Marlon Brando

Brando was born April 3, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska and died On July 1, 2004 of pulmonary fibrosis. He was a strong and forceful personality like his birth sign Aries and talented as his year of the Rat roots. He was known as Bud by his family and Mr. Mumbles by Frank Sinatra and his contemporaries.

Brando is one of the greatest movie actors of all time. Two of his greatest works include parts as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, and as Col. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.

Brando began his acting career under the tutelage of his mother Dorothy Pennebaker and the Omaha Community Playhouse. He moved to New York City in 1943 to pursue his acting career and get away from his alcoholic parents. Brando originally honed his craft by trying to draw his mother out of alcoholic stupors and she repaid him by instilling in him a love of nature and a lonely childhood.

Brando's illustrious movie career includes an Oscar winning performance in 1954's On the Waterfront. His iconic performance as Johnny the rebel-without-a-cause in The Wild One set Brando apart as the star to follow. Jack Nicholson stated in 1972 that "we are all Brando's children." They longed to copy his acting style.

In 1962 Brando brought movie audiences to their feet with Mutiny on the Bounty. Yet his star power could not hold. By the end of the 1960's Brando was box office poison. Brando's appearance at a Black Panther rally in 1968 found him blacklisted in the industry and he did not work for three years.

The Godfather gave Brando back some of his glitz, but he never did revive his star power.

Brando was married three times and sired five children. Cheyenne killed herself at 25 and Christian spent 10 years in prison for murder. Brando used his On the Waterfront Oscar as a doorstop.