Anon recalls the adventures of Marlon Brando

The Superman one is more or less true according to stories of the time and several people. Brando hated the role- he hated many of the roles he took, especially later in his career. He was very open and unapologetic even in press interviews and had said that he only took roles for the money. He was known as very difficult and demanding since at least as early as “Mutiny in The Bounty” and would often throw tantrums, rewrite scenes or even his character, and refuse to work if he didn’t get his way. He also frequently made his contempt and suffering at being in these films very obvious on set, and seemed to go out of his way so others felt that suffering too.

I won’t do the whole list. Pretty much all of these seek at least based in fact, but many are debatable or maybe a little off. The throwing fast food over the fence one for example- a popular and old Brando story was the time his then partner made him go on a diet so his friends threw food over the fence for him, the “diet” didn’t work and his partner left him. Jack Nicholson and Brando were good friends and there was even gossip and press they might be gay lovers, which Brando has said in interviews he found amusing.

Brando loved Pinks Hot Dogs in LA (still there pre Covid, an institution, and if you are ever in LA, there’s often a line but sometimes it isn’t so bad- and they are good.) he is known to have often gone there- especially late at night. Did he have a special hot dog eating car- or a dedicated car to go there? Possibly. Another well known anecdote is Brando ripping his pants- which seems to be true, but it is questionable if they “invented” a special fabric or just bought stretchy pants.

Brando was a jokster. He loved jokes and practical jokes. His belongings auctioned after his death included many “magic shop practical jokes” like fake fingers and Whoopie cushions and plastic bugs and such. Johnny Depp recounted of his friend on his death that he was a joker who enjoyed such pranks. Brando was open and in the public eye but also private and elusive. He was also just odd and troubled. He detested fame but also used it. In his half century plus career full of antics and controversies- he picked up legend and myth. Something he has spoke of at least a few times as one of the things he hates about fame- people don’t see the person, only the myth.

So there are many wild Brando stories that come to us from friends, coworkers, Hollywood regulars and gossips, from people who say they knew him, or even people who say their parents or relatives knew him. Some details we just can’t sort out beyond believing or not believing differing accounts or seemingly wild tales. Even information from Brando himself is sometimes suspect about what he has or has not done.

His legend and his oddity only add to the mess- as almost any story about him is believable. The man had 11 kids, he bought a 13 island chain and had a renowned architect build him a natural village that wouldn’t disturb the local ecosystem. He opened native wild life preserves and study centers. He championed Native American rights. He made lengthy comments in televised and broadcast interviews about Hollywood being run by “Jews” and laced them with racial slurs for blacks and Japanese and other groups- stating that you didn’t see <racial slur for Jews> portrayed in films but you saw others, and he was disappointed as the Jews were a persecuted people and he expected them to be more sensitive to other persecuted people. And in the same breath he’d tell you he loved the Jewish people and was thankful for all they’d done for the world.

And in truth- he was known for advocacy and works to help the Jewish and Jewish community, had Jewish friends who called him a friend of the Jews in general. So Brando presented these often seemingly contradictory sides. Was he in any way an anti-Semite? Some believe so, feel so. Surely “but I have friends who are <insert group> or “this guy is <insert group> and says he’s a great guy!>” are both cliched tropes of many objective bigots.

My point isn’t wether Brando was or wasn’t a bigot- it’s that we can’t really truly say. He lived a wild life. He described many of the excessive and sometimes odd meals he ate, and others have witnessed him eating excessive and odd meals (including cast and crew recounting him eating- or at least biting the frog mentioned above.) but the legend of Brando and the myth, his eccentricities and his playing with his own myth, both cast doubts on some things and also make almost anything believable about the guy. He was, pun not intended, a larger than life figure who somehow remained a big name in Hollywood and a legend to this day despite numerous terrible films, monstrous behavior, and having a 40+ year public meltdown.

Tl:dr- some are well known and documented fact. Others are perhaps based in fact but maybe a little off on certain details or aspects. Some are more questionable but Brando was... something else. Odd, eccentric, and shrouded in myth- so many Brando stories are just based on the claims of a single person or subject to some scrutiny. Nothing on that list is particularly unbelievable or out of character for the Marlon Brando known to the general public.