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174-411: Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. Reynolds first became known well as a result of featuring in television series, such as Gunsmoke (1962–1965), Hawk (1966), and Dan August (1970–1971). He had leading roles in movies, such as Navajo Joe (1966) and 100 Rifles (1969), and his breakthrough role

348-529: A Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series . His performance as high-minded pornographer Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson 's Boogie Nights (1997) brought him renewed critical attention, earning Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture , with nominations for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor . Burton Leon Reynolds Jr.

522-540: A "cornpone melodrama". In 1961, Brando made his directorial debut in the western One-Eyed Jacks . The picture was originally directed by Stanley Kubrick , but he was fired early in the production. Paramount then made Brando the director. Brando portrays the lead character Rio, and Karl Malden plays his partner "Dad" Longworth. The supporting cast features Katy Jurado , Ben Johnson , and Slim Pickens . Brando's penchant for multiple retakes and character exploration as an actor carried over into his directing, however, and

696-639: A French Huguenot , who arrived in New York around 1660. His maternal great-grandfather, Myles Joseph Gahan, was an Irish immigrant who served as a medic in the American Civil War. In 1995, he gave an interview in Ireland in which he said, "I have never been so happy in my life. When I got off the plane I had this rush of emotion. I have never felt at home in a place as I do here. I am seriously contemplating Irish citizenship." In 1930, when Brando

870-420: A car in midtown Manhattan searching for a parking space." He received better reviews at subsequent tour stops, but what his colleagues recalled was only occasional indications of the talent he would later demonstrate. "There were a few times when he was really magnificent," Bankhead admitted to an interviewer in 1962. "He was a great young actor when he wanted to be, but most of the time I couldn't even hear him on

1044-414: A cast member recalled. "Everybody hugged him and kissed him. He came ambling offstage and said to me, 'They don't think you can act unless you can yell.'" Critics were not as kind, however. A review of Brando's performance in the opening assessed that Brando was "still building his character, but at present fails to impress." One Boston critic remarked of Brando's prolonged death scene, "Brando looked like

1218-486: A charge of murder. However, McNear's performances steadily became more warm-hearted and sympathetic. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City 17 years later under the name of Charles Adams. Conrad borrowed the surname from cartoonist Charles Addams as a testament to Doc's initially ghoulish comportment. Milburn Stone was given free rein to choose the character's first name, and chose that of

1392-462: A drinking problem. Wilson was largely tolerant of Brando's behavior, but he reached his limit when Brando mumbled through a dress rehearsal shortly before the November 28, 1946, opening. "I don't care what your grandmother did," Wilson exclaimed, "and that Method stuff, I want to know what you're going to do!" Brando in turn raised his voice, and acted with great power and passion. "It was marvelous,"

1566-577: A film with friend and rival Montgomery Clift (although they shared no scenes together). Brando closed out the decade by appearing in The Fugitive Kind (1960) opposite Anna Magnani . The film was based on another play by Tennessee Williams but was hardly the success A Streetcar Named Desire had been, with the Los Angeles Times labeling Williams' personae "psychologically sick or just plain ugly" and The New Yorker calling it

1740-672: A final, wrap-up show. We finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season, or two or three. The (network) never told anybody they were thinking of cancelling. The cast and crew read the news in the trade papers. Chester and Festus Haggen are Dillon's sidekicks , though others became acting deputies for 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 - to 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 -year stints: Quint Asper ( Burt Reynolds ) (1962–65), Thad Greenwood (Roger Ewing) (1965–67), and Newly O'Brien (Buck Taylor) (1967–75), who served as both back-up deputy and doctor-in-training, having some studies in medicine through his uncle, which then continued under Doc Adams. Initially on

1914-482: A friend asked me to and I didn't want to turn him down ... In some ways I think of my middle age as the Fuck You Years." Candy was especially appalling for many; a 1968 sex farce film directed by Christian Marquand and based on the 1958 novel by Terry Southern , the film satirizes pornographic stories through the adventures of its naive heroine, Candy, played by Ewa Aulin . It is generally regarded as

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2088-417: A grown-up Hopalong Cassidy . Dunning writes that Meston was especially disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed". In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions." Howard McNear starred as Dr. Charles Adams in the radio series, and Milburn Stone portrayed Dr. Galen Adams in

2262-535: A lack of acting fundamentals and, when his casting was announced, many remained dubious about his prospects for success. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and co-starring British stage actor John Gielgud , Brando delivered an impressive performance, especially during Antony's noted "Friends, Romans, countrymen ..." speech. Gielgud was so impressed that he offered Brando a full season at the Hammersmith Theatre, an offer he declined. In his biography on

2436-409: A lesser actor might have been." In Sayonara (1957), Brando appeared as a United States Air Force officer. Newsweek found the film a "dull tale of the meeting of the twain", but it was nevertheless a box-office success. According to Stefan Kanfer's biography of the actor, Brando's manager Jay Kanter negotiated a profitable contract with ten percent of the gross going to Brando, which put him in

2610-500: A lifelong close friendship with Dick Howser . Reynolds' father eventually became Chief of Police of Riviera Beach, which is adjacent to the north end of West Palm Beach, Florida . His nickname in Riviera Beach was "Buddy". (The childhood nicknames of Marlon Brando , the superstar actor whom Reynolds was said to resemble and with whom he feuded, were "Bud" and "Buddy".) During 10th grade at Palm Beach High School , Reynolds

2784-508: A live-action, primetime television series, began its 21st season in February 2022. As of 2017 , it had the highest number of scripted episodes for any U.S. primetime, commercial, live-action television series. On April 29, 2018, The Simpsons surpassed the show for the most scripted episodes. Some foreign-made programs have been broadcast in the U.S. and contend for the position as the longest-running prime-time series. As of 2016 , Gunsmoke

2958-475: A lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal rapists, then found himself unable to offer her what she needed to stop her from moving into ... life as a prostitute." Some listeners, such as Dunning, argue the radio version was more realistic. Episodes were aimed at adults with some of the most explicit content of their time, including violent crimes, scalpings , massacres , and opium addicts. Many episodes end on

3132-528: A nuclear bomb was about to fall on them. Most of the class clucked and ran around wildly, but Brando sat calmly and pretended to lay an egg. Asked by Adler why he had chosen to react this way, he said, "I'm a chicken—what do I know about bombs?" Despite being commonly regarded as a method actor , Brando disagreed. He claimed to have abhorred Lee Strasberg 's teachings: After I had some success, Lee Strasberg tried to take credit for teaching me how to act. He never taught me anything. He would have claimed credit for

3306-552: A partnership with Paramount to establish his own production company called Pennebaker, its declared purpose to develop films that contained "social value that would improve the world." The name was a tribute in honor of his mother, who had died in 1954. By all accounts, Brando was devastated by her death, with biographer Peter Manso telling A&E 's Biography , "She was the one who could give him approval like no one else could and, after his mother died, it seems that Marlon stops caring." Brando appointed his father to run Pennebaker. In

3480-570: A pistol to force him to do something shameful, would put his hand on the gun and push it away with the gentleness of a caress? Who else could read "Oh, Charlie!" in a tone of reproach that is so loving and so melancholy and suggests the terrific depth of pain? ... If there is a better performance by a man in the history of film in America, I don't know what it is. Upon its release, On the Waterfront received glowing reviews from critics and

3654-411: A play he was producing, Outward Bound . He cast him in the lead role based on having heard him read Shakespeare in class, resulting in his winning the 1956 Florida State Drama Award for his performance. "I read two words and they gave me a lead", he later said. In his autobiography, he referred to Duncan as his mentor and the most influential person of his life. The Florida State Drama Award included

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3828-460: A really good movie," he said in 1972. "I made so many bad pictures. I was never able to turn anyone down. The greatest curse in Hollywood is to be a well-known unknown." Gunsmoke Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston . It centered on Dodge City, Kansas , in the 1870s, during the settlement of

4002-589: A scholarship to the Hyde Park Playhouse, a summer stock theater , in Hyde Park, New York . Reynolds considered the opportunity as an agreeable alternative to more physically demanding summer jobs, but did not yet consider acting as a possible career. While working there, Reynolds met Joanne Woodward , who helped him find an agent. "I don't think I ever actually saw him perform", said Woodward later. "I knew him as this cute, shy, attractive boy. He had

4176-535: A screen test after studio talent agent Lew Wasserman saw the effect Reynolds had on secretaries in his office but the test was unsuccessful.) He worked in a variety of jobs, such as waiting tables, washing dishes, driving a delivery truck and as a bouncer at the Roseland Ballroom . Reynolds wrote that, while working as a dockworker , he was offered $ 150 to jump through a glass window on a live television show. Reynolds began acting for television during

4350-623: A screen test. Coppola convinced Brando to do a videotaped "make-up" test, in which Brando did his own makeup (he used cotton balls to simulate the character's puffed cheeks). Coppola had feared Brando might be too young to play the Don, but was electrified by the actor's characterization as the head of a crime family. Even so, he had to fight the studio in order to cast the temperamental actor. Brando had doubts himself, stating in his autobiography, "I had never played an Italian before, and I didn't think I could do it successfully." Eventually, Charles Bluhdorn ,

4524-407: A somber note, and villains often get away with their crimes. The program was set after the arrival of the railroad in Dodge City (1872), and Kansas had been a state since 1861. In reality, a U.S. Marshal (actually a deputy marshal, because only the senior officer in the district holds the title "marshal") would not be based in Dodge City and would not be involved in local law enforcement. Apart from

4698-497: A summer stock production of George Bernard Shaw 's Arms and the Man . In 1954, Brando starred in On the Waterfront , a crime drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen . The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg ; it also starred Karl Malden , Lee J. Cobb , Rod Steiger and, in her film debut, Eva Marie Saint . When initially offered

4872-420: A total pig of a man without sensitivity or grace of any kind. Marlon Brando would be perfect as Stanley. I have just fired the cad from my play, The Eagle Has Two Heads, and I know for a fact that he is looking for work". Pierpont writes that John Garfield was first choice for the role, but "made impossible demands." It was Kazan's decision to fall back on the far less experienced (and technically too young for

5046-524: A tribute to Gunsmoke , including set furniture from the 1960s and an old television tuned to the show. Signed photographs from the show's actors and other memorabilia are on display including a vest worn by Sam the bartender and a dress worn by Miss Kitty. In 2015, several of the surviving staff reunited at Wild West Fest in Dodge City, including stars Burt Reynolds , Buck Taylor , Jess Walton , Bruce Boxleitner , and writer Jim Byrnes. Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004)

5220-522: A vengeful former rival returning to Dodge City to entrap him. In 1990, the second telefilm, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache , premiered. Because Amanda Blake had died the year before, the writers revisited a 1973 episode for the movie. The episode was based on "Matt's Love Story". In the episode, Matt loses his memory and his heart during a brief liaison with "Mike" Yardner (played by Michael Learned , better known for playing Olivia in The Waltons ). In

5394-504: Is "obviously not selling chocolate bars ". The television show first portrayed Kitty as a saloon dance hall employee, then from season two, episode 36 ("Daddy-O"), as half-owner of the Long Branch Saloon . Dillon and Kitty clearly have a close personal relationship. Gunsmoke is often a somber program, particularly in its early years. Dunning writes that Dillon "played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent

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5568-428: Is complete" and noted, "Out of stiff and frozen silences he can lash into a passionate rage with the tearful and flailing frenzy of a taut cable suddenly cut." By Brando's own account, it may have been because of this film that his draft status was changed from 4-F to 1-A . He had had surgery on his trick knee, and it was no longer physically debilitating enough to incur exclusion from the draft. When Brando reported to

5742-470: Is gone. Both deputies are shown to be loyal, but often inept or indecisive at handling problems when Dillon is not around. Although Dillon and Miss Kitty are never portrayed in a romantic relationship, it is apparent they care deeply for each other. Doc Adams is portrayed as a very competent and caring physician, but his conservative treatment methods often frustrate his patients who expect a quick recovery. Doc and both deputies are often used as comic relief over

5916-473: Is perfect," he later wrote in his memoir, "and I think that Gadg has done injury to others, but mostly to himself." In 1953, Brando also starred in The Wild One , riding his own Triumph Thunderbird 6T motorcycle. Triumph's importers were ambivalent at the exposure, as the subject matter was rowdy motorcycle gangs taking over a small town. The film was criticized for its perceived gratuitous violence at

6090-489: Is the kind of guy, when he dies, he's going to heaven and give God a hard time for making him bald." Frank Sinatra called Brando "the world's most overrated actor", and referred to him as "mumbles". The film was commercially though not critically successful, costing $ 5.5 million to make and grossing $ 13 million. Brando played Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. Army in postwar Japan, in The Teahouse of

6264-409: Is the second Western television series written for adults, premiering on September 10, 1955, four days after The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp . The first 12 seasons aired Saturdays at 10 pm, seasons 13 through 16 aired Mondays at 7:30 pm, and the last four seasons aired Mondays at 8 pm. During its second season in 1956, the program joined the list of the top-10 television programs broadcast in

6438-502: Is where his family lived when his father was drafted into the United States Army . Reynolds, his mother, and his sister joined his father at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri , where they subsequently lived for two years. When his father was sent to Europe, the family relocated to Lake City, Michigan , where his mother had been raised. In 1946, the family relocated to Riviera Beach, Florida , where in sixth grade Reynolds began

6612-407: The 1972 New York Film Critics Circle Awards .) Albert S. Ruddy , whom Paramount assigned to produce the film, agreed with the choice of Brando. However, Paramount studio executives were opposed to casting Brando, due to his reputation for difficulty and his long string of box office flops. Brando also had One-Eyed Jacks working against him, a troubled production that lost money for Paramount when it

6786-690: The Gunsmoke: Volume I box set, and another twelve episodes, from 1964 to 1975, were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume II box set. Both sets are also available as a combined single "Gift Box Set". A third unique DVD box set, known as Gunsmoke: The Directors Collection , was also released with 10 selected episodes from certain seasons throughout the series' 20-year history. All of these box sets are available on Region 1 DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD . Additionally, Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD have released

6960-662: The Italian Western Navajo Joe (1966) filmed in Spain. "It wasn't my favorite picture", ...he said later... "I had two expressions—mad and madder." He guest featured in Gentle Ben and made a pilot for a TV series, Lassiter , where he would have played a magazine journalist. It did not develop into a series. Reynolds then made a series of movies in quick succession. Shark! (1969), filmed in Mexico,

7134-534: The Korean War . Early in his career, Brando began using cue cards instead of memorizing his lines. Despite the objections of several of the film directors he worked with, Brando felt that this helped bring realism and spontaneity to his performances. He felt otherwise he would appear to be reciting a writer's speech. In the TV documentary The Making of Superman: The Movie , Brando explained: "If you don't know what

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7308-563: The Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Reynolds had an outstanding freshman year as a football player. However, he injured his knee in the first game of his sophomore season, and, later that year, lost his spleen and injured his other knee in a bad car accident. He did not return to the university for almost two years. To keep up with his studies, he enrolled at Palm Beach Junior College (PBJC) in neighboring Lake Park in early 1956. When Reynolds returned to Florida State in 1957, he rejoined

7482-548: The Stanislavski system of acting and method acting to mainstream audiences. Brando came under the influence of Stella Adler and Stanislavski's system in the 1940s. He began his career on stage, where he was lauded for adeptly interpreting his characters. He made his Broadway debut in the play I Remember Mama (1944) and won Theater World Awards for his roles in the plays Candida and Truckline Cafe , both in 1946. He returned to Broadway as Stanley Kowalski in

7656-534: The Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), a role he reprised in the 1951 film adaptation , directed by Elia Kazan . He made his film debut playing a wounded G.I. in The Men (1950) and won two Academy Awards for Best Actor for his roles as a dockworker in the crime drama film On the Waterfront (1954) and Vito Corleone in the gangster epic The Godfather (1972). He

7830-547: The 1954 film Désirée . Brando was in the film adaptation of the musical Guys and Dolls (1955). Guys and Dolls would be Brando's first and last musical role. Time found the picture "false to the original in its feeling", remarking that Brando "sings in a faraway tenor that sometimes tends to be flat." Appearing in Edward Murrow 's Person to Person interview in early 1955, he admitted to having problems with his singing voice, which he called "pretty terrible." In

8004-737: The 1965 documentary Meet Marlon Brando , he revealed that the final product heard in the movie was a result of countless singing takes being cut into one and later joked, "I couldn't hit a note with a baseball bat; some notes I missed by extraordinary margins ... They sewed my words together on one song so tightly that when I mouthed it in front of the camera, I nearly asphyxiated myself". Relations between Brando and costar Frank Sinatra were also frosty, with Stefan Kanfer observing: "The two men were diametrical opposites: Marlon required multiple takes; Frank detested repeating himself." Upon their first meeting Sinatra reportedly scoffed, "Don't give me any of that Actors Studio shit." Brando later quipped, "Frank

8178-421: The 1980s.) The Brando-Reynolds feud became Hollywood legend. Reynolds said he could not understand Brando's enmity towards him. In a 2015 interview with The Guardian , Reynolds said, "He was a strange man. He didn't like me at all." He did not consciously imitate Brando, or act like him, or try to look like him, and he even grew a mustache so that people would stop saying he looked like Brando. When he finally

8352-691: The American Theatre Wing Professional School, part of the Dramatic Workshop of the New School , with influential German director Erwin Piscator . In a 1988 documentary, Marlon Brando: The Wild One , Brando's sister Jocelyn remembered, "He was in a school play and enjoyed it ... So he decided he would go to New York and study acting because that was the only thing he had enjoyed. That was when he

8526-475: The American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon , played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television. The radio series ran from 1952 to 1961. John Dunning wrote that, among radio drama enthusiasts, " Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time." It ran unsponsored for its first few years, with CBS funding its production. In 1955,

8700-571: The August Moon (1956). Pauline Kael was not particularly impressed by the movie, but noted "Marlon Brando starved himself to play the pixie interpreter Sakini, and he looks as if he's enjoying the stunt—talking with a mad accent, grinning boyishly, bending forward, and doing tricky movements with his legs. He's harmlessly genial (and he is certainly missed when he's offscreen), though the fey, roguish role doesn't allow him to do what he's great at and it's possible that he's less effective in it than

8874-554: The Carson, Griffin, Frost , Dinah's show , suddenly I have a personality." "I realized that people liked me, that I was enough", said Reynolds. "So if I could transfer that character—the irreverent, self-deprecating side of me, my favorite side of me—onto the screen, I could have a big career. Reynolds was considered for the role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather , but Francis Ford Coppola 's desire to cast James Caan in

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9048-619: The Crooked Wheel", from mid-1948. Two versions were recorded. The first, recorded in June 1949, was very much like a hardcore detective series and starred Michael Rye (credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon; the second, recorded in July 1949, starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman

9222-593: The Oscar for his role as Irish-American stevedore Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront . His performance, spurred on by his rapport with Eva Marie Saint and Kazan's direction, was praised as a tour de force . For the scene in which Terry laments his failings, saying I coulda been a contender , he convinced Kazan that the scripted scene was unrealistic. Schulberg's script had Brando acting the entire scene with his character being held at gunpoint by his brother Charlie, played by Rod Steiger . Brando insisted on gently pushing away

9396-590: The TV show a sham and its players impostors should surprise no one. That the TV show was not a sham is due in no small part to the continued strength of Meston's scripts." Macdonnell and Meston continued the radio version of Gunsmoke until 1961, making it one of the most enduring vintage radio dramas. Conrad directed two television episodes, in 1963 and 1971, and McNear appeared on six, playing characters other than Doc, including three times as storekeeper Howard Rudd. The television series ran from September 10, 1955, to March 31, 1975, on CBS, with 635 total episodes. It

9570-809: The United States. It quickly moved to number one and stayed there until 1961. It remained among the top-20 programs until 1964. Set in Dodge City, Kansas during the years following the American Civil War , the series follows the lives of U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon and the citizens he is sworn to protect. Among them are his deputies, Chester Goode, and later Festus Hagen, town physician Galen “Doc” Adams, and saloon owner, Miss Kitty Russell. Most episodes involve disruptions caused by those arriving from outside Dodge City. Since Dillon’s authority extends beyond town, some episodes focus on his travels, while other plots revolve around mishaps occurring while Dillon

9744-439: The actor was "trapped in another dog of a movie ... Not for the first time, Mr. Brando gives us a heavy-lidded, adenoidally openmouthed caricature of the inarticulate, stalwart loner." Although he feigned indifference, Brando was hurt by the critical mauling, admitting in the 2015 film Listen to Me Marlon , "They can hit you every day and you have no way of fighting back. I was very convincing in my pose of indifference, but I

9918-430: The actor, Stefan Kanfer writes, "Marlon's autobiography devotes one line to his work on that film: Among all those British professionals, 'for me to walk onto a movie set and play Mark Anthony was asinine'—yet another example of his persistent self-denigration, and wholly incorrect." Kanfer adds that after a screening of the film, director John Huston commented: "Christ! It was like a furnace door opening—the heat came off

10092-530: The ancient Greek physician and medical researcher Galen . Kitty was played by actress Georgia Ellis on radio, and by Amanda Blake on television. Ellis first appeared in the radio episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards" – a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon's and the widow of a criminal, but the character of "Miss Kitty" did not appear until the May 10, 1952, episode "Jaliscoe". Sometime in 1959, Ellis

10266-427: The best acting I've ever done in that picture, but few people came to see it." Brando dedicated a full chapter to the film in his memoir, stating that the director, Gillo Pontecorvo , was the best director he had ever worked with next to Kazan and Bernardo Bertolucci . Brando also detailed his clashes with Pontecorvo on the set and how "we nearly killed each other." Loosely based on events in the history of Guadeloupe ,

10440-447: The best reading I have ever heard." Brando based his portrayal of Kowalski on the boxer Rocky Graziano , whom he had studied at a local gymnasium. Graziano did not know who Brando was, but attended the production with tickets provided by the young man. He said, "The curtain went up and on the stage is that son of a bitch from the gym, and he's playing me." In 1947, Brando performed a screen test for an early Warner Brothers script for

10614-433: The better roles. Previously only signing short-term deals with film studios, in 1961 Brando uncharacteristically signed a five-picture deal with Universal Studios that would haunt him for the rest of the decade. The Ugly American (1963) was the first of these films. Based on the 1958 novel of the same title that Pennebaker had optioned, the film, which featured Brando's sister Jocelyn, was rated fairly positively but died at

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10788-582: The box office. During the 1970s, Brando was considered "unbankable". Critics were becoming increasingly dismissive of his work and he had not appeared in a box office hit since The Young Lions in 1958, the last year he had ranked as one of the Top Ten Box Office Stars and the year of his last Academy Award nomination, for Sayonara. Brando's performance as Vito Corleone , the "Don", in The Godfather (1972), Francis Ford Coppola 's adaptation of Mario Puzo 's 1969 bestselling novel of

10962-584: The box office. Brando was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. All of Brando's other Universal films during this period, including Bedtime Story (1964), The Appaloosa (1966), A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) and The Night of the Following Day (1969), were also critical and commercial flops. Countess in particular was a disappointment for Brando, who had looked forward to working with one of his heroes, director Charlie Chaplin . The experience turned out to be an unhappy one; Brando

11136-416: The cast of Gunsmoke , one of the top rated shows in the country. The producers developed a new character, "halfbreed" blacksmith Quint Asper: Reynolds was cast, chosen over 300 other contenders. Reynolds announced he would stay on the show "until it ends. I think it's a terrible mistake for an actor to leave a series in the middle of it." Reynolds left Gunsmoke in 1965. He later said that being in that show

11310-415: The character Christian Diestl was controversial for its time. He later wrote, "The original script closely followed the book, in which Shaw painted all Germans as evil caricatures, especially Christian, whom he portrayed as a symbol of everything that was bad about Nazism ; he was mean, nasty, vicious, a cliché of evil ... I thought the story should demonstrate that there are no inherently 'bad' people in

11484-604: The characters Olivia Benson and Fin Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for over 25 and 24 consecutive years to date, respectively. George Walsh, the announcer for Gunsmoke , began in 1952 on the radio series and continued until the television series was canceled in 1975. James Arness, Milburn Stone, Ken Curtis, Dennis Weaver, and Amanda Blake are all inductees of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum . Dodge City 's Boot Hill Museum has

11658-401: The course of the series. When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, contrary to a campaign to persuade the network, the network was not interested in bringing either Conrad or his radio costars to the television medium. Conrad's weight was rumored to be a deciding factor. Denver Pyle was also considered for the role, as was Raymond Burr , who was ultimately also seen as too heavy for

11832-478: The dime novel and the pulp Western as romanticized by Buntline , Harte , and Twain . It was ever the stuff of legend." Five made-for-TV movies were produced after its 20-year run. The show won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards as well as other accolades. It was frequently well received, holding a top-10 spot in the Nielsen ratings for several seasons. The United Kingdom series was initially titled Gun Law . In

12006-425: The doleful tone, Gunsmoke is distinct from other radio Westerns, as the dialogue is often slow and halting, and the outstanding sound effects give a palpable sense of the prairie setting. The effects are subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel. John Dunning wrote, "The listener heard extraneous dialogue in the background, just above the muted shouts of kids playing in an alley. He heard noises from

12180-411: The early 20th century, and death. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and co-starred Anthony Quinn . In the biopic Marlon Brando: The Wild One , Sam Shaw says: "Secretly, before the picture started, he went to Mexico to the very town where Zapata lived and was born in and it was there that he studied the speech patterns of people, their behavior, movement." Most critics focused on the actor rather than

12354-424: The end, the primary roles were all recast, with Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon (on the recommendation of Wayne, who also introduced the pilot), Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode, Milburn Stone as Dr. G. "Doc" Adams (the G. later specified as standing for Galen), and Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty Russell. Macdonnell became the associate producer of the television show and later the producer. Meston was head writer. The series

12528-616: The executive producer, and that he had "a stupid part". Reynolds then said that he "couldn't get a job. I didn't have a very good reputation. You just don't walk out on a network television series." Reynolds returned to guest featuring in television shows. As he put it, "I played heavies in every series in town", appearing in episodes of Playhouse 90 , Johnny Ringo , Alfred Hitchcock Presents , Lock Up , The Blue Angels , Michael Shayne , Zane Grey Theater , The Aquanauts and The Brothers Brannagan . "They were depressing years", he later said. Reynolds made his movie debut in

12702-512: The film got a hostile reception from critics. In 1971, Michael Winner directed him in the British horror film The Nightcomers with Stephanie Beacham , Thora Hird , Harry Andrews and Anna Palk . It is a prequel to The Turn of the Screw , which had previously been filmed as The Innocents (1961). Brando's performance earned him a nomination for a Best Actor BAFTA, but the film bombed at

12876-423: The film soon went over budget; Paramount expected the film to take three months to complete but shooting stretched to six and the cost doubled to more than six million dollars. Brando's inexperience as an editor also delayed postproduction and Paramount eventually took control of the film. Brando later wrote, "Paramount said it didn't like my version of the story; I'd had everyone lie except Karl Malden. The studio cut

13050-463: The film, Learned returns as Mike, who reveals to Marshal Dillon that he is the father of their daughter, Beth (played by Amy Stock-Poynton ) and asks him for help in saving her from a band on Apaches. Other films included Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke: The Long Ride (1993), and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994). Arness stars in all five made-for-television movies. Gunsmoke

13224-516: The film, with Time and Newsweek publishing rave reviews. Years later, in his autobiography, Brando remarked: "Tony Quinn, whom I admired professionally and liked personally, played my brother, but he was extremely cold to me while we shot that picture. During our scenes together, I sensed a bitterness toward me, and if I suggested a drink after work, he either turned me down or else was sullen and said little. Only years later did I learn why." Brando explained that, to create on-screen tension between

13398-467: The film. Milburn Stone had died seven years earlier in 1980 and the role of Doc was not recast. Ken Curtis balked at the salary offer he received and said that he should be paid based on Festus's importance in the character hierarchy. The screenwriters responded to Curtis's absence by making Newly the new Dodge City marshal. The film, shot in Alberta , features a now-retired Marshal Dillon being attacked and

13572-409: The football team, although his leg injured by the car accident slowed him. He was blamed, fairly or not, for the team's loss to North Carolina State University on October 12, 1957. Immediately after the game he told his teammates that he was done with football. During his term at PBJC in early 1956, Reynolds was in an English class taught by Watson B. Duncan III . Duncan encouraged him to try out for

13746-412: The fringes of Dodge society, Festus Haggen was slowly phased in as a reliable sidekick and part-time deputy to Matt Dillon when Reynolds left in 1965. When Milburn Stone temporarily left for heart bypass surgery in 1971, Pat Hingle played Dr. John Chapman for several episodes. The Gunsmoke radio theme song and later television theme is titled "Old Trails", also known as "Boothill". The Gunsmoke theme

13920-491: The greatest blessings of his career, as it freed him up to play the role of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams ' 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire , directed by Elia Kazan . Moreover, to that end, Bankhead herself, in her letter declining Williams' invitation to play the role of Blanche, gave Brando this ringing—albeit acid-tongued—endorsement stating "I do have one suggestion for casting. I know of an actor who can appear as this brutish Stanley Kowalski character. I mean,

14094-466: The gun, saying that Terry would never believe that his brother would pull the trigger and doubting that he could continue his speech while fearing a gun on him. Kazan let Brando improvise and later expressed deep admiration for Brando's instinctive understanding, saying: what was extraordinary about his performance, I feel, is the contrast of the tough-guy front and the extreme delicacy and gentle cast of his behavior. What other actor, when his brother draws

14268-445: The induction center, he answered a questionnaire by saying his race was "human", his color was "Seasonal-oyster white to beige", and he told an Army doctor that he was psychoneurotic. When the draft board referred him to a psychiatrist, Brando explained that he had been expelled from military school and had severe problems with authority. Coincidentally, the psychiatrist knew a doctor friend of Brando. Brando avoided military service during

14442-745: The kind of lovely personality that made you want to do something for him." He was cast in Tea and Sympathy at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. After his Broadway debut in Look, We've Come Through , he received favorable reviews for his performance and went on tour with the cast, driving the bus as well as appearing on stage. After the tour, Reynolds returned to New York and enrolled in acting classes, along with Frank Gifford , Carol Lawrence , Red Buttons and Jan Murray . "I

14616-599: The kind of movies "they show in airplanes or prisons or anywhere else the people can't get out". He proved enormously popular and was frequently asked back by Griffin and Johnny Carson; he even guest hosted the Tonight Show . He was so popular as a guest that he was offered his own talk show but he wanted to continue as an actor. He later said his talk show appearances were "the best thing that ever happened to me. They changed everything drastically overnight. I spent ten years looking virile, saying, 'Put up your hands.' After

14790-732: The late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley , a fan of the Philip Marlowe radio series, asked his programming chief, Hubell Robinson, to develop a hardcore Western series, about a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West". Robinson delegated this to his West Coast CBS vice president, Harry Ackerman , who had developed the Philip Marlowe series. Ackerman and his scriptwriters, Mort Fine and David Friedkin , created an audition script called "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" based on one of their Michael Shayne radio scripts, "The Case of

14964-399: The late 1950s, guest featuring for shows like Flight , M Squad , Schlitz Playhouse , The Lawless Years and Pony Express . He signed a seven-year contract with Universal Studios. "I don't care whether he can act or not", said Wasserman. "Anyone who has this effect on women deserves a break." Reynolds' first big opportunity came when he was cast alongside Darren McGavin who was

15138-794: The low budget Angel Baby (1961), billed fourth. He followed it with a role in a war movie, Armored Command (1961). "It was the one picture that Howard Keel didn't sing on", reminisced Reynolds later. "That was a terrible mistake." In 1961, he returned to Broadway to appear in Look, We've Come Through , directed by José Quintero , but it lasted only five performances. Reynolds continued to guest feature for shows such as Naked City , Ripcord , Everglades , Route 66 , Perry Mason , and The Twilight Zone (" The Bard ", an hour-long send-up of Reynolds' look-alike Marlon Brando ). He later said, "I learned more about my craft in these guest shots than I did standing around and looking virile on Riverboat." In 1962, Dennis Weaver wanted to quit

15312-430: The main actor of the television series Riverboat (1959–61), playing Ben Frazer (the boat's pilot, in which he had several episodes where he managed the boat when McGavin's character would leave for some gambling). According to a contemporary report, Reynolds was considered "a double for Marlon Brando ". The show played for two seasons but Reynolds quit after only 20 episodes, claiming he did not get along with McGavin or

15486-426: The millionaire category. The movie was controversial due to openly discussing interracial marriage , but proved a great success, earning 10 Academy Award nominations, with Brando being nominated for Best Actor. The film went on to win four Academy Awards. Teahouse and Sayonara were the first in a string of films Brando would strive to make over the next decade which contained socially relevant messages, and he formed

15660-541: The movie to pieces and made him a liar, too. By then, I was bored with the whole project and walked away from it". One-Eyed Jacks was received with mixed reviews by critics. Brando's revulsion with the film industry reportedly boiled over on the set of his next film, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 's remake of Mutiny on the Bounty , which was filmed in Tahiti . The actor was accused of deliberately sabotaging nearly every aspect of

15834-584: The movie's release, the sales of leather jackets and motorcycles skyrocketed. Reflecting on the movie in his autobiography, Brando concluded that it had not aged very well but said "More than most parts I've played in the movies or onstage, I related to Johnny, and because of this, I believe I played him as more sensitive and sympathetic than the script envisioned. There's a line in the picture where he snarls, 'Nobody tells me what to do.' That's exactly how I've felt all my life." Later that same year, Brando co-starred with fellow Studio member William Redfield in

16008-612: The nadir of Brando's career. The Washington Post observed: "Brando's self-indulgence over a dozen years is costing him and his public his talents." In the March 1966 issue of The Atlantic , Pauline Kael wrote that in his rebellious days, Brando "was antisocial because he knew society was crap; he was a hero to youth because he was strong enough not to take the crap", but now Brando and others like him had become "buffoons, shamelessly, pathetically mocking their public reputations." In an earlier review of The Appaloosa in 1966, Kael wrote that

16182-440: The network cut Gilligan's Island , instead. The show continued in its new time slot at 8 pm on Mondays. This scheduling move led to a spike in ratings that had it once again rally to the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings , which again saved the series when CBS purged most of its rural content in 1971. The series remained in the top 10 until the 1973–74 television season. After its last original airing on March 31, 1975, Gunsmoke

16356-430: The next block, too, where the inevitable dog was barking." Gunsmoke is unique from other Westerns in that it was unsponsored in the first few years of production. The program was funded by CBS in the first two years. Series producers said that if the show were sponsored, they would have to "clean the show up". The producers wanted to find a sponsor that would allow them to keep the show the way it was. Not long after

16530-646: The novel Rebel Without a Cause (1944), which bore no relation to the film eventually produced in 1955. The screen test is included as an extra in the 2006 DVD release of A Streetcar Named Desire . Brando's first screen role was a bitter paraplegic veteran in The Men (1950). He spent a month in bed at the Birmingham Army Hospital in Van Nuys to prepare for the role. The New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther wrote that Brando as Ken "is so vividly real, dynamic and sensitive that his illusion

16704-500: The part prevailed. There was talk that Reynolds' participation was vetoed by Marlon Brando , who had a lack of respect for him. Brando denied he played a role in thwarting the casting of Reynolds, saying in a January 1979 Playboy interview that Coppola would not have cast Reynolds in the part. Reynolds later claimed that he refused the role of Sonny. ( Godfather producer Albert S. Ruddy would produce Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II , two Reynolds movie successes during

16878-454: The part. Charles Warren , television Gunsmoke ' s first director, said, "His voice was fine, but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood with him." It has long been rumored that John Wayne was offered the role of Matt Dillon; according to Dennis Weaver's comments on the 50th Anniversary DVD, disc one, episode "Hack Prine", John Wayne was never even considered for the role; to have done so would have been preposterous, since Wayne

17052-650: The phenomenal success of the novel gave Evans the clout to turn The Godfather into a prestige picture . Coppola had developed a list of actors for all the roles, and his list of potential Dons included the Oscar-winning Italian-American Ernest Borgnine , the Italian-American Frank de Kova (best known for playing Chief Wild Eagle on the TV sitcom F-Troop ), John Marley (a Best Supporting Oscar-nominee for Paramount's 1970 hit film Love Story who

17226-565: The play was a commercial failure. In 1946, he appeared on Broadway as the young hero in the political drama A Flag is Born , refusing to accept wages above the Actors' Equity rate. In that same year, Brando played the role of Marchbanks alongside Katharine Cornell in her production's revival of Candida , one of her signature roles. Cornell also cast him as the Messenger in her production of Jean Anouilh 's Antigone that same year. He

17400-453: The police television drama Dan August (1970–71), produced by Quinn Martin . Reynolds had previously guest-featured in two episodes of Martin's production The F.B.I. The series was given a full-season order of 26 episodes based on the reputation of Martin and Reynolds but struggled in the ratings against Hawaii Five-0 and was not renewed. Albert R. Broccoli asked Reynolds to play James Bond after Sean Connery , but Reynolds refused

17574-408: The president of Paramount parent Gulf+Western , was won over to letting Brando have the role; when he saw the screen test, he asked in amazement, "What are we watching? Who is this old guinea?" Brando was signed for a low fee of $ 50,000, but in his contract, he was given a percentage of the gross on a sliding scale: 1% of the gross for each $ 10 million over a $ 10 million threshold, up to 5% if

17748-715: The producer hands me a script and says 'I know it's not there now kid, but I know we can make it work.'" Reynolds was offered in a lead role in the series M*A*S*H (1970), but he refused it after "they told me the other two leads would be Barbra Streisand's husband and that tall, skinny guy who was in The Dirty Dozen ." Tom Skerritt played the role and Reynolds, instead, played in Skullduggery (1970), filmed in Jamaica. Reynolds joked that after making "those wonderful, forgettable pictures... I suddenly realized I

17922-413: The production. On June 16, 1962, The Saturday Evening Post ran an article by Bill Davidson with the headline "Six million dollars down the drain: the mutiny of Marlon Brando". Mutiny director Lewis Milestone claimed that the executives "deserve what they get when they give a ham actor, a petulant child, complete control over an expensive picture." Mutiny on the Bounty nearly capsized MGM and, while

18096-523: The project had indeed been hampered with delays other than Brando's behavior, the accusations would dog the actor for years as studios began to fear Brando's difficult reputation. Critics also began taking note of his fluctuating weight. Distracted by his personal life and becoming disillusioned with his career, Brando began to view acting as a means to a financial end. Critics protested when he started accepting roles in films many perceived as being beneath his talent, or criticized him for failing to live up to

18270-408: The radio show began, talk began of adapting it to television. Privately, Macdonnell had a guarded interest in taking the show to television, but publicly, he declared, "our show is perfect for radio", and he feared, as Dunning writes, " Gunsmoke confined by a picture could not possibly be as authentic or attentive to detail. ... In the end, CBS simply took it away from Macdonnell and began preparing for

18444-533: The rebellious motorcycle-gang leader Johnny Strabler in The Wild One (1953), and he came to be seen as an emblem of the era's so-called " generation gap ". He also played Sky Masterson in the musical film Guys and Dolls (1955), Fletcher Christian in the action film Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), Jor-El in the superhero film Superman (1978), and as Colonel Kurtz in the Vietnam war drama Apocalypse Now (1979). He made his directorial film debut in

18618-442: The role of Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire , which Williams had written for her, to tour the play for the 1946–1947 season. Bankhead recognized Brando's potential, despite her disdain (which most Broadway veterans shared) for method acting, and agreed to hire him even though he auditioned poorly. The two clashed greatly during the pre-Broadway tour, with Bankhead reminding Brando of his mother, being her age and also having

18792-407: The role) Brando. In a letter dated August 29, 1947, Williams confided to his agent Audrey Wood: "It had not occurred to me before what an excellent value would come through casting a very young actor in this part. It humanizes the character of Stanley in that it becomes the brutality and callousness of youth rather than a vicious old man ... A new value came out of Brando's reading which was by far

18966-550: The role, Brando—still stung by Kazan's testimony to HUAC—demurred and the part of Terry Malloy nearly went to Frank Sinatra . According to biographer Stefan Kanfer, the director believed that Sinatra, who grew up in Hoboken (where the film takes place and was shot), would work as Malloy, but eventually producer Sam Spiegel wooed Brando to the part, signing him for $ 100,000. "Kazan made no protest because, he subsequently confessed, 'I always preferred Brando to anybody.'" Brando won

19140-594: The role, saying, "An American can't play James Bond. It just can't be done." After the cancellation of the series, Reynolds did his first stage play in six years, a production of The Tender Trap at Arlington Park Theatre. He was offered other TV pilots but was reluctant to play a detective again. Around this time, he had become well known as a charismatic talk-show guest, starting with an appearance on The Merv Griffin Show . He made jokes at his own expense, calling himself America's most " well-known unknown " who only made

19314-517: The same A&E special, George Englund claims that Brando gave his father the job because "it gave Marlon a chance to take shots at him, to demean and diminish him". In 1958, Brando appeared in The Young Lions , dyeing his hair blonde and assuming a German accent for the role, which he later admitted was not convincing. The film is based on the novel by Irwin Shaw , and Brando's portrayal of

19488-519: The same name , was a career turning point, putting him back in the Top Ten and winning him his second Best Actor Oscar. Paramount production chief Robert Evans , who had given Puzo an advance to write The Godfather so that Paramount would own the film rights, hired Coppola after many major directors had turned the film down. Evans wanted an Italian-American director who could provide the film with cultural authenticity. Coppola also came cheap. Evans

19662-550: The screen in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). It earned him his first Academy Award nomination in the Best Actor category . The role is regarded as one of Brando's greatest. He was also nominated the next year for Viva Zapata! (1952), a fictionalized account of the life of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata . The film recounted Zapata's lower-class upbringing, his rise to power in

19836-532: The screen. I don't know another actor who could do that." During the filming of Julius Caesar , Brando learned that Elia Kazan had cooperated with congressional investigators, naming a whole string of "subversives" to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). By all accounts, Brando was upset by his mentor's decision, but he worked with him again in On The Waterfront . "None of us

20010-741: The series in its entirety on DVD for 13 years between 2007 and 2020 in Region 1 (all of the seasons except for season one and seasons sixteen through twenty were split into two volumes). A complete series box set was released on May 5, 2020. All DVDs have been released with English audio and close captioning from season 1 to 5 and starting season 6 English SDH. In 1987, CBS commissioned a reunion movie titled Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge . James Arness and Amanda Blake returned in their iconic roles of Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty, with Fran Ryan returning as Kitty's friend and saloon-owner Hannah and Buck Taylor as Newly O'Brian. Doc Adams and Festus Haggen were not featured in

20184-489: The series was adapted for television and ran for 20 seasons. It ran for half-hour episodes from 1955 to 1961, and one-hour episodes from 1961 to 1975. A total of 635 episodes were aired over its 20 year run. At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote: " Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey , created from standard elements of

20358-679: The show since its inception in 1996, Encore Westerns , INSP , and Weigel Broadcasting 's MeTV digital subchannel network. Individual stations such as KFWD in Dallas also carry the series in their markets. It has also been shown on satellite channel CBS Action in the UK, Ireland, and Poland. The series also appears intermittently on MeTV's themed sister network Decades . In 2006, as part of Gunsmoke ' s 50th anniversary on television, selected episodes were released on DVD in three different box sets. Twelve episodes, from 1955 to 1964, were selected for

20532-514: The spelling of his last name having Italian origin, and what some of his most notable film roles would suggest, Brando did not have Italian ancestry. Brando's ancestry was mostly German, Dutch, English, and Irish. His patrilineal immigrant ancestor, Johann Wilhelm Brandau, arrived in New York City in the early 1700s from the Palatinate in Germany. He is also a descendant of Louis DuBois ,

20706-413: The stage." Brando displayed his apathy for the production by demonstrating some shocking onstage manners. He "tried everything in the world to ruin it for her," Bankhead's stage manager claimed. "He nearly drove her crazy: scratching his crotch, picking his nose, doing anything." After several weeks on the road, they reached Boston, by which time Bankhead was ready to dismiss him. This proved to be one of

20880-402: The starring role. After the play closed, the director, John Forsythe , arranged a movie audition with Joshua Logan for Reynolds. The movie was Sayonara (1957). Reynolds was told he could not be in the movie because he looked too much like Marlon Brando . Logan advised Reynolds to go to Hollywood , although Reynolds did not feel confident enough to do so. (Another source says Reynolds did

21054-552: The sun and the moon if he believed he could get away with it. He was an ambitious, selfish man who exploited the people who attended the Actors Studio and tried to project himself as an acting oracle and guru. Some people worshipped him, but I never knew why. I sometimes went to the Actors Studio on Saturday mornings because Elia Kazan was teaching, and there were usually a lot of good-looking girls, but Strasberg never taught me acting. Stella (Adler) did—and later Kazan. Brando

21228-452: The television version. In the radio series, "Doc" Adams was initially a self-interested and somewhat dark character with a predilection for constantly attempting to increase his revenue through the procurement of autopsy fees. He was acerbic, somewhat mercenary, and borderline alcoholic, in the program's early years. His real name was Dr. Calvin Moore. He came west and changed his name to escape

21402-455: The television version." Conrad and the others were given auditions, but they were little more than token efforts – especially in Conrad's case, due to his obesity. However, Meston was kept as the main writer. In the early years, most of the television episodes were adapted from the radio scripts, often using identical scenes and dialogue. Dunning wrote, "That radio fans considered

21576-546: The time, with Time stating: "The effect of the movie is not to throw light on the public problem, but to shoot adrenaline through the moviegoer's veins." Brando allegedly did not see eye to eye with the Hungarian director László Benedek and did not get on with costar Lee Marvin . To Brando's expressed puzzlement, the movie inspired teen rebellion and made him a role model to the nascent rock-and-roll generation and future stars such as James Dean and Elvis Presley . After

21750-573: The two, "Gadg" (Kazan) had told Quinn – who had taken over the role of Stanley Kowalski from Brando on Broadway – that Brando had been unimpressed with his work. After achieving the desired effect, Kazan never told Quinn that he had misled him. It was only many years later, after comparing notes, that Brando and Quinn realized the deception. Brando's next film, Julius Caesar (1953), received highly favorable reviews. Brando portrayed Mark Antony . While most acknowledged Brando's talent, some critics felt Brando's "mumbling" and other idiosyncrasies betrayed

21924-414: The upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and said that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. Many episodes were based on man's cruelty to man and woman, inasmuch as the prairie woman's life and the painful treatment of women as chattels were touched on well ahead of the time of most media. As originally pitched to CBS executives, this was to be an adult Western, not

22098-841: The western drama One-Eyed Jacks (1961), in which he also starred, which did poorly at the box office. On television, Brando won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979), after which he took a nine-year hiatus from acting. He later returned to film, with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. The last two decades of his life were marked by controversy, and his troubled private life received significant public attention. He struggled with mood disorders and legal issues. His last films include The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and The Score (2001). Marlon Brando Jr.

22272-543: The words are but you have a general idea of what they are, then you look at the cue card and it gives you the feeling to the viewer, hopefully, that the person is really searching for what he is going to say—that he doesn't know what to say". Some, however, thought Brando used the cards out of laziness or an inability to memorize his lines. Once, on the set of The Godfather , Brando was asked why he wanted his lines printed out. He responded: "Because I can read them that way." Brando brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski to

22446-453: The world, but they can easily be misled." Shaw and Brando even appeared together for a televised interview with CBS correspondent David Schoenbrun and, during a bombastic exchange, Shaw charged that, like most actors, Brando was incapable of playing flat-out villainy; Brando responded by stating "Nobody creates a character but an actor. I play the role; now he exists. He is my creation." The Young Lions also features Brando's only appearance in

22620-570: The world." Coppola's hand-written cast list has Brando's name underlined. Evans told Coppola that he had been thinking of Brando for the part two years earlier, and Puzo had imagined Brando in the part when he wrote the novel and had actually written to him about the part, so Coppola and Evans narrowed it down to Brando. (Coincidentally, Olivier would compete with Brando for the Best Actor Oscar for his part in Sleuth . He bested Brando at

22794-404: Was The Chase (1966), which paired the actor with director Arthur Penn , Jane Fonda , Robert Redford and Robert Duvall . The film deals with themes of racism, sexual revolution, small-town corruption, and vigilantism. The film was received mostly positively. Brando cited Burn! (1969) as his personal favorite of the films he had made, writing in his autobiography: "I think I did some of

22968-555: Was "the happiest period of my life. I hated to leave that show but I felt I had served my apprenticeship and there wasn't room for two leading men." He was cast in his first lead role in a movie, the low-budget action movie, Operation C.I.A. (1965). He guest featured in the television series Flipper , The F.B.I. and 12 O'Clock High . Reynolds was given the title role of a TV series, Hawk (1966–67), playing Native American detective John Hawk. It ran for 17 episodes before being cancelled. He played another Native American in

23142-598: Was "way ahead of its time. I was playing light comedy and nobody cared." Reynolds featured with Jim Brown and Raquel Welch in another western movie, 100 Rifles (1969), later saying, "I spent the entire time refereeing fights between Jim Brown and Raquel Welch." In a 1969 interview, he expressed interest in playing roles like the John Garfield part in The Postman Always Rings Twice , but no one gave him those opportunities. "Instead,

23316-474: Was 18." In the A&;E Biography episode on Brando, George Englund said Brando fell into acting in New York because "he was accepted there. He wasn't criticized. It was the first time in his life that he heard good things about himself." He spent his first few months in New York sleeping on friends' couches. For a time he lived with Roy Somlyo , who later became a four-time Emmy-winning Broadway producer. Brando

23490-592: Was Brando being difficult, but actors who worked opposite him said it was just all part of his technique. Brando used his Stanislavski System skills for his first summer stock roles in Sayville, New York , on Long Island . Brando established a pattern of erratic, insubordinate behavior in the few shows he had been in. His behavior had him kicked out of the cast of the New School's production in Sayville, but he

23664-695: Was Oscar-nominated for playing Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata! (1952), Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (1953), an air force pilot in Sayonara (1957), an American expatriate in Last Tango in Paris (1973), and a lawyer in A Dry White Season (1989). Brando was known for playing characters who later became popular icons , such as

23838-584: Was a commercial success, earning an estimated $ 4.2 million in rentals at the North American box office in 1954. In his July 29, 1954, review, The New York Times critic A. H. Weiler praised the film, calling it "an uncommonly powerful, exciting, and imaginative use of the screen by gifted professionals." Film critic Roger Ebert lauded the film retrospectively, stating that Brando and Kazan changed acting in American films forever and adding it to his "Great Movies" list. In his autobiography, Brando

24012-500: Was a half-hour show, retitled Marshal Dillon in syndication. It then went to an hour-long format. The series was retitled Gun Law in the UK. The Marshal Dillon syndicated reruns of half-hour episodes lasted from 1961 until 1964 on CBS, originally on Tuesday nights within its time in reruns. In syndication, the entire 20-year run of Gunsmoke is separated into three packages by CBS Television Distribution : The program currently airs on four major venues: TV Land , which has carried

24186-447: Was a top movie leading man. The belief that Wayne was asked to star is disputed by Warren. Although he agrees Wayne encouraged Arness to take the role, Warren says, "I hired Jim Arness on the strength of a picture he's done for me ... I never thought for a moment of offering it to Wayne." According to Thomas "Duke" Miller, a television and movie celebrity expert, this story was told to him by legendary actor James Stewart : "Jimmy said he

24360-416: Was a working actor for two years before I finally took my first real acting class (with Wynn Handman at the Neighborhood Playhouse )", he said. "It was a lot of technique, truth, moment-to-moment, how to listen, improv." After a botched improvisation in acting class, Reynolds briefly considered returning to Florida, but soon gained a part in a revival of Mister Roberts , in which Charlton Heston played

24534-399: Was already one of radio's busiest actors. Though Meston championed him, Macdonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over Macdonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon, as portrayed by Conrad, was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. Macdonnell later claimed, "Much of Matt Dillon's character grew out of Bill Conrad." Meston relished

24708-601: Was also offered the opportunity to portray one of the principal characters in the Broadway premiere of Eugene O'Neill 's The Iceman Cometh , but turned the part down after falling asleep while trying to read the massive script and pronouncing the play "ineptly written and poorly constructed". In 1945, Brando's agent recommended he take a co-starring role in The Eagle Has Two Heads with Tallulah Bankhead , produced by Jack Wilson. Bankhead had turned down

24882-406: Was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century, Brando received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academy Awards , three British Academy Film Awards , a Cannes Film Festival Award , two Golden Globe Awards , and a Primetime Emmy Award . Brando is credited with being one of the first actors to bring

25056-436: Was an avid student and proponent of Stella Adler , from whom he learned the techniques of the Stanislavski system . This technique encouraged the actor to explore both internal and external aspects to fully realize the character being portrayed. Brando's remarkable insight and sense of realism were evident early on. Adler used to recount that, when teaching Brando, she had instructed the class to act like chickens, and added that

25230-789: Was as Lewis Medlock in Deliverance (1972). Reynolds played leading roles in a number of subsequent financial successes, such as White Lightning (1973), The Longest Yard (1974), Smokey and the Bandit (1977) (which started a six-year box-office reign), Semi-Tough (1977), The End (1978), Hooper (1978), Starting Over (1979), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981), Sharky's Machine (1981), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and Cannonball Run II (1984), several of which he directed. He

25404-412: Was as hot as Leo Gorcey ." Reynolds featured in two television movies: Hunters Are for Killing (1970) and Run, Simon, Run (1970). In Hunters Are for Killing , his character was originally a Native American, but Reynolds requested this element be changed, feeling he had played that role too many times already, and it was not needed for the character anyway. Reynolds played the title character in

25578-475: Was billed as Georgia Hawkins instead of Georgia Ellis. Amanda Blake appeared in over 500 episodes of the television series, with her last being the April 1, 1974, episode titled, "The Disciple". In the radio series, Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with Time , Macdonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while". The magazine observed that she

25752-559: Was born on April 3, 1924, in Omaha, Nebraska , as the only son of Marlon Brando Sr. and Dorothy Pennebaker. His father was a salesman who often travelled out-of-state and his mother was a stage actress, often away from home. His mother's absence resulted in Brando becoming attached to the family's housekeeper, who eventually left to get married, causing Brando to develop abandonment issues. His two elder sisters were Jocelyn and Frances. Despite

25926-572: Was born on February 11, 1936, to Burton Milo Reynolds Sr. and Harriet Fernette "Fern" ( née Miller) His family descended from Dutch , English, Scots-Irish , and Scottish ancestry. Reynolds also claimed some Cherokee and Italian ancestry. During his career, Reynolds often claimed to have been born in Waycross, Georgia , although in 2015, he stated that he was actually born in Lansing, Michigan . In his autobiography, he stated that Lansing

26100-584: Was canceled after a 20-year run (with reruns continuing to air until September), even though it still ranked among the top 30 programs in the ratings; the Mary Tyler Moore spin-offs Rhoda (which was going into its second year in the Fall-1975 season) and Phyllis (a fall-1975 freshman) would be scheduled for the 8 pm hour previously occupied by Gunsmoke that fall. Thirty television Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke

26274-502: Was cast as the film producer Jack Woltz in the picture), the Italian-American Richard Conte (who was cast as Don Corleone's deadly rival Don Emilio Barzini ), and Italian film producer Carlo Ponti . Coppola admitted in a 1975 interview, "We finally figured we had to lure the best actor in the world. It was that simple. That boiled down to Laurence Olivier or Marlon Brando, who are the greatest actors in

26448-471: Was composed by Rex Koury. The original radio version was conducted by Koury. The television version was thought to have been first conducted by CBS west coast music director Lud Gluskin . The lyrics of the theme, never aired on the radio or television show, were recorded and released by Tex Ritter in 1955. Ritter was backed on that Capitol record by Rex Koury and the radio Gunsmoke orchestra. Other notable composers included: From 1955 to 1961, Gunsmoke

26622-464: Was conscious of the fact that Paramount's last Mafia film, The Brotherhood (1968) had been a box office bomb, and he believed it was partly due to the fact that the director, Martin Ritt , and the star, Kirk Douglas , were Jewish, and the film lacked an authentic Italian flavor. The studio originally intended the film to be a low-budget production set in contemporary times without any major actors, but

26796-589: Was directed by Sam Fuller , who removed his name from it, after which its release was held up for a number of years. Reynolds described Fade In as "the best thing I've ever done", but it was not released for a number of years, and the director, Jud Taylor , took his name off. Impasse (1969) was a war movie filmed in the Philippines. He played the title role in Sam Whiskey (1969), a comic Western written by William W. Norton , which Reynolds later said

26970-513: Was filmed at the present site of California Lutheran University (CLU) and nearby Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California . In 1975, CBS made the decision not to renew Gunsmoke for a 21st season, without making any public announcement or informing the producers or cast members ahead of time. The entire cast was stunned by the cancellation, as they were unaware that CBS was considering it. According to Arness: We didn't do

27144-440: Was held back for a year, and with his history of misbehaving, he was expelled in 1941. Brando was sent by his father to Shattuck Military Academy , where his father had also studied. There, Brando continued to excel at acting until 1943, when he was put on probation for being insubordinate to an officer during maneuvers. He was confined to the campus, but sneaked into town and was caught. The faculty voted to expel him, although he

27318-445: Was horrified at Chaplin's didactic style of direction and his authoritarian approach. Brando had also appeared in the spy thriller Morituri in 1965; that, too, failed to attract an audience. Brando acknowledged his professional decline, writing later, "Some of the films I made during the sixties were successful; some weren't. Some, like The Night of the Following Day , I made only for the money; others, like Candy , I did because

27492-405: Was in the office with Charles Warren when Mr. Wayne came in. Mr. Warren asked Wayne if he knew James Arness, and Mr. Wayne said yes. Mr. Warren told Mr. Wayne about the transition of the show from radio to television, and Mr. Wayne readily agreed that James Arness would be a terrific choice for the part of Matt Dillon. I have no reason to doubt the story, because Jimmy absolutely knew everybody." In

27666-486: Was introduced to Brando, Reynolds said he told him that he was the finest actor in the world. Brando replied, "I wish I could say the same for you". He had a major role in the movie Deliverance , directed by John Boorman , who cast him on the basis of a talk show appearance. "It's the first time I haven't had a script with Paul Newman 's and Robert Redford 's fingerprints all over it," Reynolds joked. "The producers actually came to me first". "I've waited 15 years to do

27840-401: Was named First Team All State and All Southern as a fullback , and received multiple scholarship offers. After graduating from Palm Beach High School, he attended Florida State University on a football scholarship and played halfback , starting in 1954. While at Florida State, he roomed with future college-football coach, broadcaster, and analyst Lee Corso , and also became a brother of

28014-482: Was nominated twice for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy . Reynolds was voted the world's number one movie actor from 1978 to 1982 in the annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll , a record that he shares with Bing Crosby . After a number of box-office failures, Reynolds returned to television, featuring in the situation comedy Evening Shade (1990–1994) which won

28188-619: Was only 6 years old, the family moved to Evanston, Illinois , where Brando mimicked other people, developed a reputation for pranking, and met Wally Cox , with whom he remained friends until Cox's death in 1973. In 1936, his parents separated and he and his siblings moved with their mother to Santa Ana, California . Two years later, his parents reconciled, and his father purchased a farmhouse in Libertyville, Illinois . Brando attended Libertyville High School , excelling at sports and drama, but failing in every other subject. Consequently, he

28362-403: Was played on radio by William Conrad and on television by James Arness. Two versions of the same pilot episode titled "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" were produced with Rye Billsbury and Howard Culver playing Marshal Mark Dillon as the lead, not yet played by Conrad. Conrad was one of the last actors to audition for the role of Marshal Dillon. With a resonantly powerful and distinctive voice, Conrad

28536-426: Was rated fourth globally, after Doctor Who (1963–present), Taggart (1983–2010), and The Bill (1984–2010). James Arness and Milburn Stone portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for 20 consecutive years, a feat later matched by Kelsey Grammer as the character Frasier Crane , but over two half-hour sitcoms ( Cheers and Frasier ). This was surpassed by Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T , who have portrayed

28710-493: Was released in 1961. Paramount Pictures President Stanley Jaffe told an exasperated Coppola: "As long as I'm president of this studio, Marlon Brando will not be in this picture, and I will no longer allow you to discuss it." Jaffe eventually set three conditions for the casting of Brando: That he would have to take a fee far below what he typically received; he would have to agree to accept financial responsibility for any production delays his behavior cost; and he had to submit to

28884-509: Was set in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Dunning notes, "The show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism." The radio series first aired on CBS on April 26, 1952, with the episode "Billy the Kid", written by Walter Newman , and ended on June 18, 1961. The show stars William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant, Chester Wesley Proudfoot. Matt Dillon

29058-598: Was soon afterwards discovered in a locally produced play there. Then, in 1944, he made it to Broadway in the bittersweet drama I Remember Mama , playing the son of Mady Christians . The Lunts wanted Brando to play the role of Alfred Lunt 's son in O Mistress Mine , and Lunt even coached him for the audition, but Brando made no attempt to even read his lines at the audition and was not hired. New York Drama Critics voted him "Most Promising Young Actor" for his role as an anguished veteran in Truckline Café , although

29232-560: Was supported by the students who thought expulsion was too harsh. Brando was invited back for the following year, but decided instead to drop out of high school. He then worked as a ditch-digger at a summer job arranged by his father and tried to enlist in the Army, but his routine physical revealed that a football injury he had sustained at Shattuck had left him with a trick knee ; he was classified physically unfit for military service. Brando decided to follow his sisters to New York, studying at

29406-537: Was television's number one ranked show from 1957 to 1961, then it expanded to one hour and slipped into a decline. CBS planned to cancel the series in 1967 after the twelfth season, but widespread viewer reaction prevented its demise, including a mention in Congress and pressure from Babe Paley , the wife of CBS's longtime president William S. Paley. Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz states that Babe pressured her husband not to cancel Gunsmoke in 1967, so

29580-580: Was the first to bring a natural approach to acting on film. According to Dustin Hoffman in his online Masterclass, Brando would often talk to cameramen and fellow actors about their weekend even after the director would call action. Once Brando felt he could deliver the dialogue as naturally as that conversation, he would start the dialogue. In his 2015 documentary, Listen To Me Marlon , he said that prior to that, actors were like breakfast cereals, meaning they were predictable. Critics would later say that this

29754-519: Was the sole survivor, with Alias Smith and Jones and Bonanza both leaving the airwaves 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years earlier in January 1973. The television series was the longest-running, primetime, live-action television series at 20 seasons, until September 2019 with the 21st-season premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . The original Law & Order , which was canceled in 2010 after tying Gunsmoke ' s longevity record for

29928-488: Was told to proceed. A complication arose when Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. The project was suspended for three years, when producer Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston discovered it while creating an adult Western series of their own. Macdonnell and Meston wanted to create a radio Western for adults, in contrast to the prevailing juvenile fare such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid . Gunsmoke

30102-496: Was typically dismissive of his performance: "On the day Gadg showed me the complete picture, I was so depressed by my performance I got up and left the screening room ... I thought I was a huge failure." After Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor, the statue was stolen. Much later, it turned up at a London auction house, which contacted the actor and informed him of its whereabouts. Brando portrayed Napoleon in

30276-506: Was very sensitive and it hurt a lot." Brando portrayed a repressed gay army officer in Reflections in a Golden Eye , directed by John Huston and co-starring Elizabeth Taylor . The role turned out as one of his most acclaimed in years, with Stanley Crouch marveling, "Brando's main achievement was to portray the taciturn but stoic gloom of those pulverized by circumstances." The film overall received mixed reviews. Another notable film

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