Looking back at Marlon Brando’s love-hate relationship with the Oscars on his 100th birthday

Ray Richmond
·4 min read
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Marlon Brando – the man whom Time magazine crowned the greatest actor of the 20th century back in 1998 – would be celebrating his 100th birthday today had he not died 20 years ago (on July 1, 2004). Born on April 3, 1924, Brando was a fascinating if divisive character, a perpetually enigmatic figure whose impact not only on the acting profession but on American popular culture itself can’t be overstated. He starred in numerous iconic roles, from Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” to Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront” to Julius Caesar in “Julius Caesar” to Vito Corleone in “The Godfather.”

While he wound up nominated for eight Academy Awards and six Golden Globes and won two of each, it was the one honor Brando rejected, of course, that came to define his awards legacy: his Best Actor win for “The Godfather” in 1973 in which he sent actress and purported Native American representative Sacheen Littlefeather (a.k.a. Maria Cruz) up to the stage to refuse the Oscar on his behalf over Hollywood’s poor “treatment of American Indians by the film industry.” I say “purported” Native American because Littlefeather would much later be discredited as a “pretendian” and not in fact indigenous by ancestry.

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That famed moment, perhaps the most controversial in Oscar annals, overshadowed the fact that Brando was so wholeheartedly embraced by film academy voters before and even after the ’73 rejection of his “Godfather” statuette. Consider that he was nominated five times in seven years in the 1950s (1952 to ’58), including four years in a row. He earned Best Actor nominations in 1952 for “Streetcar Named Desire,” in ’53 for “Viva Zapata!” and in ’54 for “Julius Caesar” before finally winning his first trophy in ’55 for “On the Waterfront.” His final nomination of the Fifties came in 1958 as Best Actor for “Sayonara.”

To watch Brando’s acceptance speech in ’55, there is nary a hint of the ambivalence, protest and activism that would fuel his rebuff of the trophy a mere 18 years later. It took place at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre that March 30. An ebullient Bette Davis was introduced to the stage as presenter by host Bob Hope, and she enthusiastically opened the envelope and intoned, “The winner is…Marlon Brando, ‘On the Waterfront’!” A thrilled Brando bounded out of his seat and joyously jogged up to the stage to give his thanks.

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Taking the trophy in hand, Brando quipped, “It’s much heavier than I imagined,” drawing laughs from the audience. “I can’t remember what I was gonna say for the life of me. I don’t think that ever in my life have so many people been so directly responsible for my being so very, very glad.” Yet Brando neglected to identify by name a single one of those people who were directly responsible, no doubt leaving many quietly fuming. His short but sincere and gracious speech concluded, “It’s a wonderful moment and a rare one, and I’m certainly indebted. Thank you.” He appeared positively thrilled.

The following year, Brando read off the nominees for Best Actress – on film from Manila, Philippines. But it was left to host Jerry Lewis in Hollywood to open the envelope and reveal the winner: Anna Magnani for “The Rose Tattoo,” who was off in Rome shooting a film. It was a rare example of a presenter who wasn’t in attendance delivering to a winner who wasn’t there, either.

Less than two decades later came Brando’s wholehearted repudiation of the Oscars. But it should be noted that his giving Hollywood the middle finger didn’t inspire film academy members to flip the bird back his way. They nominated Brando the very next year as lead actor for “Last Tango in Paris,” for which he stayed home once again. This time, however, he didn’t win. The statuette went instead to Jack Lemmon for “Save the Tiger,” and he accepted his honor happily.

A final Academy Award bid came Brando’s way in 1990 – a supporting nomination for “A Dry White Season.” He didn’t attend that time, either.

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