Broadcast: October 24, 2004
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
I'm Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And, I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today, we
tell about actor Marlon Brando. Many critics say he was the greatest actor of
all time. And many actors say he influenced them more than any other person
in the film industry.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
There was no public service to honor Marlon Brando when he died in two
thousand four at the age of eighty. The actor's sister, Jocelyn Brando, said
he would have hated such an event. The family held a small private ceremony
instead.
Brando did not seek public attention when he was alive. He protected his
private life. But he was a huge star. This, combined with his personal
tragedies and his politics, made him a special target of the press.
VOICE TWO:
Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska in nineteen twenty-four. He was
named after his father, a salesman, but his family called him Bud. His
mother, Dorothy, was an actress in the local theater. He had two older
sisters.
Marlon Brando's childhood was not happy. His parents drank too much alcohol
and argued often. Dorothy Brando blamed her husband for the failure of her
acting career. The older Marlon Brando did not have a good relationship with
his son. In a book about his life, the actor wrote that his father never had
anything good to say about his son.
VOICE ONE:
The Brandos moved many times when Marlon was young. His parents separated
when he was eleven, but they re-united after two years. Young Marlon was
always getting into trouble at school. His father decided to send him to a
military school in Minnesota. Marlon did not do well in classes there. But he
did find support for his interest in theater. A drama teacher urged him to
begin acting in plays there and he did. But he was expelled from the school
for getting into trouble.
VOICE TWO:
Marlon Brando moved to New York City when he was nineteen years old in
nineteen forty-three. He took acting classes at the New School for Social
Research. One of his teachers was Stella Adler, who taught the "Method" style
of realistic acting. The Method teaches actors how to use their own memories
and emotions to identify with the characters they are playing.
Marlon Brando learned the Method style quickly and easily. Critics say he was
probably the greatest Method actor ever. One famous actress commented on his
natural ability for it. She said teaching Marlon Brando the Method was like
sending a tiger to jungle school.
Marlon Brando appeared in several plays. He got his first major part in a
Broadway play in nineteen forty-seven, at the age of twenty-three. He
received great praise for his powerful performance as Stanley Kowalski in the
Tennessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire."
His fame grew when he acted the same part in the movie version, released in
nineteen fifty-one. Brando plays an angry working-class man. His wife's
sister, Blanche, comes to visit them in New Orleans, Louisiana. Blanche's
family used to be rich landowners but they lost all their property. Now she
is mentally unstable. Stanley treats Blanche unkindly and insults her. Here,
he tells Blanche what he thinks about women.
(ACT ONE: "A Streetcar Named Desire")
"I don't go in for that stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Compliments to women about their looks. I never met a dame yet didn't know
if she was good-lookin' or not without bein' told. And there's some of them
that give themselves credit for more than they've got. I once went out with a
dame who told me, 'I'm the glamorous type'…she says 'I am the glamorous
type.' I says 'so what?'"
"And what did she say then?"
"She didn't say nothin'. I shut her up like a clam."
VOICE ONE:
"Streetcar" was Brando's second film. He was nominated for an Academy Award
for the performance. He was nominated for Oscars for his next two films as
well. In nineteen fifty-two he played Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano
Zapata in the movie "Viva Zapata." The following year he played Marc Antony
in "Julius Caesar."
Marlon Brando did not win an Oscar for Best Actor until nineteen fifty-four
for the movie "On the Waterfront." Many critics consider it his finest
performance. The film's director, Elia Kazan, said it was the best
performance by a male actor in the history of film.
Brando plays Terry Malloy, a failed boxer. He informs on organized crime
leaders, including his brother, Charlie. His brother had made him lose fights
on purpose so Charlie could make money gambling on the fights. But now, Terry
expresses his regrets about losing the fights.
(ACT TWO: "On The Waterfront")
"You don't understand. I could'a' had class. I could'a' been a contender. I
could've been somebody instead of a bum which is what I am. Let's face it."
