Dozens of the late United States movie star Marlon Brando’s personal effects will be auctioned on June 30 in New York, Christie’s said on Thursday, announcing it as the most high profile sale since Marilyn Monroe’s property was auctioned in 1999.
”Marlon Brando was an extremely private and elusive individual and the sale offers a rare privilege — an intimate insight into the lifestyle and career of a famed screen colossus,” the auction house said in a release.
The property includes 250 articles from the Los Angeles home where he lived from 1960 until his death in July 2004, and is expected to bring more than $1-million, it said.
Included is the script from the 1972 film The Godfather, containing handwritten notes that give ”incredible insight into the methods of creating the character, Don Corleone”.
It is expected to fetch $6 000 to $8 000. On sale are letters to Brando from the book’s author Mario Puzo, his colleague Karl Malden, to directors Francis Ford Coppola and Elia Kazan, as well as black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior.
Also included is the black velvet outfit he wore in Superman (1978), his Oscar nomination certificate for The Waterfront (1954), his DVD and VHS library and his book collection, as well as his boxing gloves.
”Brando meticulously retained memorabilia from his acting career and these treasure troves help unravel the methods of his iconic and legendary characterisations — and offer an unsurpassed window into the world of this enigmatic acting genius,” Christie’s wrote.
Brando, who died at 80 from pulmonary fibrosis, made a major impact in films including his role as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. – Sapa-AFP