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A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable. The developed film is later evaluated by the relevant production personnel such as the casting director and the director. The actor may be asked to bring a prepared monologue or alternatively, the actor may be given a script to read at sight ("cold reading"). In some cases, the actor may be asked to read a scene, in which another performer reads the lines of another character.

Types[link]

Screen tests can also be used to judge the suitability of costume, make-up and other details, but these are generally called costume or make-up tests. Different types of actors can have different tasks for each individual test. For example, a lead for a musical theater-type movie could be requested to sing a popular song or learn a dance routine. Screen tests are routinely used in films and commercials.

International actors such as Bruce Lee are given screen tests to demonstrate that they were sufficiently articulate in the relevant language. In Lee's case, for the role of Kato in The Green Hornet, he was asked to converse about Chinese culture in English to judge his grasp of the language, then to demonstrate some martial arts moves to show off his physical skills.

See also[link]

• Audition

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Marlon Brando
Publicity photo for The Wild One (1953)
Born	Marlon Brando, Jr. (1924-04-03)April 3, 1924 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	July 1, 2004(2004-07-01) (aged 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Respiratory failure
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Education	The New School
Alma mater	Actors Studio
Years active	1944–2004
Influenced by	Stella Adler, Constantin Stanislavski, Elia Kazan, Erwin Piscator
Home town	Libertyville, Illinois
Height	5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m)
Spouse	Anna Kashfi (1957–59) Movita Castaneda (1960–62) Tarita Teriipia (1962–72)
Children	15, including: Christian Brando (deceased) Cheyenne Brando (deceased) Stephen Blackehart
Parents	Marlon Brando, Sr. Dodie Brando
Website
www.marlonbrando.com

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture,^[1] Brando was one of only three professional actors, along with Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe, named by Time magazine as one of its 100 Persons of the Century in 1999.^[2]

Brando had a significant impact on film acting, and was the foremost example of the "method" acting style. While he became notorious for his "mumbling" diction and exuding a raw animal magnetism,^[3] his mercurial performances were nonetheless highly regarded, and he is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century.^[4][5] Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'."^[6] Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one."^[7] He was ranked by the American Film Institute as the fourth greatest screen legend among male movie stars.

An enduring cultural icon, Brando became a box office star during the 1950s, during which time he racked up five Oscar nominations as Best Actor, along with three consecutive wins of the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He initially gained popularity for recreating the role as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a Tennessee Williams play that had established him as a Broadway star during its 1947-49 stage run; and for his Academy Award-winning performance as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954), as well as for his iconic portrayal of the rebel motorcycle gang leader Johnny Strabler in The Wild One (1953), which is considered to be one of the most famous images in pop culture. Brando was also nominated for the Oscar for playing Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata! (1952); Mark Antony in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1953 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; and as Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver in Sayonara (1957), Joshua Logan's adaption of James Michener's 1954 novel. Brando made the Top Ten Money Making Stars, as ranked by Quigley Publications' annual survey of movie exhibitors, three times in the decade, coming in at number 10 in 1954, number 6 in 1955, and number 4 in 1958.

Brando directed and starred in the cult western film One-Eyed Jacks that was released in 1961, after which he delivered a series of box office failures beginning with the non-success of the 1962 film adaptation of Mutiny on the Bounty. The 1960s proved to be a fallow decade for Brando, and after 10 years in which he did not appear in a commercially successful movie, he won his second Academy Award for playing Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972), a role critics consider among his greatest. The movie, which became the most commercially successful film of all time when it was released — along with his Oscar-nominated performance as Paul in Last Tango in Paris (1972), another smash hit — revitalized Brando's career and reestablished him in the ranks of top box office stars, placing him at number 6 and number 10 in Top 10 Money Making Stars poll in 1972 and 1973, respectively.

Brando failed to capitalize on the momentum of his revitalized career, taking a long hiatus before appearing in The Missouri Breaks (1976), a box office bomb. Afterwards, he was content to be a highly-paid character actor in parts that were glorified cameos in Superman (1978) and The Formula (1980) before taking a nine-year break from motion pictures. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Brando was paid a record $3.7 million ($14,190,445 in today's funds^[8]) plus 11.75% of the gross profits for 13 days work playing Jor-El in Superman, further adding to his mystique. He finished out the decade of the 1970s with his highly-controversial performance as Colonel Walter Kurtz in another Coppola film, Apocalypse Now (1979), a box office hit for which he was highly paid and that helped finance his career layoff during the 1980s.

Brando was also an activist, supporting many issues, notably the African-American Civil Rights Movement and various American Indian Movements.

Early life[link]

Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Marlon Brando, Sr., a pesticide and chemical feed manufacturer, and his wife, Dorothy Julia (née Pennebaker).^[4] His parents moved to Evanston, Illinois, but separated when he was eleven years old. His mother took her three children: Jocelyn (1919–2005), Frances (1922–1994) and Marlon, to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California.^[4] In 1937, Brando's parents reconciled and moved together to Libertyville, Illinois, north of Chicago.^[4]

Brando's ancestry included German, Dutch, English, and Irish.^[9][10][11] His patrilineal ancestor, Johann Wilhelm Brandau, was a German immigrant to New York in the early 1700s.^[12] Brando was raised a Christian Scientist.^[13] His paternal grandmother, Marie Holloway, abandoned her family when Marlon Brando, Sr., was five years old. She used the money her husband Eugene sent her to support her gambling and alcoholism.^[9]

Marlon Brando, Sr., was a talented amateur photographer. His wife, known as Dodie, was unconventional but talented, having been an actress.^[14][15] She smoked, wore trousers, and drove cars, unusual for women at the time. However, she was an alcoholic and often had to be brought home from Chicago bars by her husband; she finally joined Alcoholics Anonymous. Dodie Brando acted and was a theater administrator. She helped Henry Fonda to begin his acting career, and fueled her son Marlon's interest in stage acting. However, Brando was closer to his maternal grandmother, Bessie Gahan Pennebaker Meyers, than to his mother. Widowed while young, Meyers worked as a secretary and later as a Christian Science practitioner. Her father, Myles Gahan, was a doctor from Ireland; her mother, Julia Watts, was from England.^[16]

Brando was a mimic from early childhood and developed an ability to absorb the mannerisms of people he played and display them dramatically while staying in character. His sister Jocelyn Brando was the first to pursue an acting career, going to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. She appeared on Broadway, then movies and television. Brando's sister Frances left college in California to study art in New York. Brando soon followed her.

Brando had been held back a year in school and was later expelled from Libertyville High School for riding his motorcycle through the corridors.^[17] He was sent to Shattuck Military Academy, where his father had studied before him. Brando excelled at theatre and did well in the school. In his final year (1943), he was put on probation for being insubordinate to a visiting army colonel during maneuvers. He was confined to his room, but sneaked into town, and was caught. The faculty voted to expel him, though he was supported by the students, who thought expulsion was too harsh. He was invited back for the following year, but decided instead to drop out of high school.^[18]

Brando worked as a ditch-digger as a summer job arranged by his father. Brando then attempted to join the army, but at his induction physical it was discovered that a football injury that he had sustained at Shattuck had left him with a trick knee. Brando was therefore classified as a 4-F, and not inducted into the army.^[9] He then decided to follow his sisters to New York. His father supported him for six months, then offered to help him find a job as a salesman. However, Brando left to study at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, part of the Dramatic Workshop of The New School with the influential German director Erwin Piscator and at the Actors Studio. He also studied with Stella Adler and learned the techniques of the Stanislavski System. There is a story in which Adler spoke about teaching Brando, saying that she had instructed the class to act like chickens, then adding that a nuclear bomb was about to fall on them. Most of the class clucked and ran around wildly, but Brando sat calmly and pretended to lay an egg. Asked by Adler why he had chosen to react this way, he said, "I'm a chicken - What do I know from a bomb?"^[19]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

A 24-year-old Brando as Stanley Kowalski on the set of the stage version of A Streetcar Named Desire, photographed by Carl Van Vechten in 1948

Brando used his Stanislavski System skills for his first summer-stock roles in Sayville, New York, on Long Island. His behavior got him kicked out of the cast of the New School's production in Sayville, but he was discovered in a locally produced play there and then made it to Broadway in the bittersweet drama I Remember Mama in 1944. Critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" for his role as an anguished veteran in Truckline Café, although the play was a commercial failure. In 1946 he appeared on Broadway as the young hero in the political drama A Flag is Born, refusing to accept wages above the Actor's Equity rate because of his commitment to the cause of Israeli independence.^[20][21] In that same year, Brando played the role of Marchbanks with Katharine Cornell in her production's revival of Candida, one of her signature roles.^[22] Cornell also cast him as The Messenger in a her production of Jean Anouilh's Antigone that same year. Brando achieved stardom, however, as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams's 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan. Brando sought out that role,^[23] driving out to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where Williams was spending the summer, to audition for the part. Williams recalled that he opened the screen door and knew, instantly, that he had his Stanley Kowalski. Brando's performance revolutionized acting technique and set the model for the American form of method acting.

In 1947, Brando was asked to do a screen test for Warner Brothers. The screen test used an early script for Rebel Without A Cause that bears no relation to the film eventually produced in 1955.^[24] The screen test appears as an extra in the 2006 DVD release of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Brando's first screen role was as the bitter paraplegic veteran in The Men in 1950. True to his method, Brando spent a month in bed at the Birmingham Army Hospital in Van Nuys to prepare for the role. By Brando's own account, it may have been because of this film that his draft status was changed from 4-F to 1-A. He had had an operation on the knee he had injured at Shattuck, and it was no longer physically debilitating enough to incur exclusion from the draft. When Brando reported to the induction center, he answered a questionnaire provided to him by saying his race was "human", his color was "Seasonal-oyster white to beige", and he told an Army doctor that he was psycho neurotic. When the draft board referred him to a psychiatrist, Brando explained how he had been expelled from Military School, and that he had severe problems with authority. Coincidentally enough, the psychiatrist knew a doctor friend of Brando, and Brando was able to avoid military service during the Korean War.^[9]

Rise to fame[link]

Brando as Emiliano Zapata in a trailer for the 1952 film Viva Zapata!

Brando brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski to the screen in Kazan's adaptation of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for that role, and again in each of the next three years for his roles in Viva Zapata! in 1952, Julius Caesar in 1953 as Mark Antony, and On the Waterfront in 1954. These first five films of his career established Brando, as evidenced in his winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in three consecutive years, 1951 to 1953.

In 1953, Brando also starred in The Wild One riding his own Triumph Thunderbird 6T motorcycle which caused consternation to Triumph's importers, as the subject matter was rowdy motorcycle gangs taking over a small town. But the images of Brando posing with his Triumph motorcycle became iconic, even forming the basis of his wax dummy at Madame Tussauds.

Later that same year, Brando starred in Lee Falk's production of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man in Boston. Falk was proud to tell people that Marlon Brando turned down an offer of $10,000 per week on Broadway, in favor of working on Falk's play in Boston. His Boston contract was less than $500 per week. It would be the last time he ever acted in a stage play.

Marlon Brando with Eva Marie Saint in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954)

Brando won the Oscar for his role as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront. For the famous I coulda' been a contender scene, Brando convinced Kazan that the scripted scene was unrealistic, and with Rod Steiger, improvised the final product.

Brando then took a variety of roles in the 1950s: portraying Napoleon in Désiréa, Sky Masterson in the musical Guys and Dolls; Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. Army in postwar Japan in The Teahouse of the August Moon; as a United States Air Force officer in Sayonara, and a German officer in The Young Lions.

In the 1960s, Brando starred in films such as One-Eyed Jacks (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct; Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), The Chase (1966), and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), portraying a repressed gay army officer. It was the type of performance that later led critic Stanley Crouch to write, "Brando's main achievement was to portray the taciturn but stoic gloom of those pulverized by circumstances."^[25] He also played a guru in the sex farce Candy (1968). Burn! (1969), which Brando would later claim as his personal favorite, was a commercial failure. His career slowed down by the end of the decade as he gained a reputation for being difficult to work with.

[edit] The Godfather

Brando's performance as Vito Corleone or 'the Don' in 1972's The Godfather was a mid-career turning point. Director Francis Ford Coppola convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test, in which Brando did his own makeup (he used cotton balls to simulate the puffed-cheek look). Coppola was electrified by Brando's characterization as the head of a crime family, but had to fight the studio in order to cast the temperamental Brando. Mario Puzo always imagined Brando as Corleone.^[26] However, Paramount studio heads wanted to give the role to Danny Thomas in the hope that Thomas would have his own production company throw in its lot with Paramount. Thomas declined the role and actually urged the studio to cast Brando at the behest of Coppola and others who had witnessed the screen test.

Eventually, Charles Bluhdorn, the president of Paramount parent Gulf + Western, was won over to letting Brando have the role; when he saw the screen test, he asked in amazement, "What are we watching? Who is this old guinea?"

Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, but turned down the Oscar, becoming the second actor to refuse a Best Actor award (the first being George C. Scott for Patton). Brando boycotted the award ceremony, sending instead American Indian Rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who appeared in full Apache dress, to state Brando's reasons, which were based on his objection to the depiction of American Indians^[27] by Hollywood and television.

The actor followed with Bernardo Bertolucci's 1973 film Last Tango in Paris, but the performance was overshadowed by an uproar over the erotic nature of the film. Despite the controversy which attended both the film and the man, the Academy once again nominated Brando for the Best Actor.

Brando, along with James Caan, was later scheduled in 1974 to appear in the final scene of The Godfather Part II. However, rewrites were made to the script when Brando refused to show up to the studio on the single day of shooting, due to disputes with the studio.

Later career[link]

Brando portrayed Superman's father Jor-El in the 1978 film Superman. He agreed to the role only on assurance that he would be paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he would not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera. It was revealed in a documentary contained in the 2001 DVD release of Superman, that he was paid $3.7 million for just two weeks of work.

Brando also filmed scenes for the movie's sequel, Superman II, but after producers refused to pay him the same percentage he received for the first movie, he denied them permission to use the footage. However, after Brando's death, the footage was reincorporated into the 2006 re-cut of the film, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

Two years after Brando's death, he "reprised" the role of Jor-El in the 2006 "loose sequel" Superman Returns, in which both used and unused archive footage of Brando as Jor-El from the first two Superman films was remastered for a scene in the Fortress of Solitude, and Brando's voice-overs were used throughout the film.

Brando starred as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now. Brando plays a highly decorated American Army Special Forces officer who goes renegade. He runs his own operations based in Cambodia and is feared by the US military as much as the Vietnamese. Brando was paid $1 million a week for his work.

Despite announcing his retirement from acting in 1980, he subsequently gave interesting supporting performances in movies such as A Dry White Season (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), The Freshman in 1990 and Don Juan DeMarco in 1995. In his last film, The Score (2001), he starred with fellow method actor Robert De Niro, who played Vito Corleone in The Godfather: Part II. Some later performances, such as The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), earned Brando some of the most uncomplimentary reviews of his career.

Brando conceived the idea of a novel called Fan-Tan with director Donald Cammell in 1979, which was not released until 2005.^[28]

In 2004, Brando signed with Tunisian film director Ridha Behion and began pre-production on a project to be titled Brando and Brando. Up to a week before his death, Brando was working on the script in anticipation of a July/August 2004 start date.^[29] Production was suspended in July 2004 following Brando's death, at which time Behi stated that he would continue the film as an homage to Brando,^[30] with a new title of Citizen Brando.^[31][32]

Personal life[link]

Relationships and family[link]

In Songs My Mother Taught Me, Brando claimed he met Marilyn Monroe at a party where she played piano, unnoticed by anybody else there, and they had an affair and maintained an intermittent relationship for many years, receiving a telephone call from her several days before she died. He also claimed numerous other romances, although he did not discuss his marriages, his wives, or his children in his autobiography.

Brando married actress Anna Kashfi in 1957. Kashfi was born in Calcutta and moved to Wales from India in 1947. She is said to have been the daughter of a Welsh steel worker of Irish descent, William O'Callaghan, who had been superintendent on the Indian State railways. However, in her book, Brando for Breakfast, she claimed that she really is half Indian and that the press incorrectly thought that her stepfather, O'Callaghan, was her real father. She said her real father was Indian and that she was the result of an "unregistered alliance" between her parents. Brando and Kashfi had a son, Christian Brando, on May 11, 1958; they divorced in 1959.

In 1960, Brando married Movita Castaneda, a Mexican-American actress seven years his senior; they were divorced in 1962. Castaneda had appeared in the first Mutiny on the Bounty film in 1935, some 27 years before the 1962 remake with Brando as Fletcher Christian. They had two children together, Miko Castaneda Brando (born 1961) and Rebecca Brando (born 1966).

Tahitian actress Tarita Teriipia, who played his love interest in Mutiny on the Bounty, became Brando's third wife on August 10, 1962. She was 20 years old, 18 years younger than Brando, who was reportedly delighted by her naiveté.^[33] Because Teriipia was a native French speaker, Brando became fluent in the language and gave numerous interviews in French.^[34][35] Teriipia became the mother of two of his children, Simon Teihotu Brando (born 1963) and Tarita Cheyenne Brando. Brando also adopted Teriipia's daughters Maimiti Brando (born 1977) and Raiatua Brando (born 1982). Brando and Teriipia divorced in July 1972.

Brando had a longterm relationship with his housekeeper Maria Christina Ruiz, by whom he had three children, Ninna Priscilla Brando (born May 13, 1989), Myles Jonathan Brando (born January 16, 1992), and Timothy Gahan Brando (born January 6, 1994). He had four more children by unidentified women, Stephen Blackehart (born 1967),^[36][37] Michael Gilman (born 1967), who was adopted by Brando's longtime friend Sam Gilman, Dylan Brando (born 1968), and Angelique Brando. Brando also adopted Petra Brando-Corval (born 1972), the daughter of his assistant Caroline Barrett and novelist James Clavell.^{[citation needed]}

Brando's grandson Tuki Brando (born 1990), son of Cheyenne Brando, is a successful fashion model. His numerous grandchildren also include Michael Brando (born 1988), son of Christian Brando, Prudence Brando and Shane Brando, children of Miko C. Brando, the three children of Teihotu Brando and the children of Michael Gilman, among others.^[38] Singer-actress Courtney Love has claimed to be Brando's granddaughter, making Frances Bean Cobain (1992) his great-granddaughter.^[39]

Death of Dag Drollet

In May 1990, Dag Drollet, the Tahitian lover of Brando's daughter Cheyenne, died of a gunshot wound after a confrontation with Cheyenne's half-brother Christian at the family's hilltop home above Beverly Hills. Christian, then 31 years old, claimed he was drunk and the shooting was accidental. After heavily publicized pre-trial proceedings, Christian pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and use of a gun. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Before the sentence, Brando delivered an hour of testimony, in which he said he and his former wife had failed Christian. He commented softly to members of the Drollet family: "I'm sorry... If I could trade places with Dag, I would. I'm prepared for the consequences." Afterward, Drollet's father, Jacques, said he thought Brando was acting and his son was "getting away with murder." The tragedy was compounded in 1995, when Cheyenne, suffering from lingering effects of a serious car accident and said to still be depressed over Drollet's death, committed suicide by hanging herself in Tahiti. Christian Brando died of pneumonia at age 49, on January 26, 2008.

Lifestyle[link]

Marlon Brando earned a "bad boy" reputation for his public outbursts and antics. According to Los Angeles magazine, "Brando was rock and roll before anybody knew what rock and roll was".^[40] His behavior during the filming of Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in director and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either. On June 12, 1973, Brando broke paparazzo Ron Galella's jaw. Galella had followed Brando, who was accompanied by talk show host Dick Cavett, after a taping of The Dick Cavett Show in New York City. He reportedly paid a $40,000 out-of-court settlement and suffered an infected hand as a result. Galella wore a football helmet the next time he photographed Brando at a gala benefiting the American Indians Development Association.

Brando made the following comment about his sex life in an interview with Gary Carey, for his 1976 biography The Only Contender, "Homosexuality is so much in fashion it no longer makes news. Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences and I am not ashamed. I have never paid much attention to what people think about me. But if there is someone who is convinced that Jack Nicholson and I are lovers, may they continue to do so. I find it amusing."^[41]

The filming of Mutiny on the Bounty affected Brando's life in a profound way, as he fell in love with Tahiti and its people. He bought a 12-island atoll, Tetiaroa, which he intended to make partly an environmental laboratory and partly a resort. Brando eventually had a now-closed hotel built on Tetiaroa, which went through many redesigns as a result of changes demanded by Brando over the years.^[42] His son Simon is the only inhabitant of Tetiaroa. Brando was an active ham radio operator, with the call signs KE6PZH and FO5GJ (the latter from his island). He was listed in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records as Martin Brandeaux to preserve his privacy.^[43]

Final years and death[link]

Brando's notoriety, his troubled family life, and his obesity attracted more attention than his late acting career. He gained a great deal of weight in the 1980s and by the mid 1990s he weighed over 300 lbs. (136 kg) and suffered from diabetes. Like Orson Welles or Elvis Presley, he had a history of weight fluctuations through his career, attributed to his years of stress-related overeating followed by compensatory dieting. He also earned a reputation for being difficult on the set, often unwilling or unable to memorize his lines and less interested in taking direction than in confronting the film director with odd demands. Brando also dabbled with some innovation in his last years. Brando had several patents issued in his name from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, all of which involve a method of tensioning drum heads, in June 2002 – November 2004. For example, see U.S. Patent 6,812,392 and its equivalents.

The actor was a longtime close friend of entertainer Michael Jackson and paid regular visits to his Neverland Ranch, resting there for weeks at a time. Brando also participated in the singer's two-day solo career thirtieth-anniversary celebration concerts in 2001, and starred in his 13-minute-long music video, "You Rock My World," in the same year. The actor's son, Miko, was Jackson's bodyguard and assistant for several years, and was a friend of the singer. He stated "The last time my father left his house to go anywhere, to spend any kind of time... was with Michael Jackson. He loved it... He had a 24-hour chef, 24-hour security, 24-hour help, 24-hour kitchen, 24-hour maid service."^[44] On Jackson's 30th anniversary concert, Brando gave a speech to the audience on humanitarian work which received a poor reaction from the audience and was unaired.

On July 1, 2004, Brando died, aged 80. He left behind eleven children as well as over thirty grandchildren. The cause of death was intentionally withheld, his lawyer citing privacy concerns. It was later revealed that he had died at UCLA Medical Center of respiratory failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. He also suffered from congestive heart failure,^[45] failing eyesight caused by diabetes, and liver cancer.^[46] Shortly before his death and despite needing an oxygen mask to breathe, he recorded his voice to appear in The Godfather: The Game, once again as Don Vito Corleone.

Karl Malden, Brando's fellow actor in A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront, and One-Eyed Jacks (the only film directed by Brando), talks in a documentary accompanying the DVD of A Streetcar Named Desire about a phone call he received from Brando shortly before Brando's death. A distressed Brando told Malden he kept falling over. Malden wanted to come over, but Brando put him off telling him there was no point. Three weeks later, Brando was dead. Shortly before his death, Brando had apparently refused permission for tubes carrying oxygen to be inserted into his lungs, which, he was told, was the only way to prolong his life.

Brando was cremated, and his ashes were put in with those of his childhood friend Wally Cox and another longtime friend Sam Gilman.^[47] They were then scattered partly in Tahiti and partly in Death Valley.^[48]

In 2007, a 165-minute biopic of Brando, Brando: The Documentary, produced by Mike Medavoy (the executor of Brando's will) for Turner Classic Movies, was released.^[49]

Politics[link]

Civil rights[link]

Brando with James Baldwin at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.

In 1946, Brando showed his dedication to the idea of a Jewish homeland by performing in Ben Hecht's Zionist play A Flag is Born. Brando's involvement had an impact on three of the most contentious issues of the early postwar period: the fight to establish a Jewish state, the smuggling of Holocaust survivors to Israel, and the battle against racial segregation in the United States.

Brando attended some fundraisers for John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.

In August 1963, Brando participated in the March on Washington along with fellow celebrities Harry Belafonte, James Garner, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, and Sidney Poitier.^[50] Brando also, along with Paul Newman, participated in the freedom rides.

In the aftermath of the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Brando made one of the strongest commitments to furthering King's work. Shortly after King's death, Brando announced that he was bowing out of the lead role of a major film (The Arrangement) which was about to begin production, in order to devote himself to the civil rights movement. "I felt I’d better go find out where it is; what it is to be black in this country; what this rage is all about," Brando said on the late night ABC-TV talk show Joey Bishop Show.

Brando's participation in the African-American civil rights movement actually began well before King's death. In the early 1960s Brando contributed thousands of dollars to both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) and to a scholarship fund established for the children of slain Mississippi N.A.A.C.P. leader Medgar Evers. By this time, Brando was already involved in films that carried messages about human rights: Sayonara, which addressed interracial romance, and The Ugly American, depicting the conduct of US officials abroad and its deleterious effect on the citizens of foreign countries. For a time Brando was also donating money to the Black Panther Party and considered himself a friend of founder Bobby Seale.^[51] However, Brando ended his financial support for the group over his perception of its increasing radicalization, specifically a passage in a Panther pamphlet put out by Eldridge Cleaver advocating indiscriminate violence, "for the Revolution."

At the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony, Brando refused to accept the Oscar for his performance in The Godfather. Sacheen Littlefeather represented Brando at the ceremony. She appeared in full Apache clothing. She stated that owing to the "poor treatment of Native Americans in the film industry", Brando would not accept the award.^[52] At this time the 1973 standoff at Wounded Knee occurred, causing rising tensions between the government and Native American activists. The event grabbed the attention of the US and the world media. This was considered a major event and victory for the movement by its supporters and participants.

Outside of his film work, Brando not only appeared before the California Assembly in support of a fair housing law, but personally joined picket lines in demonstrations protesting discrimination in housing developments.

Comments on Jews, Hollywood, and Israel[link]

In an interview in Playboy magazine in January 1979, Brando said: "You've seen every single race besmirched, but you never saw an image of the kike because the Jews were ever so watchful for that—and rightly so. They never allowed it to be shown on screen. The Jews have done so much for the world that, I suppose, you get extra disappointed because they didn't pay attention to that."^[53]

Brando made a similar comment on Larry King Live in April 1996, saying "Hollywood is run by Jews; it is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of—of people who are suffering. Because they've exploited—we have seen the—we have seen the Nigger and Greaseball, we've seen the Chink, we've seen the slit-eyed dangerous Jap, we have seen the wily Filipino, we've seen everything but we never saw the Kike. Because they knew perfectly well, that that is where you draw the wagons around." Larry King, who is Jewish, replied, "When you say—when you say something like that you are playing right in, though, to anti-Semitic people who say the Jews are—" at which point Brando interrupted. "No, no, because I will be the first one who will appraise the Jews honestly and say 'Thank God for the Jews.'"^[54]

Jay Kanter, Brando's agent, producer and friend defended him in Daily Variety: "Marlon has spoken to me for hours about his fondness for the Jewish people, and he is a well-known supporter of Israel."^[55] Similarly, Louie Kemp, in his article for Jewish Journal, wrote: "You might remember him as Don Vito Corleone, Stanley Kowalski or the eerie Col. Walter E. Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now," but I remember Marlon Brando as a mensch and a personal friend of the Jewish people when they needed it most."^[20] Brando was also a major donor to the Irgun, a Zionist political-paramilitary group. In his later years he became critical of Israel and a supporter of the Palestinian cause.^[56][20]

In an interview with NBC Today one day after Brando's death, King also defended Brando's comments, saying that they were out of proportion and taken out of context.

Legacy[link]

Honors and tributes[link]

Brando is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century.^[57] Largely credited for popularizing the "method" acting style, he has earned great respect among critics and theatre experts for his memorable performances and charismatic screen presence.^[58] In the book Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia, James Delmont wrote: "Marlon Brando was arguably the finest screen actor of the twentieth century, winning worldwide acceptance as both a movie star of the first rank and as a performer of uncommon skill."^[4] Film scholar Richard Schickel, while examining his charismatic screen presence and acting ability, argued: "As a movie actor he [Brando] has no peer in this generation. That he consistently underplays, yet still packs more emotion into a scene than anyone else, is a sign of a charisma that may be an act of God."^[59] Similarly, Roger Ebert, writing of his iconic performance in Last Tango in Paris, said: "This was the greatest movie actor of his time, the author of performances that do honor to the cinema."^[60]

Tennessee Williams, among the many who acknowledged his finesse, described Brando as "the greatest living actor ever... greater than [Laurence] Olivier."^[61] Laurence Olivier himself said: "Brando acted with an empathy and an instinctual understanding that not even the greatest technical performers could possibly match."^[59] Johnny Depp credits Brando with changing the way actors work, stating that "Marlon reinvented acting, he revolutionized acting."^[62] He also said he was "probably the most important actor - just speaking in terms of him as an actor - of the past two centuries".^[63] In a 2007 Best Life article, praising his performance in On the Waterfront, Rob Reiner wrote: "Marlon Brando gives the single greatest performance ever. It's just so natural, powerful, real, and honest."^[64]

Cultural impact[link]

Madame Tussauds waxwork exhibit of Brando in The Wild One albeit with a later 1957/8 model Triumph Thunderbird.

Marlon Brando is a cultural icon whose popularity has endured for over six decades. Brando's rise to national attention in the 1950s had a profound effect on the motion picture industry and influenced the broader scope of American culture.^[65] According to film critic Pauline Kael, "[Marlon] Brando represented a reaction against the post-war mania for security. As a protagonist, the Brando of the early fifties had no code, only his instincts. He was a development from the gangster leader and the outlaw. He was antisocial because he knew society was crap; he was a hero to youth because he was strong enough not to take the crap ... Brando represented a contemporary version of the free American ... Brando is still the most exciting American actor on the screen."^[65] Sociologist Dr. Suzanne Mcdonald-Walker states: "Marlon Brando, sporting leather jacket, jeans, and moody glare, became a cultural icon summing up 'the road' in all its maverick glory."^[66] His portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler in The Wild One has become an iconic image, used both as a symbol of rebelliousness and a fashion accessory that includes a Perfecto style motorcycle jacket, a tilted cap, jeans and sunglasses. Johnny's haircut inspired a craze for sideburns, followed by James Dean and Elvis Presley, among others.^[57] Dean copied Brando's acting style extensively and Presley used Brando's image as a model for his role in Jailhouse Rock.^[67] The "I coulda been a contenda" scene from On the Waterfront, according to the author of Brooklyn Boomer, Martin H. Levinson, is "one of the most famous scenes in motion picture history and the line itself has become part of America's cultural lexicon."^[57] Brando's powerful 'Wild One' image was still as of 2011 being marketed by the makers of his Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle in a range of clothing inspired by his character from the film and licenced by Brando's estate ^[68]

Marlon Brando was also considered a sex symbol, one of the earliest in the film industry to achieve widespread attention due to his enigmatic and sexy persona and the reports of his dalliances and relationships with various major Hollywood celebrities. Film scholar Linda Williams writes: "Marlon Brando [was] the quintessential American male sex symbol of the late fifties and early sixties".^[69]

He was one of the first actor-activists to march for civil and Native American rights.

Financial legacy[link]

Upon his death in 2004, Marlon Brando left an estate valued at $21.6 million.^[70] Brando's estate still earns about $9,000,000 per year, according to Forbes. He was named one of the top-earning dead celebrities in the world by the magazine.^[71]

Filmography[link]

Honors, awards and nominations[link]

Brando was named the fourth greatest male star in the history of American cinema by the American Film Institute, and part of Time magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.^[72] He was also named one of the top 10 "Icons of the Century" by Variety magazine.^[59][73]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Bain, David Haward. The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West. New York: Penguin Books, 2004. ISBN 0-14-303526-6.
• Bosworth, Patricia. Marlon Brando. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001. ISBN 0-297-84284-6.
• Brando, Anna Kashfi and E.P. Stein. Brando for Breakfast. New York: Crown Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-517-53686-2.
• Brando, Marlon and Donald Cammell. Fan-Tan. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4471-5.
• Brando, Marlon and Robert Lindsey. Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me. New York: Random House, 1994. ISBN 0-679-41013-9.
• Pierpont, Claudia Roth. Method Man. New Yorker, October 27, 2008.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Marlon Brando

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marlon Brando

• Marlon Brando at the Internet Movie Database
• Marlon Brando at the TCM Movie Database
• Marlon Brando at the Internet Broadway Database
• Marlon Brando at AllRovi
• The Oddfather, Rolling Stone, Jod Kaftan, April 25, 2002
• Vanity Fair: The King Who Would Be Man by Budd Schulberg
• The New Yorker: The Duke in His Domain – Truman Capote's influential 1957 interview.

Obituaries[link]

• Marlon Brando, Oscar-Winning Actor, Is Dead at 80
• Obituary from The Washington Post
• Long article on auction of Brando's possessions at The Observer (UK)

Emmy Rossum
Rossum in 2010
Born	Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (1986-09-12) September 12, 1986 (age 25) New York City, New York U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, songwriter
Years active	1996–present (actress) 1993–present (singer)
Spouse	Justin Siegel (m. 2008–2010)
Website
www.emmyrossum.com

Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter.

She first starred in a string of movies including Songcatcher (2000), An American Rhapsody, (2001) and Passionada (2002). However, it was her role in Mystic River (2003) that garnered her wider recognition. She then starred in the blockbuster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and received critical acclaim for her performance in The Phantom of the Opera (2004). She has since starred in Poseidon (2006), Dragonball: Evolution, (2009) and Dare (2009).

In 2007, Rossum released her debut album, Inside Out. She also released a Christmas EP the same year titled Carol of the Bells.

She currently stars on the Showtime dramedy Shameless, as Fiona Gallagher.

Early life[link]

Rossum was born in New York, New York,^[1] the only child^[2][3] of Cheryl, a single mother who worked as a corporate photographer and an investment banker. She was named after her grandfather, whose first name was Emanuel, using the feminine spelling Emmanuelle.^[4] She is the niece of Vera Wang, to whom she is related by marriage. Her mother is Jewish and her father is Protestant.^[5] Rossum's parents divorced before she was born and she only met her father twice while growing up.^[6]

Upon singing "Happy Birthday" in all 12 keys,^[7] Rossum was welcomed to join the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus by chorus director Elena Doria^[8] at the age of 7.^[9] Over the course of five years, she sang onstage with the chorus and had the chance to perform with other opera greats, such as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. For anywhere from $5 to $10 a night, Rossum sang in six different languages in 20 different operas, including La bohème, Turandot, a Carnegie Hall presentation of La damnation de Faust, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[10] She also worked under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli in Carmen. Rossum joked in interviews that her vocal talent and affinity for music developed because her mother always listened to classical music and operas while she was pregnant with her.

By age 12, Rossum had grown too big for the children's costumes. An increasing interest in pursuing acting led to taking classes with Flo Salant Greenberg^[11] of The New Actors Workshop in New York City. She also hired an agent and auditioned for many acting roles.

Rossum attended the Spence School, a private school in Manhattan,^[12] for years before dropping out to pursue career opportunities. ^[13] She received her high school diploma at 15 years old via online extension courses offered by Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY).^[12] She later attended Columbia University.^[14]

Acting career[link]

Rossum's television debut was in 1997, making a guest appearance on Law and Order as Alison Martin. In 1999, she had a recurring role as the original Abigail Williams in the long-running daytime soap opera As the World Turns. She also had a guest role as Caroline Beels in Snoops. Rossum was nominated for a Young Artist Award nomination in 1999 for Best Performance in a TV Movie for her work in the made-for-tv movie, Genius. Following that movie, she portrayed a young Audrey Hepburn in the ABC TV movie, The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000).

Rossum made her silver screen debut in 2000's Songcatcher as Deladis Slocumb, an Appalachian orphan. Debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, the film won the Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. For her role, Rossum received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance and also had the opportunity to sing a duet with Dolly Parton on the Songcatcher soundtrack. Variety magazine named Rossum as "One of the Ten to Watch" in 2000.

In Nola (2003), Rossum played the title character, who was an aspiring songwriter. In her first major studio film, Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, Rossum starred as Katie Markum, the ill-fated daughter of small-business owner Jimmy Markum, played by Sean Penn. As Katie, Rossum was said to have "projected an aura of innocence that made her character's tragic death memorable and heartbreaking."^[15]

Following Mystic River, Rossum had a breakthrough role as Laura Chapman in the Roland Emmerich eco-disaster film The Day After Tomorrow. She later returned to New York, where she was the last to audition, in full costume and make-up, for the coveted role of Christine Daae in the on-screen adaptation of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. Following an international search for talent, and having nearly missed the audition on account of a family engagement,^[16] Rossum was asked to audition in person for Webber at his home in New York. “When I arrived, he just said, ‘Shall we?’ meaning I was to sing. And I did," Rossum has said of the audition.^[9] After seeing her audition, Webber felt she proved her ability to play the young opera singer who becomes the object of the phantom's obsessive love. For her role as Christine Daae, Rossum received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a musical or comedy. She is the youngest actress ever to be nominated for that particular award.^[17] She also received a Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Actress, along with a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor and other awards.

In 2006, Rossum appeared in Poseidon - Wolfgang Petersen's high-budget remake of the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure. She played Jennifer Ramsey, the daughter of Kurt Russell's character, Robert Ramsey. As Jennifer, she is described as a 19-year-old heroine because she is not a damsel in distress, and is very proactive and strong in all situations.^[18]

Rossum also appeared as Juliet Capulet in a 2006 Williamstown Theatre Festival production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.^[19] In early 2009, Rossum appeared in Dragonball Evolution. Rossum described her action role in Dragonball as the hardest thing she's ever done.^[20]

Her next big screen venture was the indie Dare^[21][22] which was an official selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. In November 2009, Rossum appeared in Broadway's 24 Hour Plays in which actors, writers, and directors collaborate to produce, and perform six one act plays within 24 hours to benefit the Urban Arts Partnership. Rossum appeared in Warren Leight's "Daily Bread", directed by Lucie Tiberghien.^[23]

In the summer of 2011 Rossum starred in DJ Caruso's social film, Inside. Sponsored by Intel and Toshiba, the online film aired in several segments, incorporating multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter. Inside used the ideas from the fans to shape the plot, as well as have contests to have fans make cameo appearances through via Facebook video.

[edit] Shameless

In December 2009, Rossum joined the cast of the Showtime dramedy series pilot Shameless, based on the hit British series of the same name. The series co-stars William H. Macy and Justin Chatwin.^[24] In April 2010, Showtime announced that they would be picking up the series for a full season of twelve episodes. Production began in September 2010 and continued through the fall with shooting taking place in Los Angeles and Chicago.^[25] The show was renewed for a second season on February 28, 2011,^[26] and began shooting in Chicago on August 22, 2011.^[27] Season two premiered on January 8, 2012. An order for a third season was commissioned in February 2012. Rossum has received high critical acclaim for her performance.

Music career[link]

After her role in The Phantom of the Opera, Rossum was offered several deals to record classical albums, but refused, opting to create an album of contemporary, more mainstream music. "I was inspired to cut this album because I'm so frustrated listening to the radio these days," Rossum lamented. "There is so little emotional honesty."^[7] Regarding the sound and style of her music, she said, "It's pop music, but not Britney Spears bubblegum pop. I want it to have a David Gray or Annie Lennox feel. I've been spending up to 12 hours a day in the studio."^[7] Rossum cites Dolly Parton, Madonna, Cher and Barbra Streisand as some of her influences.^{[citation needed]}

Rossum's album Inside Out was produced by Stuart Brawley. It was released on October 23, 2007 and peaked at 199 in the U.S. charts. For the promotion of the record, Geffen Records featured the song, "Slow Me Down," as part of the second volume of Hollywood Records' Girl Next compilation album, which was released on July 10, 2007. Later that year, she was chosen as Yahoo's "Who's Next" artist of the month and a "One to Watch" by MSN. In December 2007, Rossum released three Christmas songs on the EP Carol of the Bells.

It was also this year that Rossum sang the national anthem at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway and performed at the first ever Perez Hilton Presents event at the El Rey Theatre in Hollywood. On October 27, 2007, Rossum again sang the national anthem at the New Jersey Devils's first home game of the 2007–08 NHL season, which was also the first game the team played in the newly-constructed Prudential Center. She also performed at the Hollywood Christmas Celebration at the Grove in Los Angeles^[28] and the Lighting of the Great Tree in Atlanta, Georgia.^[29]

Rossum describes herself as a lyric soprano, though she admits her voice is still developing.^[30]

In the summer of 2008, Rossum announced that she was in the process of writing and recording her second studio album.^[31]

She joined Counting Crows, Augustana, and Michael Franti & Spearhead as a "special guest" for select performances of the "Traveling Circus and Medicine Show" tour in the summer of 2009.

In 2010, Rossum sang a song called "Cruel One" on singer Alex Band's debut solo album We've All Been There. On the track she sings with Band, and Chantal Kreviazuk. The song is available on the album's deluxe edition.

Rossum continues to train vocally at ZajacStudio, Inc, a studio run by soprano Joann C. Zajac.^[32]

Charity work and public service campaigns[link]

Rossum is a YouthAIDS ambassador.^[17] She is also the official spokesperson for "PiNKiTUDE" - a campaign to help raise breast cancer awareness.^[33] Additionally, Rossum is an environmentalist. She has appeared in several Public Service Announcements for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund.^[34][35] She also works with Global Green USA to raise money for environmental protection and awareness of ecological issues.^[36] On May 26, 2009, Emmy Rossum attended a march in West Hollywood California protesting the California Supreme Court's ruling to uphold Proposition 8.^[37]

Personal life[link]

Rossum married music executive Justin Siegel in February 2008. He filed for divorce on September 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences.^[38] In October 2009, Rossum was reported to be dating Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz, with whom she had toured during the summer of 2009.^[39] Rossum and Duritz broke up in September 2010,^[40] and her divorce from Siegel was finalized three months later in December 2010.^[41]

Rossum has celiac disease, an autoimmune disease in which the body cannot tolerate any foods containing gluten or wheat. She revealed her condition on MTV News after being given a cupcake on-camera to celebrate her 22nd birthday; she was only able to eat the frosting.^[42] One of her best friends is actress Leighton Meester, a member of the Gossip Girl cast.

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

EPs[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Emmy Rossum at the Internet Movie Database
• Emmy Rossum on Twitter
• Emmy Rossum on Myspace
• Emmy Rossum at AllRovi
• Emmy Rossum at Rotten Tomatoes
• Emmy Rossum at People.com
• Emmy Rossum's official's channel on YouTube
• Emmy Rossum at Allmusic
• Emmy Rossum on Geffen Records

Leslie Nielsen
Nielsen in October 2008
Born	Leslie William Nielsen (1926-02-11)11 February 1926 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	28 November 2010(2010-11-28) (aged 84) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Resting place	Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale
Nationality	Canadian American
Education	Victoria Composite High School
Alma mater	Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, Toronto
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1948–2010
Notable work(s)	Forbidden Planet The Poseidon Adventure Airplane! The Naked Gun
Spouse	Monica Boyar (1950–1956) Alisande Ullman (1958–1973) Brooks Oliver (1981–1983) Barbaree Earl (2001–2010)
Relatives	Erik Nielsen (brother) Jean Hersholt (half-uncle)
Signature

Leslie William Nielsen, OC (11 February 1926 – 28 November 2010)^[1] was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian.^[2][3] Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters.^[4] Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to Neighborhood Playhouse. Making his television debut in 1948, he quickly expanded to over 50 television appearances two years later. Nielsen made his film debut in 1956, and began collecting roles in dramas, westerns, and romance films from the 1950s to the 1970s. Nielsen's performance in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure received positive reviews as a serious actor, although he is primarily known for his comedic roles.

Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television and films, his deadpan delivery in Airplane! marked a turning point in his career, one that would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs."^[5] Nielsen enjoyed further success with The Naked Gun film series, based on an earlier short-lived television series Police Squad! in which he starred. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian.^[6] In the final years of his career, Nielsen appeared in multiple spoof and parody films, many of which were met poorly by critics, but performed well in box office and home media releases. Nielsen married four times and had two daughters from his second marriage. He was recognized with a variety of awards throughout his career, and was inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame.

Early life[link]

Nielsen's uncle Jean Hersholt (pictured here in the 1936 film His Brother's Wife) inspired him to become an actor.

Nielsen was born on 11 February 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan.^[7] His mother, Mabel Elizabeth (née Davies), was a Welsh immigrant from Fulham, London, and his father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen, was a Danish-born Constable in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.^[8][9][10]

Nielsen had two brothers; his older brother, Erik Nielsen (1924–2008), was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1986.^[11] Ingvard was a troubled man who beat his wife and sons, and Leslie longed to escape. As soon as he graduated from high school at 17, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, even though he was legally deaf (he wore hearing aids most of his life).^[12][13]

His half-uncle, Jean Hersholt, was an actor best known for his portrayal of Dr. Christian in the long-running radio series of the same name and the subsequent television series and films.^[14][15] In a 1994 Boston Globe article, Nielsen explained, "I did learn very early that when I would mention my uncle, people would look at me as if I were the biggest liar in the world. Then I would take them home and show them 8-by-10 glossies, and things changed quite drastically. So I began to think that maybe this acting business was not a bad idea, much as I was very shy about it and certainly without courage regarding it. My uncle died not too long after I was in a position to know him. I regret that I had not a chance to know him better."^[14]

Nielsen spent several years living in Fort Norman (now Tulita), Northwest Territories where his father was stationed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.^[14][16] At the age of 17, following his graduation from Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was trained as an aerial gunner during the latter part of World War II (but was too young to be fully trained or sent overseas).^[17] He worked briefly as a disc jockey at a Calgary, Alberta radio station, before enrolling at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, Toronto.^[14][18] While studying in Toronto, Nielsen received a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse. He noted, "I couldn't refuse, but I must say when you come from the land of the snow goose, the moose and wool to New York, you're bringing every ton of hayseed and country bumpkin that you packed. As long as I didn't open my mouth, I felt a certain security. But I always thought I was going to be unmasked: 'OK, pack your stuff.' 'Well, what's the matter?' 'We've discovered you have no talent; we're shipping you back to Canada.'"^[14] He moved to New York City for his scholarship,^[7] studying theater and music at the Neighborhood Playhouse, while performing in summer stock theatre.^[19] Afterward, he attended the Actors Studio,^[20] until making his first television appearance in 1948 on an episode of Studio One, alongside Charlton Heston,^[21] for which he was paid US$75.^[14]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Nielsen's career began in dramatic roles on television during what is known as "Television's Golden Age",^[22] appearing in almost 50 live programs in 1950 alone.^[23] Nielsen reported that for his salary that there "[...] was very little gold, we only got $75 or $100 per show."^[23] His distinctive voice narrated several documentaries and commercials but, with a handful of exceptions, his early work as a dramatic actor was uneventful.^[24] Hal Erickson of Allmovie noted, "...much of Nielsen's early work was undistinguished; he was merely a handsome leading man in an industry overstocked with handsome leading men."^[24] In 1956 he made his feature film debut in the Michael Curtiz-directed musical film The Vagabond King.^[25] In the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nielsen pointed out that he remembers Curtiz as "a sadist, a charming sadist, but a sadist".^[21] Nielsen would go on to call this film "The Vagabond Turkey".^[26] Though the film was not a box office success, Nielsen caught the eye of producer Nicholas Nayfack who offered him an audition for a role in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet, resulting in Nielsen being signed to a long-term contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).^[21][27]

Nielsen, along with co-star Anne Francis, in his second film, Forbidden Planet (1956). Nielsen: "Supposedly a science fiction version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, it was all about the id, or something like that. Who knows? The Trekkies today regard it as the forerunner of Star Trek. I just had to wear a tight uniform and make eyes at Anne Francis. I was pretty thin back then."^[28]

Forbidden Planet became an instant success,^[29] and roles in other MGM films such as Ransom! (1956), The Opposite Sex (1956) and Hot Summer Night (1957) followed.^[30] In 1957 he won the lead role opposite Debbie Reynolds in the romantic comedy Tammy and the Bachelor, which, as a Chicago Tribune critic wrote in 1998, made people consider Nielsen as both a dramatic actor and a handsome romantic lead.^[31] However, dissatisfied with the quality of the films he was offered, calling the studios "[..] a Tiffany, which had forgotten how to make silver", Nielsen left MGM, but not before auditioning for the role of Messala in the 1959 historical piece Ben-Hur. Stephen Boyd was eventually given the role.^[32][33] After leaving the studios, Nielsen landed the lead role in the Disney miniseries The Swamp Fox, as American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion.^[34] In a 1988 interview he reflected on the series, stating, "That was a great experience, because the Disney people didn't do their shows like everyone else, knocking out an episode a week. [...] We only had to do an episode a month, and the budgets were extremely high for TV at that time. We had location shooting rather than cheap studio backdrops, and very authentic costumes."^[35] Eight episodes were produced and aired between 1959 and 1961.^[34]

His television appearances include parts in Justice, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Virginian, and The Wild Wild West. In 1961, he was the lead in a taut Los Angeles police drama called The New Breed. He guest stared in a 1964 episode of Daniel Boone with Fess Parker and, in a minor but credited role, Jay Silverheals. In 1968, he had a major role in the pilot film for the popular police series Hawaii Five-O, and later appeared in one of the seventh season episodes. In 1969, he had the leading role as a police officer in The Bold Ones: The Protectors.

In 1972, Nielsen appeared as the ship's captain in the all-star disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure. He also starred in the William Girdler-directed 1977 action film Project: Kill. His last role before portraying mainly comedy roles was the Canadian disaster film City on Fire in which he played a corrupt mayor. In 1980, he guest starred as Sinclair on the CBS miniseries The Chisholms.

[edit] Airplane! and The Naked Gun

Nielsen's supporting role in 1980's Airplane! was a major watershed in his career. The ethos of the movie, a parody of dramatic disaster films such as Zero Hour! and Airport, is largely based on building a comedy around actors who were then known exclusively for their dramatic roles (other stars included Robert Stack, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges). Nielsen was the movie's linchpin, his deadpan delivery contrasting with the continual absurdity surrounding him. When asked, "Surely you can't be serious?", he responds with a curt, "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." In several interviews he later reflected on the significance of the comedic line: "I thought it was amusing, but it never occurred to me that it was going to become a trademark. It's such a surprise...the thing comes out, people say, 'What did he say?!'"^[36] Nielsen also stated that he was "...pleased and honored that [he] had a chance to deliver that line."^[37] The comedic exchange was at #79 on the American Film Institute's list of Top 100 movie quotes.^[38] The American Film Institute also included the film in its list of the top ten comedy films of all time.^[39]

Nielsen in 1982

Critics praised the film, which also proved to be a success with audiences.^[40] The film's directors, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, chose Nielsen for the role based on his ability to play "a fish in water", stating that "You could have cast funny people and done it with everybody winking, goofing off, and silly...we wanted people to be oblivious to the comedy."^[39] For Nielsen, Airplane! marked a shift from dramatic roles to a new focus on deadpan comedy. When it was suggested that his role in Airplane! was against type, Nielsen protested that he had "always been cast against type before," and that comedy was what he always really wanted to do.^[41]

The directors, interested in the success of the new comedy, decided to bring a similar style of comedy to television, casting Nielsen in the lead role in their new series, Police Squad!. The series introduced Nielsen as Frank Drebin, the stereotypical police officer modeled after serious characters in earlier police TV series.

Police Squad's opening sequence was based on the 1950s cop show M Squad, (which starred Lee Marvin), which opened with footage of a police car roving through an after-dark urban setting with a big band playing a jazz theme song in the background. The voice-over and the show's organization into "acts" with an epilogue was homage to Quinn Martin police dramas including The Fugitive, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, The F.B.I., and Cannon. Much like in Airplane!, Nielsen portrayed a serious character whose one-liners appeared accidental next to the pratfalls and sight gags around him. Although the show was quickly canceled, lasting only six episodes after being juggled between time slots, Nielsen received an Emmy Award^[42] nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.^[43]

Non-comedic roles included Prom Night (1980) and Creepshow (1982), both horror films. His last dramatic role was as Allen Green, a violent john killed in self-defense by Barbra Streisand's prostitute character, Claudia Draper, in Martin Ritt's courtroom drama Nuts (1987).

Six years after the cancellation of Police Squad!, its directors decided to make a feature length version for theaters. Titled The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. The film returned Nielsen to his role as Frank Drebin. It involved a comical scheme of a ruthless drug kingpin using hypnosis in an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Drebin, like the doctor in Airplane!, seemed unaware of the absurdity around him even when unintentionally contributing toward it. Nielsen later said in an interview that he had done many of his own stunts, "You have an idea of how you're going to do something, and it's your vision... unless you do it, it really doesn't stand a chance."^[36] This movie grossed over $78 million at the box office and was well-received by critics.^[44][45] Ebert's 3½–star review (out of four) noted, "You laugh, and then you laugh at yourself for laughing."^[46]

The Naked Gun spawned two sequels: The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994). Naked Gun 2½ grossed more than the original, with $86,930,400, while Naked Gun 33⅓ grossed $51,132,600 in receipts.^[47][48] Nielsen remained open to the prospects of acting in a fourth Naked Gun film, although he doubted that it would ever be produced—"I don't think so," he said in 2005. "If there hasn't been one by now, I doubt it. I think it would be wonderful."^[49]

Nielsen briefly appeared on the World Wrestling Federation program in the summer of 1994 on Monday Night RAW; capitalizing on his Frank Drebin character, Nielsen (and George Kennedy) were hired as "super-sleuths" to unravel the mystery of The Undertaker who had disappeared at January's Royal Rumble event. At SummerSlam 1994, in a Naked Gun parody, they were hot on the case (in fact, they were literally standing on a case). Although they did not actually find The Undertaker, the case had been closed (the literal case had been shut) and thus, they solved the mystery.^[50]

Later comedies[link]

Nielsen attempted a variety of similar roles with none achieving the prominence of Frank Drebin. These films mostly emulated the style of The Naked Gun series with varying degrees of critical and commercial success: many were panned by critics and most performed poorly. In 1986, Nielsen played against recent type as a dramatic (and unsympathetic) character in the comedy, Soul Man. In 1990, Nielsen also appeared as a Frank Drebin-style character in a series of advertisements in the United Kingdom for Red Rock Cider.

Although The Naked Gun series parodied police dramas in general, Nielsen's later parody films focused on specific targets. Critics panned Repossessed (1990) and 2001: A Space Travesty (2001), parodies of The Exorcist and 2001: A Space Odyssey, respectively. Both films attempted the absurdist comedy Nielsen is recognized for, but were poorly received.^[51][52] Even a leading role in a Mel Brooks comic horror parody, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, failed to generate much box office excitement, although it did gain somewhat of a following on its later release to video. Both 1996's Spy Hard and 1998's Wrongfully Accused, a parody of James Bond films and The Fugitive, respectively, received more popularity on home video but were not well-received by critics.^[53][54]

His attempt at children's comedies met with additional criticism. Surf Ninjas (1993) and Mr. Magoo (1997) faced scathing reviews. Several critics were disappointed that Nielsen's role in Surf Ninjas was only "an extended cameo" and film critic Chris Hicks recommended that viewers "...avoid any comedy that features Leslie Nielsen outside of the Naked Gun series."^[55][56] Jeff Miller of the Houston Chronicle panned Mr. Magoo, a live action remake of the 1950s cartoon, by saying, "I'm supposed to suggest how the film might be better but I can't think of anything to say other than to make the film again."^[57]

Nielsen's first major slapstick success since The Naked Gun came in a supporting role in Scary Movie 3 (2003). His appearance as President Harris proved popular enough for a second appearance in its sequel, Scary Movie 4 (2006). This became the first time Nielsen reprised a character since his appearances as Frank Drebin. In one scene, Nielsen appeared almost fully nude, and one critic referred to the scene as putting "the 'scary' in Scary Movie 4."^[58]

Nielsen also hosted a series of instructional golf videos beginning with 1993's Bad Golf Made Easier. The videos were not serious, instead combining absurdist comedy with golf techniques. The series were popular enough to spawn two additional sequels, Bad Golf My Way (1994) and Stupid Little Golf Video (1997). Nielsen also co-wrote a fictional autobiography titled The Naked Truth. The book portrayed Nielsen as a popular actor with a long history of prestigious films.

Final years[link]

Leslie Nielsen in 2009 at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.

Even in his eighties, Nielsen continued to have an active career. He performed serious roles on screen and stage (such as his one-man theatre show Darrow, in which he played Clarence Darrow), as well as providing voice-overs and on-camera appearances for commercials; cartoons like Zeroman where he had the leading role/voice; children's shows, such as Pumper Pups, which he narrated, in addition to comedic film roles. The sibling relationship with his elder brother, the Honourable Erik Nielsen, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, served as the premise of an HBO mockumentary entitled The Canadian Conspiracy in which Leslie Nielsen appeared, along with other prominent Canadian-born media personalities. He was a celebrity contestant on CBS's Gameshow Marathon, where he played The Price is Right, Let's Make a Deal, Beat the Clock, and Press Your Luck for charity.^[23]

Beginning in February 2007, Nielsen began playing a small role as a doctor in the humorous yet educational television show Doctor*Ology. The show chronicles real-life medical techniques and technology, and airs on the Discovery Channel. In an interview, Nielsen admitted his admiration for the doctors on the show: "There are any number of things that you think about when you ponder if you hadn't been an actor, what would you be, and I've always said I'd like to be an astronaut or a doctor. I have such admiration for doctors. I just don't know how you go around to thank them enough for coming up with the world's most remarkable new discoveries."^[37]

In 2007, Nielsen starred in the drama Music Within. In 2008, he portrayed a version of Uncle Ben for Superhero Movie, a spoof of superhero films. He then appeared in the 2008 parody film An American Carol, which David Zucker directed, produced, and co-wrote. He appeared in the 2009 parody Stan Helsing. Nielsen portrayed the Doctor in the Spanish horror comedy Spanish Movie,^[59] a spoof comedy like Scary Movie, but making fun of popular Spanish films.^[60]

Nielsen appeared in over 100 films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.^[61][62]

Personal life[link]

Nielsen married four times: Monica Boyar (1950–1956), Alisande Ullman (1958–1973), Brooks Oliver (1981–1983) and Barbaree Earl (2001–2010).^[63][64] Nielsen had two daughters from his second marriage, Maura and Thea Nielsen.^[64]

Nielsen was a fan of golf, and he often played it in his free time.^[65] Nielsen joked about his view on golf, "I have no goals or ambition. I do, however, wish to work enough to maintain whatever celebrity status I have so that they will continue to invite me to golf tournaments."^[65] Nielsen's interest in the sport led him to star in several comedic instructional films.

Nielsen stated in several interviews that he had a few medical problems such as hearing impairment.^[66] He was legally deaf and wore hearing aids for most of his life.^[13] Because of this impairment, he publicly supported the Better Hearing Institute.^[67]

Death[link]

In November 2010, Nielsen was admitted to a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hospital for treatment of pneumonia. On 28 November, Doug Nielsen, Nielsen's nephew, announced to the CJOB radio station that Nielsen had died in his sleep, due to complications from pneumonia, around 5:30 pm EST, surrounded by family and friends.^[68][69][70] He was interred in Fort Lauderdale's Evergreen Cemetery. As a final bit of humor, Nielsen chose "Let 'er Rip" as his epitaph.^[71]

Achievements[link]

Among his numerous awards, in 1995 Leslie Nielsen received UCLA's Jack Benny Award for his comedic roles.^[43] In 1988, he became the 1,884th personality to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Blvd.^[72] In 2001 he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.^[73] The following year he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, although he was also a naturalized U.S. citizen.^[2] With his American status, he maintained his Canadian heritage: "There's no way you can be a Canadian and think you can lose it ... Canadians are a goodly group. They are very aware of caring and helping."^[2] On 19 May 2005, during the centennial gala of his birth province, Saskatchewan, Leslie Nielsen was introduced to HM Queen Elizabeth II.^[74]

On 20 February 2002, Nielsen was named an honorary citizen of West Virginia and an "Ambassador of Mountain State Goodwill". Nielsen visited the state many times to speak and visit friends.^[75] In 2003, in honor of Nielsen, Grant MacEwan College named its school of communications after him.^[76] Also in 2003, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists awarded him the ACTRA Award of Excellence.^[76]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]