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Death of Hollywood legend

Legendary actor Marlon Brando has died at the age of 80.

The acclaimed Hollywood star, who won Oscars for his roles in The Godfather and On the Waterfront, passed away in a Los Angeles hospital, his lawyer said.

Brando, an overweight recluse, was known to be in poor health and earlier this year was seen being pushed in a wheelchair and breathing with the help of an oxygen mask.

He was struck down with pneumonia in 2002.

Film director Michael Winner paid tribute to the star, describing him as the most "marvellous", "witty" and "loyal" friend he had ever had.

Regarded by many as the greatest actor of his generation, Brando was the original angry young man of cinema.

His electrifying performances in A Streetcar Named Desire and On The Waterfront were unlike anything Hollywood had seen before.

Two decades on his Oscar-winning role in The Godfather sealed his status as a screen legend.

But Brando's life was marred by tragedy, and his later years were a tale of sad decline.

Days before his death it emerged that he was existing on social security and a pension from the Screen Actors Guild, with debts of £11 million.

If you haven't seen On The Waterfront, you really couldn't spend a better 90 minutes on a rainy day.

If you're into or have studied film, Hollywood history or method acting, I don't need to say anything else.

But if you want to see what acting really is, if you want to see why men like Deniro, Pacino, Pitt, Norton and Hanks worshiped this guy, and if you want to capture why Marlon Brando was the greatest living actor, in a scene that is still powerfull despite it's having become a cliche, On The Waterfront is Brando, and film making in general, at the pinnacle.

He didn't lead an easy life, and it certainly took it's toll on him. His work, his famous Oscar refusal, his charity work, and the lines that we all know (even if we don't know they're Brando) leave one helluva legacy.

Make 'em an offer they can't refuse big man.

Just had to add this very "Downie-esque" quote Brando gave to Canadian reporter Murray Campbell in 1989. Campbell recalled it today in the Globe.

"But every time I drove up Coldwater Canyon to Mulholland Drive — where he was reputed to live — I thought of him, his love of gentle ocean breezes and his desire to change the world. "To withdraw, to curse the darkness rather than light one's candle is a useless exercise," he had told me that day. "You simply can't live with that philosophy. You must do something."

Stephen Dame Wrote:Just had to add this very "Downie-esque" quote Brando gave to Canadian reporter Murray Campbell in 1989. Campbell recalled it today in the Globe.

"But every time I drove up Coldwater Canyon to Mulholland Drive — where he was reputed to live — I thought of him, his love of gentle ocean breezes and his desire to change the world. "To withdraw, to curse the darkness rather than light one's candle is a useless exercise," he had told me that day. "You simply can't live with that philosophy. You must do something."

Now THAT'S a quote. Thanks for posting that.

"On The Waterfront" is just starting on VisionTV for anyone who get that channel. I just stumbled across it. As previously mentioned, it's great...