Marlon Brando

Born April 3, 1924, in Omaha, Nebraska, Marlon Brando, Jr. was the son of Marlon Brando, Sr. and Dorothy Julia Pennebaker. He trained at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research and performed in summer stock on Long Island before making his Broadway debut. An activist throughout his life, he championed the African American Civil Rights Movement and various Native American movements.

Marlon Brando, Jr. married three times. His first wife, Anna Kashfi, bore his son Christian Devi Brando. With his second wife, Movita Castenada, he had two children: Miko Castaneda Brando and Rebecca Brando Kotlizky. His third wife, Tarita Teriipaia, was the mother of Simon Teihotu and Tarita Cheyenne.

Film credits include "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now," "Superman," "A Streetcar Named Desire," "The Island of Dr. Moreau," "In the Name of the Father," "On the Waterfront," "The Score," "Last Tango in Paris," "Guys and Dolls," "Mutiny on the Bounty," "Don Juan DeMarco," and "The Merchant of Venice." Among his television appearances: "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Mike Douglas Show," "The Dick Cavett Show," "Omnibus," "Person to Person," "Actor's Studio," "Tomorrow Coast to Coast," and "Marlon Brando: The Wild One."

He won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role twice — first in 1955 for "On the Waterfront," then in 1973 for "The Godfather." In 1960 he received a star on the Walk of Fame. A Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special followed in 1979 for "Roots: The Next Generations."

His autobiography, Songs My Mother Taught Me, was published in 1994. On July 2, 2004, Broadway theater marquees were dimmed in his honor.