Marlon Brando Dies at Age 80 (CBS 5 News)--The man called the greatest actor of all time has died. CBS 5 News has learned Marlon Brando passed away Thursday in Los Angeles. Brando may be best known for his roles in "The Godfather" and "On the Waterfront". He won oscars for his work in those 2 films. The cause of death is still unknown. Marlon Brando was 80 years old. -- R.I.P.
Wow, less than a day ago, there were stories coming out that he'd fallen on tough times. Hollywood News > Marlon Brando is living like a recluse New York, July 1 (ANI): A new biography on veteran actor Marlon Brando has revealed that the "Godfather" actor has fallen upon such tough times, that he has to live in a one-room house, owes banks 20 million dollars and survives on his Screen Actor's Guild pension. According to The New York Daily News, the biography titled "Brando in Twilight" has been written by Patricia Ruiz and reveals that the reclusive star came under financial constraint due to huge amounts he spent while defending his son Christian, who was accused of manslaughter in 1990. According to the biography, Brando keeps the Oscar, which he won for "On the Waterfront" hidden because he thinks it will be seized as payment for his debts. The 80-year old actor, who first won critical acclaim for his role in the 1951 classic "A Streetcar Named Desire" also spent his fortune on the support payments for three children he had with former maid Cristina Ruiz. http://news.newkerala.com/world-news/index.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=26586 Brando broke and alone 02jul04 MARLON Brando hides his Oscars for On the Waterfront and The Godfather for fear they will be seized by debt collectors. The 80-year-old recluse owes more than $28 million and his sporadic voice-over work supplements a social security pension and an additional pension from the Screen Actors Guild. He has just accepted a small contract for a voice-over in a cartoon feature called Big Bug Man. Taxpayers fund his autistic son Timothy's education. And his former maid and lover, Cristina Ruiz, is threatening to sue him over his failure to pay $15,000 a month to support her and their three children, including ten-year-old Timothy. The actor's plight is detailed in a book, Brando in Twilight, by author Patricia Ruiz, no relation to Ms Ruiz. It is almost certain that he will die impoverished -- he can never repay his debts," said one associate. The author says Brando's home, Frangipani, in LA's Mulholland Drive, is shabby, with worn furniture and beaded curtains from the 1970s. Neighbour Jack Nicholson is said to invite him for a meal and drop off food. http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10014098%255E2902,00.html
Here's the thing. Only ONE television station in PHOENIX is reporting this. They claim he died on Thursday. The networks haven't been able to confirm anything. LA stations haven't been able to confirm anything. KNBC in Los Angeles went by the house...there's no activity there, and someone at the house told their photographer that he was out of town. PD says they haven't responded to a call at the house (they are required to tell the media if they did, if the media asks; and yes, PD goes to dead bodies, including natural deaths). KPHO, the station reporting this, claims they have an exclusive interview on it...which, of course, they're not airing. I wouldn't put all my chips on him being dead quite yet. One TV station in Phoenix reporting this isn't exactly credible. But, if it is true, RIP.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! One of the greatest actors to ever live!! RIP
I liked The Freshman, as well. I thought it was interesting that, these days, Brando basically refused to learn his lines. He'd have a transmitter in his ear through which someone would feed him his lines. Crazy, but with his history, he was allowed to get away with it. I did like the story, probably not true, talking about his earpiece being the same frequency of the police band during the shoot on The Score. So, every once in a while, DeNiro would say his line and Brondo would shoot back with something like "10-18 in progress. Officers on scene." I'm sure that story is a joke, but I thought it was funny.
I remember in "The Score" Brando didn't like working with Frank Oz, he didn't even want to be in the same room as him, so whenever Brando had to do a scene, Robert DeNiro had to direct it in place of Oz. DeNiro, I believe, is listed in the credits as one of the directors
