Actors - Marlon Brando

Home > Listing Index > Actors > Marlon Brando

	Actors - Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an Oscar winning American actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest film actors of the twentieth century. He brought the techniques of either the Stanislavski System or method acting (commonly mistaken for the same acting technique) to prominence in the films A Streetcar Named Desire
and On the Waterfront
, both directed by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s. His acting style, combined with his public persona as an outsider uninterested in the Hollywood of the early 1950s, had a profound effect on a generation of actors, including James Dean and Paul Newman, and later stars, including Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

Biography

Youth and early acting career

Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1935, when Brando was 11 years old, his parents, Marlon Brando Sr. and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando separated. His mother briefly took her three children to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California until 1937 when the parents reconciled and moved to Libertyville, Illinois, a village north-west of Chicago. The family were of primarily Dutch, Irish and English stock, although the family name originated in Germany (Brandau). Brando's mother was a kind and talented woman, although she suffered from alcoholism and was frequently absent in Brando's childhood. She was involved in local theater and helped a young Henry Fonda to begin his own acting career, and fuelled Brando's interest in stage acting. Brando was a gifted mimic from early childhood and developed a rare ability to absorb the tics and mannerisms of people he played and to display those traits dramatically while staying in character. His elder sister, Jocelyn Brando, was also an actress, albeit not of the same stature as Marlon.

Brando had a tumultuous childhood, in which he was expelled from several schools. His father was largely critical of his son, but encouraged him to seek his own direction. Brando left Illinois for New York City, where he studied at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, New School Dramatic Workshop, and the Actors' Studio. It was at the New School's Dramatic Workshop that he studied with Stella Adler and learned the revolutionary techniques of the Stanislavski System.

Brando used his Stanislavski System skills in summer-stock roles in Sayville, New York. 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. Critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" for his role as an anguished, paraplegic veteran in Truckline Café, although the play was a commercial failure. He achieved real stardom, however, as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947, directed by Elia Kazan. Brando sought out that role, driving out to Provincetown, Massachusetts where Williams was spending the summer to audition for the part. Williams recalled that he opened the screen door and knew, instantly, that he had his Stanley Kowalski.

On the screen

According to an article in the Times, Brando auditioned and was accepted immediately for the lead role in "Rebel Without A Cause" in 1947. He turned the role down and the film was not made until 1955 with James Dean as lead. It is not known why Brando rejected the offer but it is suggested that he did not want to sign the 6-year contract that was neccessary at the time.

Brando's first screen role was the bitter crippled veteran in The Men in 1950. True to his method, Brando spent a month in bed at a veterans' hospital to prepare for the role.

He made a much larger impression the following year when he brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski to the screen in Kazan's adaptation of "Streetcar" in 1951. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for that role, and again in each of the next three years for his roles in Viva Zapata!
in 1952, Julius Caesar in 1953 and On the Waterfront
in 1954.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Marlon Brando ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Marlon Brando; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Actors - Marlon Brando

Biography

Youth and early acting career

On the screen

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay