Marlon Brando "Variety" magazine. Notes Citations Bibliography Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor and film director. With a career spanning 60 years, he is regarded for his cultural influence on 20th-century film. Brando's Academy Award-winning performances include that of Terry Malloy in "On the Waterfront" (1954) and Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather" (1972). Brando was an activist for many causes, notably the civil rights movement and various Native American movements. He is credited with helping to popularize the Stanislavski system of acting having studied with Stella Adler in the 1940s. He
Marlon Brando work as Malloy, but eventually producer Sam Spiegel wooed Brando to the part, signing him for $100,000. "Kazan made no protest because, he subsequently confessed, 'I always preferred Brando to anybody.'" Brando won the Oscar for his role as Irish-American stevedore Terry Malloy in "On the Waterfront". His performance, spurred on by his rapport with Eva Marie Saint and Kazan's direction, was praised as a "tour de force". For the famous "I coulda been a contender" scene, he convinced Kazan that the scripted scene was unrealistic. Schulberg's script had Brando acting the entire scene with his character being held at