Marlon Brando: The Wild One

Groundbreaking American actor Marlon Brando, seen here at a 2001 tribute to Michael Jackson, died July 1, 2004, of lung failure. Brando has been acclaimed as the greatest actor of his generation for his maverick roles in "The Wild One," "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Mutiny on the Bounty." He accepted one Oscar, for "On the Waterfront," and refused another for "The Godfather."

Born in Omaha, Neb., April 3, 1924, the actor was the third and last child of Dorothy Pennebaker Brando and Marlon Brando. He moved to New York at age 19 to study with acting coach Stella Adler and at Lee Strasberg's Actors' Studio. In 1947, Elia Kazan suggested him for the part of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Starting with the role of brutish Stanley Kowalski in the stage version of "A Streetcar Named Desire," Brando changed the nature of American acting. Pictured is the final scene of the Broadway production of "Streetcar," Dec. 17, 1947. The cast includes Brando, as Kowalski, Kim Hunter as Stella, and Jessica Tandy as Blanche.

Jocelyn Brando visits her brother on the set at Columbia Studios, where both were making movies, in Hollywood, Calif., March 25, 1953. Marlon Brando played Johnny, the quintessential anti-establishment leader of the Black Rebels motorcycle gang in "The Wild One."

Brando's parents visit their son on location during the filming of "On the Waterfront" in Hoboken, N.J., Jan. 7, 1954. From left to right are: Marlon Brando, Sr.; Sam Spiegel, producer of the movie; and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando. Brando, pointing, played a longshoreman in the movie, which is based on actual incidents along the eastern waterfront.

Brando and fellow Oscar winner Grace Kelly pose with their statuettes at the 1954 Academy Awards at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., March 30, 1955. Kelly won Best Actress of the year for her portrayal in "The Country Girl." Brando won Best Actor of the year for his portrayal in "On the Waterfront."

Brando reads Mother Goose rhymes to young March of Dimes polio patients at the Los Angeles Orthopaedic hospital, January 1956.

Brando makes a statement at a news conference at the Imperial Hotel in downtown Tokyo, April 4, 1956. The actor was in Japan for the premiere of "Guys and Dolls," and the filming of "Teahouse of the August Moon."

Brando joins a group entering the Executive Mansion to urge Gov. Edmund G. Brown to spare the life of condemned criminal and author Caryl Chessman, in Sacramento, Calif., May 1, 1960. Making the 11th hour appeal were, from left, Richard Drinnin, U.C. professor; actors Marlon Brando, Steve Allen and Shirley MacLaine; and Eugene Burdick, author and U.C. professor.

Brando and his former wife, Anna Kashfi, leave court in Santa Monica, Ca., March 13, 1972, after a custody hearing over their 13-year-old son Christian. Brando married Kashfi in 1957, believing her to be East Indian. She was revealed to be Irish, and they separated a year later. The actor had three wives, and nine children.

Filming 1962's "Mutiny on the Bounty" affected Brando's life in a profound way: he fell in love with Tahiti and its people, including Tahitian beauty Tarita, pictured at left in a scene from the film. Brando was married to Mexican actress Movita, who had appeared in the first "Mutiny on the Bounty," when he fell in love with Tarita. The couple married and had two children.

A woman in Native American Indian dress, who indentified herself as Sashim Littlefeather, tells the audience at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles March 27, 1973, that Brando was declining the Best Actor Oscar for his role in "The Godfather." Littlefeather said Brando was protesting "the treatment of the American Indian in motion pictures and on televison, and because of the recent events at Wounded Knee."

Brando appears on the Dick Cavett Show, June 12, 1973.

Brando, left, stands with Yakima Indians John Meninick, center, and Louis Cloud, right, at the American Indian Development dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, Nov. 26, 1974. Brando was chairman of the event.

Brando and Native American leader Russel Means appear on TV in Washington, D.C., July 18, 1978. Brando was a supporter of political rights of American Indians. Means and other American Indians were at the nation's capital trying to convince Congress not to approve pending legislation that they said would take away their lands and deprive them of their cultural heritage.

Brando sits in a courtroom during a hearing for his son, Christian, in Los Angeles, Calif., July 23, 1990. Christian was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and use of a gun in the shooting of 26-year-old Dag Drollet, the boyfriend of his half sister, Cheyenne Brando. At left is Brando's son, Miko.

Cheyenne Brando leaves a Tahiti courthouse Feb. 15, 1992, after a hearing in connection with the May 1990 killing of her boyfriend Dag Drollet. Her half-brother Christian was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death. Cheyenne, still depressed over what happened, committed suicide in 1995.

Brando and Sean Penn are all smiles as they answer reporters' questions during a news conference in front of a Los Angeles courthouse where they talked about their support of Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, Dec. 15, 1998. Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti was attempting to have Pratt returned to prison for a 1968 murder.

Brando is seen after the taping of CNN's "Larry King Live," April 5, 1996, in Los Angeles.

A single rose and a character sketch appear on Brando's star along Hollywood's Walk of Fame, July 2, 2004, in Los Angeles.