1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,720 Speaker 1: Imagine your dad is a movie star, and not just 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:06,040 Speaker 1: any movie star, but like an icon, one who's going 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: to be remembered for as long as we care about movies. 4 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: But his narcissism relegates you and the rest of the 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: family to walk on roles in his life, and that 6 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: leads to depression, drugs, and murder. I'm Patty Steele, Marlon 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: Brando's dysfunctional family. Next on the backstory. The backstory is back. 8 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: There's something about movie stars, especially the really iconic ones, 9 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,160 Speaker 1: that make you think they're not like the rest of us. 10 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: The late actor Donald Sutherland said a casting director once 11 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: told him he didn't get a role in a film 12 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: because they wanted a guy next door type character. The 13 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: guy said to me, you're not that. You don't seem 14 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 1: like anybody's ever lived next door to you. That's what 15 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: most of them seem like to us, Right, So when 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: these people's lives or their kids' lives are touched by violence, sex, 17 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: and even murder, he really gets sorry tension. Marlon Brando 18 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 1: was an icon among icons. Early movies included a streetcar 19 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: named Desire and on the Waterfront, which won him his 20 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: first Academy Award. Later roles included an Oscar winning performance 21 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: in The Godfather, but his personal life was like a 22 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: Shakespearean tragedy, from multiple failed marriages to health problems, legal issues, 23 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: and mental illness. He'd had a childhood dominated by a nasty, 24 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: womanizing father and an alcoholic mother, so not much in 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: the way of role models there. Right, he was a 26 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 1: terror as a kid and nobody could control him. In fact, 27 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: in acting school with the legendary teacher Stella Adler, he 28 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: bragged about grabbing her breasts, but she kept him on 29 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: and nurtured his talent. That wouldn't happen these days. Brando 30 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: had eleven children by three wives and four other women. 31 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: He had dozens of affairs with both women and men, 32 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: and drove several of his lovers to attempt suicide due 33 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: to his cheating, including the actress Rita Moreno. In the 34 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: aftermath of that breakup, he asked his secretary, can you 35 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: believe she really thought I loved her? They'd been together 36 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: for eight years. He was famous for cheating and lying, 37 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: and he didn't really care what anybody else thought, including 38 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 1: his kids. In his autobiography, he said, I enjoyed pushing 39 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: the emotional buttons of women making him feel they were 40 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: of value to me and offering security to them and 41 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: to their children. It was pure seduction. Later, he had 42 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: close friendships with stars like Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson. 43 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: Late in life, Marlin weighed over three hundred pounds and 44 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: was sick with diabetes. That's when he was really close 45 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: with Michael. Brando's son, Miko, who worked as a bodyguard 46 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: for Jackson, said Michael would invite Marland to stay at 47 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 1: his Neverland ranch and treated him with such care and 48 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: respect that made the end of Brando's life so much gentler. 49 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: Despite all his other problems. The darkest in his life 50 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: happened in the spring of nineteen ninety. He had a son, 51 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 1: Christian and a daughter, Cheyenne. Both had been neglected by 52 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,519 Speaker 1: their parents. Their dad, Marlin, was constantly away on film 53 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: shoots and really not interested in them anyway, and their 54 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: mothers were not terrific mothers. Christian's mom, after divorcing Marlin, 55 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: lost custody because of her drug and alcohol abuse, and 56 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: he was sent directly to a boarding school. But when 57 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 1: he was fourteen, his mom kidnapped him and took him 58 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: to Mexico, where he was later found living in a 59 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: tent suffering from bronchitis. Not a great childhood right. As 60 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: for Cheyenne, she was Marlin's daughter by his third wife. 61 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: Born in Tahiti, her parents divorced when she was just two. 62 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: She rarely saw her dad since he was off on 63 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: film shoots and living his own life on the other 64 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: side of the world. She felt abandoned, just like the 65 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: rest of Marlin's kids, and after dropping out of school, 66 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: began taking all sorts of drugs, including pc p LSD tranquilizers. 67 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: For a short time, she became a fashion model, but 68 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: when she tried to visit her dad on a movie 69 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: set in Toronto and he wouldn't see her, she sped 70 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: away and got into a nasty car accident. Marlin sent 71 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,280 Speaker 1: her for reconstructive surgery, but her modeling career was over 72 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: and she was only nineteen years old. She never got 73 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: over her upset with her father and went into even 74 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: deeper depression. In a nineteen ninety interview, she said, I've 75 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: come to despise my father for the way he ignored 76 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: me when I was a child. He came to the 77 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: island maybe once a year, but really didn't seem to 78 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: care whether he saw me or not. He wanted us, 79 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: but he didn't want us, and he would never let 80 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: us visit the mainland. Meantime, Cheyenne had gotten involved with 81 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: the son of a wealthy Tahitian politician. It was the 82 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: late nineteen eighties when she met Dad Drolet, who was 83 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: said to be a really sweet guy. Pretty soon Cheyenne 84 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 1: was pregnant and the family was actually happy. Karln insisted 85 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: the young couple move into his home in Beverly Hills 86 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: to wait for the baby's birth. But while pregnant, Cheyenne's 87 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: mental health began to deteriorate, making her depressed and paranoid. 88 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: So now it's May sixteenth, nineteen ninety. Her brother Christian 89 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,919 Speaker 1: was also living at the family's huge estate on Mulholland Drive. 90 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: He too was a mess, dealing with addiction and the 91 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,599 Speaker 1: same feeling of being abandoned by his famous dad. On 92 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,720 Speaker 1: that night, Christian was in the house and overheard an 93 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: argument between Cheyenne and Dag. Now the problem is, Cheyenne 94 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: had told Christian that Dag had physically abused her, which 95 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: later turned out to be probably untrue. So Christian said 96 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: he went after Dag thinking he was protecting his sister. 97 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: It got really heated, and in a fit of rage, 98 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: Christian pulled out a gun, always great to have those handy, 99 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: and he shot Dad, killing him instantly. Their tumultuous lives 100 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 1: became even more disturbing. In the aftermath of the shoe duoing, 101 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: the cops arrested Christian and he was charged with murder. 102 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: The trial was hugely publicized, which is even more upsetting 103 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: to the family. Marlon Brando spent a fortune on Christian's 104 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: legal defense. During the trial, he cried on the witness stand, 105 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: saying how sorry he was and how deeply he loved 106 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: his kids. For her part, Cheyenne was subpoened by the 107 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,040 Speaker 1: prosecution to testify, but she refused to do so and 108 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: fled to Tahiti. A court there declared her mentally disabled 109 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: and the prosecution had to proceed without her testimony, which 110 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: made it tougher to prosecute. The defense claimed Christian had 111 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: acted in a fit of passion, and in nineteen ninety 112 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: one he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced 113 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: to ten years in prison, but was released after five. 114 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: What happened to Christian and Cheyenne after all that well, 115 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: Cheyenne gave birth to a baby boy, but had no 116 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: ability to take care of him, so her mother raised him. 117 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: Her drug abuse and mental illness continued, and on April sixteenth, 118 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,279 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five, Cheyenne Brando hanged herself at her mother's home. 119 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,679 Speaker 1: She was just twenty five years old. Neither her father 120 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: nor her brother were at her funeral, and she was 121 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: laid to rest in Dad Droley's family mausoleum, heartbreaking into 122 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: her life. As for Christian, after his release from prison, 123 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: he pretty much kept out of the public eye, though 124 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: his personal life was certainly troubled. In two thousand and five, 125 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: he was called to testify in the civil trial against 126 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: Robert Blake, in part because of his previous brief romance 127 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: with Blake's wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. Blake and his attorneys 128 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: claimed that Christian was involved in Bakeley's two thousand and 129 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: one murder. In a tape recorded conversation between Christian and Bakeley, 130 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: he said to her, you know you're lucky someone ain't 131 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: out there to put a bullet in your head. But 132 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: Christian's testimony was useless because he pleaded the fifth and 133 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: refused to answer any questions about their relationship. In the end, 134 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: he was fined one thousand bucks for contempt of court, 135 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: but cleared of any involvement in the murder. That same year, 136 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: he was charged with spousal abuse against his then wife. Finally, 137 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: due to years of drug abuse, Christian Brando died in 138 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight. He was forty nine. Marlin, who 139 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: had already endured so much, was left to mourn the 140 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: loss of his daughter when she died. His family's dramas 141 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: were in stark contrast to the Hollywood glamour that had 142 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: defined so much of his career. Marlon Brando lived for 143 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: almost another decade after Cheyenne's death, passing away in two 144 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: thousand and four, four years before his son Christian. He 145 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: left behind a legacy as one of the greatest actors 146 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: of all time, but his personal life was forever marred 147 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: by the tragedies that claimed his children. Hope you like 148 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: the backstory with Patty Steele. I would love it if 149 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: you would subscribe or follow for free to get new 150 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to DM me if 151 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: you have a story you'd like me to cover On Facebook, 152 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm 153 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,599 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 154 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 155 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 156 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,559 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 157 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 158 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 159 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the 160 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.