Brando, Marlon (1924–2004)

A studio picture of the US actor Marlon Brando during the 1960s. The formality of dress and pose is in deliberate contrast to the roles Brando played in the two major movies he made during the early 1960s – One-Eyed Jacks and Mutiny on the Bounty.

The cast of the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, New York, USA, in 1947 included US actors Marlon Brando and Kim Hunter (seen embracing in the background), And English actor Jessica Tandy. The film of the play (1951) replaced Jessica Tandy with English actor Vivien Leigh, and made a film star of Brando.

US actor. One of the great exponents of method acting, he had a powerful presence on both stage and screen, and was one of the most influential actors of his generation. He won Best Actor Academy Awards for On the Waterfront (1954) and The Godfather (1972), although he declined the second award to protest against Hollywood's portrayal of American Indians. Brando directed one film, the psychological Western One Eyed Jacks (1961).

Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and began his career in New York City. He made his Broadway debut in I Remember Mama (1944) and achieved fame in the play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), dazzling critics and changing the way the play was perceived. His subsequent films include The Men (1950), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), and The Wild One (1954). In 1959 he formed Pennebar Productions to make One Eyed Jacks. Later films include Last Tango in Paris (1973), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Freshman (1990), Don Juan DeMarco (1995), and The Score (2001). His influence has been evident in the work of more recent actors, including Robert De Niro.

He published his autobiography, Songs My Mother Taught Me, in 1994.