Screen legend Marlon Brando passes on

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Friday, July 02, 2004

THE GODFATHER of cinema has died. Marlon Brando, one of the 20th century's most celebrated actors and a two-time Academy Award winner, died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 80. Brando's passing was relayed to the media by his attorney.

First gaining notice for his performance in the 1951 movie A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Brando won universal acclaim (and his first Oscar) in the legendary 1954 film ON THE WATERFRONT. Brando went on to create great performances using an approach to his work referred to as "method acting", placing himself in the shoes of the character for duration of the production and improvising dialogue and scenes. Even though his career had moments when he wasn't in the spotlight, Brando always seemed to find a role that brought him back to the forefront of the public's attention, such as with his role in the exotic LAST TANGO IN PARIS, portraying the father of SUPERMAN (1978), insane Vietnam colonel Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) and of course as Don Corleone in Coppola's first two GODFATHER films.

In his latter years eccentricity seemed to surprass his fame for his acting accomplishments. While nominated for another Oscar in 1989's A DRY WHITE SEASON, the past two decades had seen Brando turn into a celebrity recluse. Part of his larger-than-life image also came from the actor's bucking of being branded a celebrity; during the 1972 Oscar ceremony, when Brando's name was called for Best Actor in THE GODFATHER, a Native American woman named Sasheen Littlefeather came on-stage to reject the award and call attention to the racism given to Native Americans by the American public.


Even with his turbulent life sometimes overshadowing his on-screen performances during his career, Marlon Brando has earned the right to be called one of the great actors of modern cinema. His impact on the movies and in popular culture will continue to reverberate for decades to come.


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