Over the last eighty years, Marlon Brando has become such an object of fascination, buried under so many accreted layers of mythos and half-truth, that it is all but impossible to see the man behind the icon. As we approach the centennial of this undisputed American legend, Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel isa revelatory biography that tells its story the same way the man himself approached a role: from the inside.
By Virginia Schneider
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 4/19/24 – If Marlon Brando were alive today, this biography may well be the one he would have made his favorite. Seasoned pop culture authority Burt Kearns, breezes through the background and eye-popping details of mega star and reluctant legend Marlon Brando with a flashy style zestfully similar to Brando’s own trademark speeding, bad boy motorcyclist. Kearns educates the reader with insightful tidbits so engrossing the pages of his book fly by. Before you know it, another chapter has drawn to a close. Part of this captivation is a credit to Kearns easy writing style– polished, wickedly robust, with succinct language. Packing myriad details, one sees the extraordinary amount of research Kearns has done on his subject, enabling him to draw multitudes of parallels between Brando and social issues in the decades since his emergence on the scene.
While there has been much fodder written about the mystery and magic of Marlon Brando, this biography is not a tell all tale but rather a well-rounded exploration of one of the most famous enigmas of stage and screen. Kearns unrolls vast amounts of history about Brando not to indulge in Brando’s fame, as much as the influence he had on social commentary and pop culture in the subsequent decades. Kearns illustrates Brando’s affairs with both sexes, how he defied stereotypes and was a fierce activist. Brando chose to lead not by being a famous or even startingly talented actor, he chose to lead just causes, using his fame not to garner attention for himself but for social justice.
Brando was walking with Dr. Martin Luther King, visiting India on a crusade to protect the disadvantaged poor of low caste systems, fighting for the rights of Native Americans, long before the United States was paying any attention to the sufferings of the poor and discriminated. Indeed, these passions were more important to him than money or acting. Kearns shows us what really made Brando tick – standing up for truth and justice as an (almost) every man.
While many famous names and relationships to Brando are woven throughout the book— pals like James Dean and Paul Newman, it is the common man fighting for the rights of others that are the real teachers to Brando. Perhaps one of the best passages summing up Brando’s character is a quote from Brando during an interview. When asked about his thoughts on Dr. King’s Freedom March and the revolution it stirred, Brando replies:
“The problem seems to me a subtler one and it has to do with hatred…No matter where you look—Franco’s Spain, or Chiang Kai-shek’s government…South American countries, the distress in Haiti, gives evidence to the fact that we are all as human beings filled with anguish and hatred and fear…I think that is what we our addressing here today in this movement. I think it’s one step closer to trying to understand the human heart, to try to understand what it is that has produced this, what excuses did we give ourselves…for destroying people.”
Kearns sheds light on what perhaps Brando would most want us to take away—not to emulate his performances but his behavior as a human being. Read this book. It will elevate your life.
Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel by Burt Kearns, published by Applause Books
ABOUT BURT KEARNS
Author, journalist, and pop culture authority Burt Kearns digs deep into the unexplored aspects of Brando’s career, interests, and singular personality, revealing how his roles on stage and screen, combined with his wild and restless personal life, helped to transform popular culture and society writ large. His influence was both broad and deep. Brando’s intense approach to acting technique was emulated by his contemporaries as well as generations of actors who followed, from Nicholson and DeNiro to DiCaprio and Gosling. But his legacy extends far beyond acting. His image in The Wild One helped to catalyze a youth revolution, setting the stage for rock ‘n’ roll culture in a way that directly inspired Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Andy Warhol, and punk rock culture. Brando was also frank about his affairs with both sexes; a leader of the sexual revolution and a hero of gay culture, he defied stereotypes and redefined sexual boundaries in his life and the roles he played. But of all his passions, activism was even more important to Brando than acting: he was an early supporter of Israel, civil rights, the American Indian movement, Black Power, gay rights, and environmentalism.
Burt Kearns is an author, journalist, and “show business and pop culture savant” (Vanity Fair). His books include Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood’s Real-Life Tough Guy and The Show Won’t Go On. Kearns has broken major stories as a television and print journalist. He is perhaps best known as an Emmy-winning television and motion picture producer, director, and writer. He has written and produced dozens of nonfiction television series (Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura and Kardashian: The Man Who Saved OJ Simpson), the nonfiction comedy film High There, and documentaries (Death of a Beatle and Bin Laden’s Escape). He lives in Pacific Palisades, California.
