oscar-nominated performances — in Viva Zapata! (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), The Wild One (1953) and On the Waterfront (1954), for which Brando earned his first Best Actor Oscar. For the next 20 years, Brando made a string of failures (The Fugitive Kind, Reflections in a Golden Eye) and very few hits, but still managed to become the second actor (after Liz Taylor) to command a $1 million salary.
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As the 1960s dawned, Marlon Brando joined many stars in participating in the political controversies of the era. Brando was a visible activist for Civil Rights, especially those of Native Americans and African Americans. He stood at the top of the motion picture world with an unmatched record of achievement, including a string of Academy Award® nominations, one statuette and almost universal respect for his acting abilities. But, he ... had a growing reputation as a difficult actor to work with and had begun to express his disdain for the profession. Difficulties with the studios had led to contract problems that continue to plague his career.
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Marlon Brando