Marlon Brando

-Born Marlon Brando Jr. to Marlon Brando Sr. and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando on April 3, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. -In 1935, when he was 11 years old, his parents separated. His mother briefly took her three children to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California, until 1937 when the parents reconciled and moved to Libertyville, Illinois, a village northwest of Chicago. -The family were of primarily Dutch, Irish, German, and English stock. The Brando family had been long settled in New York state, being earlier spelled Brandow and originating with a German immigrant Johann Wilhelm Brandau who settled in America in the early 1700s. -He was held back a year in school and was later expelled from Libertyville High School. At the age of 16, he was sent to Shattuck Military Academy in Fairbault, Minnesota where his father had gone before him. At Shattuck, he excelled at theater and got along well within the structure of the school. -In his final year (1943), he was put on probation for talking back to an officer during maneuvers. A part of his probation was that he be confined to the school campus. But he eventually tried sneaking off campus into town and was caught. The faculty voted to expel him. He received support from his fellow students who thought the punishment too harsh. He was later invited back for the next year, but decided not to finish school. -He worked as a ditch-digger in his hometown as a summer job arranged by his father. But he had decided to follow his sisters to New York. One sister was trying to be a painter and the other had already appeared on Broadway. He had actually visited his sister Frances in New York at Christmas 1942 and liked the experience. -Marlon was given six months of support from his father, after which his father offered to help him get a job as a salesman. Brando left Illinois for New York City, where he studied at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, New School Dramatic Workshop, and the Actors' Studio. It was at the New School's Dramatic Workshop that he studied with Stella Adler and learned the techniques of the Stanislavski System. -Marlon Brando Jr. was an Oscar-winning American actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest film actors of the 20th century. -He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Viva Zapata! (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), On The Waterfront (1954), Sayonara (1957), The Godfather (1972), Last Tango In Paris (1972) & A Dry White Season (1989). -Won two Academy Awards for: On The Waterfront (1954) & The Godfather (1972). -Was also an activist, lending his presence to many issues, including the American Indian Movement. -He was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. -A Tribute To Marlon Brando-