Marlon Brando, Jr. (Aprile 3, 1924 – Julie 1, 2004) wis an American actor an activist. He is hailed for bringin a grippin realism tae film actin an is eften citit as ane o the greatest an maist influential actors o aw time. Brando is widely kent for hisAcademy Awaird-winnin performances as Terry Malloy inOn the Waterfront (1954) an DonVito Corleone inThe Godfather (1972). Brando wis anactivist for mony causes, notably theCeevil Richts Muivement an variousNative American movements.
He ineetially gained acclaim an an Academy Awaird nomination for reprisin the role oStanley Kowalski in the 1951 film adaptation oTennessee Williams' playA Streetcar Named Desire, a role that he oreeginatit successfully onBroadway.[2] He received forder praise for his performance as Terry Malloy inOn the Waterfront, an his portrayal o the rebellious motorcycle gang leader Johnny Strabler inThe Wild One pruived tae be a lastin eemage in popular cultur.[3] Brando received Academy Awaird nominations for playinEmiliano Zapata inViva Zapata!;Mark Antony inJoseph L. Mankiewicz's 1953film adaptation oShakespeare'sJulius Caesar; an Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver inSayonara (1957), an adaption oJames Michener's 1954 novelle. Brando wis includit in a leet oTop Ten Money Making Stars three times in the 1950s, comin in at nummer 10 in 1954, number 6 in 1955, an number 4 in 1958.
The 1960s pruived tae be a fauch decade for Brando. He directit an starned in thecult western filmOne-Eyed Jacks, a creetical an commercial flop, efter that he delivered a series o box-office failyies, beginnin wi the1962 film adaptation o the novelleMutiny on the Bounty. Efter 10 years, in that he did nae appear in a successfu film, he wan his seicont Academy Awaird for playin Vito Corleone inFrancis Ford Coppola'sThe Godfather, a role creetics conseeder amang his greatest.The Godfather wis then ane o the maist commercially successfu films o aw time. Wi that an his Oscar-nominatit performance inLast Tango in Paris, Brando re-established himsel in the ranks o tap box-office stars, placin saxt an tent in the Money Making Stars poll in 1972 an 1973, respectively. Brando teuk a fower-year hiatus afore appearin inThe Missouri Breaks (1976). Efter this, he wis content wi bein a heichly paidchairacter actor incameo roles, sic as inSuperman (1978) anThe Formula (1980), afore takkin a nine-year break frae motion pictures. Accordin tae theGuinness Book of World Records, Brando wis paid a record $3.7 million ($16 million in inflation-adjuistit dollars) an 11.75% o the gross profits for 13 days' wark onSuperman. He finished out the 1970s wi his controversial performance asColonel Kurtz in anither Coppola film,Apocalypse Now, a box-office hit for that he wis heichly paid an that helped finance his career layaff in the 1980s.
Brando wis ranked bi theAmerican Film Institute as thefowert-greatest movie starn amang male movie starns that's screen debuts occurred in or afore 1950. He wis ane o anly fower professional actors, alang wiCharlie Chaplin,Ronald Reagan anMarilyn Monroe, named in 1999 biTime magazine as ane o its100 Most Important People of the Century.[4] He dee'd orespiratory failyie on Julie 1, 2004, at age 80.
