Though married many times and the father of many children, perhaps Brando’s longest relationship was with mousy character actor/comic Wally COX. The two shared an apartment, and after Cox’s death in 1973, Brando rushed back to the US from Tahiti to procure his friend’s ashes. He kept Cox’s remains at home, often talking to the urn as if it were his still-living friend. After Brando’s own death and cremation, their ashes were scattered together in Death Valley.
An enduring cultural icon, Brando became a box-office star during the 1950s, during which time he racked up five Oscar nominations as Best Actor, along with three consecutive wins of the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He initially gained popularity for recreating the role of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a Tennessee Williams play that had established him as a Broadway star during its 1947-49 stage run; and for his Academy Award-winning performance as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954), as well as for his iconic portrayal of the rebel motorcycle gang leader Johnny Strabler in The Wild One (1953), which is considered to be one of the most famous images in pop culture. Brando was also nominated for the Oscar for playing Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata! (1952); Mark Antony in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1953 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; and as Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver in Sayonara (1957), Joshua Logan's adaption of James Michener's 1954 novel. Brando made Top Ten Money Making Stars, as ranked by Quigley Publications' annual survey of movie exhibitors, three times in the decade, coming in at number 10 in 1954, number 6 in 1955, and number 4 in 1958.
Marlon Brando was an American screen and stage actor. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Brando was openly bisexual. Though married many times and the father of many children, Brando’s longest relationship was with actor/comic Wally COX. After Cox’s death in 1973, Brando rushed back to the US from Tahiti to procure his friend’s ashes. After Brando’s own death and cremation, their ashes were scattered together in Death Valley.
After Wally Cox’s death in 1973, Marlon Brando rushed back to the US from Tahiti to procure his friend’s ashes. He did so telling Cox’s wife he was to scatter them on a place they used to go climbing. Instead, he kept Cox’s remains at home, and sometime even under the passenger sit in his car, often talking to the urn as if it were his still-living friend. After Brando’s own death and cremation in 2004, Marlon Brando & Wally Cox's ashes along with those of another longtime friend, Sam Gilman, were scattered together in Tahiti and Death Valley.
by Carl Van Vechten
Brando directed and starred in the cult western film One-Eyed Jacks which was released in 1961, after which he delivered a series of box-office failures beginning with the non-success of the 1962 film adaptation of Mutiny on the Bounty. The 1960s proved to be a fallow decade for Brando, and after 10 years in which he did not appear in a commercially successful movie, he won his second Academy Award for playing Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972), a role critics consider among his greatest. The movie, which became the most commercially successful film of all time when it was released — along with his Oscar-nominated performance as Paul in Last Tango in Paris (1972), another smash hit — revitalized Brando's career and reestablished him in the ranks of top box-office stars, placing him at number 6 and number 10 in Top 10 Money Making Stars poll in 1972 and 1973, respectively.
Brando failed to capitalize on the momentum of his revitalized career, taking a long hiatus before appearing in The Missouri Breaks (1976), a box-office bomb. After this, he was content to be a highly paid character actor in parts which were glorified cameos in Superman (1978) and The Formula (1980) before taking a nine-year break from motion pictures. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Brando was paid a record $3.7 million ($14,017,738 in today's funds) plus 11.75% of the gross profits for 13 days work playing Jor-El in Superman, further adding to his mystique. He finished out the decade of the 1970s with his controversial performance as Colonel Walter Kurtz in another Coppola film, Apocalypse Now (1979), a box-office hit for which he was highly paid and helped finance his career layoff during the 1980s.
He was also an activist, supporting many issues, notably the African-American Civil Rights Movement and various American Indian Movements.
Brando was ranked by the American Film Institute as the fourth greatest screen legend among male movie stars whose screen debuts occurred in or before 1950. Considered to be one of the most important actors in American cinema, Brando was one of only three professional actors, along with Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe, named by Time magazine as one of its 100 Persons of the Century in 1999. He died on July 1, 2004 of respiratory failure at 80.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_Brando
Cox served in the Army during World War II, then opened a men’s jewelry store in New York. He developed a comedy act and starred in the TV series Mr. Peepers (along with Clifton WEBB and Tony Randall) during the 1950s. His film credits include State Fair, Tony ASQUITH’s The Yellow Rolls Royce, and The Barefoot Executive.
Though married many times and the father of many children, perhaps Brando’s longest relationship was with mousy character actor/comic Wally COX. The two shared an apartment, and after Cox’s death in 1973, Brando rushed back to the US from Tahiti to procure his friend’s ashes. He kept Cox’s remains at home, often talking to the urn as if it were his still-living friend. After Brando’s own death and cremation in 2004, their ashes were scattered together in Death Valley.
Marlon Brando, 1948 Posing with his sister Jocelyn (far left), roommate Wally Cox (far right), and friends in his Hell’s Kitchen tenement.
Stern, Keith (2009-09-01). Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals (Kindle Locations 3796-3804). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=e
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=e
Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher
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