2004-10-23
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
I'm Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And, I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special
English. Today, we tell about actor Marlon Brando. Many critics say
he was the greatest actor of all time. And many actors say he
influenced them more than any other person in the film industry.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
There was no public service to honor Marlon Brando when he died
in two thousand four at the age of eighty. The actor's sister,
Jocelyn Brando, said he would have hated such an event. The family
held a small private ceremony instead.
Brando did not seek public attention when he was alive. He
protected his private life. But he was a huge star. This, combined
with his personal tragedies and his politics, made him a special
target of the press.
VOICE TWO:
Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska in nineteen
twenty-four. He was named after his father, a salesman, but his
family called him Bud. His mother, Dorothy, was an actress in the
local theater. He had two older sisters.
Marlon Brando's childhood was not happy. His parents drank too
much alcohol and argued often. Dorothy Brando blamed her husband for
the failure of her acting career. The older Marlon Brando did not
have a good relationship with his son. In a book about his life, the
actor wrote that his father never had anything good to say about his
son.
VOICE ONE:
The Brandos moved many times when Marlon was young. His parents
separated when he was eleven, but they re-united after two years.
Young Marlon was always getting into trouble at school. His father
decided to send him to a military school in Minnesota. Marlon did
not do well in classes there. But he did find support for his
interest in theater. A drama teacher urged him to begin acting in
plays there and he did. But he was expelled from the school for
getting into trouble.
VOICE TWO:
Marlon Brando moved to New York City when he was nineteen years
old in nineteen forty-three. He took acting classes at the New
School for Social Research. One of his teachers was Stella Adler,
who taught the "Method" style of realistic acting. The Method
teaches actors how to use their own memories and emotions to
identify with the characters they are playing.
Marlon Brando learned the Method style quickly and easily.
Critics say he was probably the greatest Method actor ever. One
famous actress commented on his natural ability for it. She said
teaching Marlon Brando the Method was like sending a tiger to jungle
school.
Marlon Brando appeared in several plays. He got his first major
part in a Broadway play in nineteen forty-seven, at the age of
twenty-three. He received great praise for his powerful performance
as Stanley Kowalski in the Tennessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar
Named Desire."
His fame grew when he acted the same part in the movie version,
released in nineteen fifty-one. Brando plays an angry working-class
man. His wife's sister, Blanche, comes to visit them in New Orleans,
Louisiana. Blanche's family used to be rich landowners but they lost
all their property. Now she is mentally unstable. Stanley treats
Blanche unkindly and insults her. Here, he tells Blanche what he
thinks about women.
(ACT ONE: "A Streetcar Named
Desire")
"I don't go in for that stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Compliments to women about their looks. I never met a dame yet
didn't know if she was good-lookin' or not without bein' told. And
there's some of them that give themselves credit for more than
they've got. I once went out with a dame who told me, 'I'm the
glamorous type'…she says 'I am the glamorous type.' I says 'so
what?'"
"And what did she say then?"
"She didn't say nothin'. I shut her up like a clam."
VOICE ONE:
"Streetcar" was Brando's second film. He was nominated for an
Academy Award for the performance. He was nominated for Oscars for
his next two films as well. In nineteen fifty-two he played Mexican
revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata in the movie "Viva Zapata." The
following year he played Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar."
Marlon Brando did not win an Oscar for Best Actor until nineteen
fifty-four for the movie "On the Waterfront." Many critics consider
it his finest performance. The film's director, Elia Kazan, said it
was the best performance by a male actor in the history of film.
Brando plays Terry Malloy, a failed boxer. He informs on
organized crime leaders, including his brother, Charlie. His brother
had made him lose fights on purpose so Charlie could make money
gambling on the fights. But now, Terry expresses his regrets about
losing the fights.
(ACT TWO: "On The Waterfront")
"You don't understand. I could'a' had class. I could'a' been a
contender. I could've been somebody instead of a bum which is what I
am. Let's face it."
VOICE TWO:
Marlon Brando acted in about forty movies. He was nominated for a
total of eight Academy Awards. In his movies, he played a Japanese
translator, a German Nazi military officer and the father of
Superman. He even sang in a movie musical called "Guys and Dolls."
His real life was as colorful as his many movie characters. His
love life was especially active. He married actress Anna Kashfi in
nineteen fifty-seven. The marriage had problems from the start.
Their child, a son named Christian, was born a few months after they
married. They separated the next year.
In nineteen sixty, Brando married Movita Castenada, a
Mexican-American actress. They had two children before they
separated in nineteen sixty-two. The same year, he married a
Tahitian actress, Tarita. The two had met while filming the movie
"Mutiny On the Bounty."
Brando's marriage to Tarita lasted ten years. But his love of
Tahiti never ended. In nineteen sixty-six, he bought a small island
near Tahiti. Brando divided his time between his island and his home
in California for the rest of his life.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Critics say Marlon Brando began to
suffer professionally during and after his work on "Mutiny on the
Bounty." Hollywood directors and producers considered him difficult
to work with. Some critics said the actor appeared to be tired of
acting.
But that changed in nineteen seventy-two when Brando appeared in
"The Godfather." At first, the film studio officials did not want
Brando in the movie. But the director, Francis Ford Coppola, chose
him for the part. The film was a major critical and financial
success. Brando was praised for his performance as the Godfather,
Vito Corleone, the powerful head of a criminal organization in New
York City. He speaks to a man who wants the Godfather to have
someone killed.
(ACT THREE: "The Godfather")
"If you'd come to me in friendship then this scum that ruined
your daughter would be suffering this very day. And if by chance an
honest man like yourself should make enemies then they would become
my enemies. And then they would fear you."
VOICE TWO:
Marlon Brando won the Best Actor Oscar for "The Godfather." But
he rejected it. He sent a woman named Sasheen Littlefeather to speak
for him at the Academy Awards ceremony. She said that Brando could
not accept the award because of the way the American film industry
treated Native Americans. The people at the Academy Awards ceremony
did not like the speech. But some experts think the action helped
change the way American Indians were shown in movies.
Marlon Brando was also active in the civil rights movement. He
spoke out against racism often and forcefully. He marched in
demonstrations. And he gave money to civil rights groups.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Marlon Brando had two family tragedies. In nineteen ninety, his
son, Christian, shot and killed a Tahitian man at the family's home
in California. The victim, Dag Drollet, was the boyfriend of
Brando's daughter, Cheyenne. Christian Brando said the killing was
accidental. He was found guilty of responsibility in the death and
served almost five years in prison.
During the trial, Marlon Brando told the court that he and Anna
Kashfi had failed Christian as parents. He also apologized to the
Drollet family and said he wished he could trade places with their
son.
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen ninety-five, Marlon Brando's daughter Cheyenne killed
herself. She had struggled with mental problems and was still
depressed about the killing of her boyfriend.
Marlon Brando never made public statements about the death of his
daughter. But reports said he blamed himself. He did not attend his
daughter's funeral in Tahiti.
VOICE ONE:
In the following nine years, he made just four more movies. And
the parts he played were small. But his influence on the American
film industry was huge. When Marlon Brando died, many famous actors
expressed regret. One of them said simply: "He was the best."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve
Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another People
in America in VOA Special English.