Hollywood's 'Godfather' dies

LOS ANGELES -- Marlon Brando, the eccentric star of "The Godfather" who early in his career redefined the image of a Hollywood leading man through acclaimed Method performances as street-tough but emotionally raw characters, died at 80.

The reclusive Brando died of lung failure at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at UCLA Medical Center, according to hospital spokeswoman Roxanne Moster.

"Marlon would hate the idea of people chiming in to give their comments about his death. All I'll say is that it makes me sad he's gone," "The Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola said Friday.

Brando's attorney, David J. Seeley, said funeral arrangements would be private.

For generations of movie lovers, Brando was unforgettable -- the embodiment of brutish Stanley Kowalski in 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire," famously bellowing "Stella!" at his estranged love with a mix of anguish and desire.

Then came his mixed-up, washed-up boxer Terry Malloy of 1954's "On the Waterfront," who laments throwing fights for his gangster brother with the line, "I coulda been a contender ... I coulda been somebody ..."

The key to Brando's craft was Method acting -- a practice learned at Stella Adler's renowned Actors Studio in New York. The technique eschewed grandiose theatricality in favor of a deeper psychological approach, often through near-continuous rehearsal that led many actors to behave like their characters even when offstage.

Brando's personally combative nature only increased as he grew older. It might best be defined by his line from 1953's "The Wild One," in which Brando, playing a motorcycle gang leader, was asked what he's rebelling against.

"Whattaya got?" was his character's reply.

Even though the studios had written off the star in the early 1970s, he went on to create the iconic character of Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather," which reinvigorated his career and earned him his second best-actor Oscar.

His first came years earlier for 1954's "On the Waterfront," and Brando showed up in a tuxedo and graciously accepted it.

But his stunt at the 1973 Oscar ceremony cemented his status as one of the movie industry's most bizarre talents. Brando sent a woman who identified herself as Sasheen Littlefeather to reject his "Godfather" trophy on his behalf and read a diatribe about Hollywood's poor treatment of American Indians.