Jocelyn Brando
Encyclopedia
Jocelyn Brando was an American film, stage and television actress.
Her film debut came in the war movie China Venture (1953) with Edmond O'Brien
and Barry Sullivan
. Her best-known movie role was as detective Glenn Ford
's doomed wife in the gangster film noir
The Big Heat
(1953). Other featured movie roles included The Explosive Generation
(1961), Bus Riley's Back in Town
(1965),
Why Would I Lie?
(1980) and Mommie Dearest
(1981).
, was born in San Francisco, California
to Marlon Brando Sr. and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando. Jocelyn and Marlon Brando and their sister Frances grew up mostly in the Midwest - in Omaha
, Evanston, Illinois
and Libertyville, Illinois
, though the family also spent time in California. The bane of the children's existence was the alcoholism of both parents, which was particularly acute with their mother, who later became a leader in Alcoholics Anonymous
. Although Jocelyn, a talented actress, was blacklisted for having signed a peace petition, she managed a career that spanned five decades in the theater, film and television.
Jocelyn Brando came to the stage naturally, first appearing in a theatrical production under the direction of her mother, who was a principal in an Omaha community theater group. Her mother, Dorothy Brando gave Henry Fonda
his start in theater in this same group. She made her Broadway debut soon after her 22nd birthday, appearing in The First Crocus at the Longacre Theatre on January 2, 1942; the play closed after five performances. Her next appearance on Broadway came two months after her younger brother began his role as Stanley Kowalski
in Tennessee Williams
' A Streetcar Named Desire
.
On February 18, 1948, Jocelyn appeared in her second role on Broadway, which was considerably more successful than her debut. She played Navy nurse Lieutenant Ann Girard in Mister Roberts
, which starred family friend Henry Fonda
in the eponymous title role. The play was a smash hit, running about three years (1157 performances).
Jocelyn did not complete the run of the play, appearing in the comedy The Golden State in the 1950-51 season, a flop that lasted but 25 performances. She rebounded with the critically acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful, 1952 revival of O'Neill's
Desire Under the Elms
which ran for only 46 performances. One of her co-stars was the lead actress, Colleen Dewhurst
. Jocelyn Brando would later appear with Dewhurst in a Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill
's Mourning Becomes Electra
.
Back in uniform as a military officer, Jocelyn made her film debut in Don Siegel
's war drama, China Venture (1953). When she first arrived in Hollywood, she gave an interview with The New York Times in which she commented on her brother's advice—or lack of it—to the tyro film actress: "Marlon is a sweet fellow, and he works very hard. I asked him for a tip about pictures, and he answered, 'Oh, I just say the words. That's all I know about picture acting.' He probably was smart at that to let me find my own way."
It was her second film that was her best-known movie role: detective Glenn Ford
's doomed wife in Fritz Lang
's The Big Heat
(1953). Jocelyn's character was killed by a car bomb, intended for screen husband Ford. She also appeared in supporting roles in two of her brother's films, The Ugly American
(1963) and The Chase
(1965).
In the late 1960s, Jocelyn joined the cast of the CBS soap opera, Love of Life, where
she created the role of Mrs Krakauer, mother of Tess (Toni Bull Bua) and Mickey (Alan Feinstein). On primetime television she played the recurring role of Mrs. Reeves on Dallas
. Other popular TV series that featured her work include Richard Diamond, Private Detective
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, Wagon Train
, The Virginian
, Kojak
and Little House on the Prairie
.
Many fans of the 1981 film Mommie Dearest
believe Jocelyn portrayed actress Barbara Bennett
, sister to Constance Bennett
and Joan Bennett
, in the movie, but this is incorrect. It is coincidence that the Redbook writer in the movie has the same name. The real Barbara Bennett was never a magazine writer. She held sporadic jobs, once as a literary rep for Walter Wanger, scouting best-sellers and the like as potential movie properties, especially for Wanger's wife, her sister Joan.
In later life, Jocelyn Brando, known for her sharp sense of humor, ran her own bookstore in Santa Monica, California
known as The Book Bin. She wrote poetry; and conducted workshops at her home in the Intensive Journal method, a self-therapy technique developed by Ira Progoff
.
Jocelyn Brando had two sons, Gahan Hanmer, by actor Don Hanmer and Martin Asinof, by writer Eliot Asinof
. She died at her Santa Monica
home, aged 86, from undisclosed causes.
Her film debut came in the war movie China Venture (1953) with Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...
and Barry Sullivan
Barry Sullivan (actor)
Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
. Her best-known movie role was as detective Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
's doomed wife in the gangster film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
The Big Heat
The Big Heat
The Big Heat is a 1953 film noir directed by Fritz Lang, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Lee Marvin. It is about a cop who takes on the crime syndicate that controls his city after the brutal murder of his beloved wife. The film was written by former crime reporter Sydney Boehm based on a...
(1953). Other featured movie roles included The Explosive Generation
The Explosive Generation
The Explosive Generation is a 1961 film directed by Buzz Kulik. It stars William Shatner and Patty McCormack.-Cast:*William Shatner as Peter Gifford*Patty McCormack as Janet Sommers*Lee Kinsolving as Dan Carlyle*Billy Gray as Bobby Herman Jr....
(1961), Bus Riley's Back in Town
Bus Riley's Back in Town
Bus Riley's Back in Town is a movie written by William Inge, directed by Harvey Hart, and starring Ann-Margret and Michael Parks.The intense drama depicts a man returning home from three years in the Navy only to find that his girlfriend has married an older man...
(1965),
Why Would I Lie?
Why Would I Lie?
Why Would I Lie? is a 1980 American comedy/drama film about a compulsive liar named Cletus . The film, which was directed by Larry Peerce and shot in Spokane, Washington, is based on the novel The Fabricator by Hollis Hodges....
(1980) and Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest (film)
Mommie Dearest is a 1981 American biographical drama film about Joan Crawford, starring Faye Dunaway. The film was directed by Frank Perry. The story was adapted for the screen by Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, and Frank Yablans, based on the 1978 autobiography of the same name by...
(1981).
Biography
Jocelyn Brando, the older sister of Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, was born in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to Marlon Brando Sr. and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando. Jocelyn and Marlon Brando and their sister Frances grew up mostly in the Midwest - in Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
and Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville is an affluent northern suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan on the Des Plaines River. The 2000 census population was 20,742; the 2005 estimate was 21,760...
, though the family also spent time in California. The bane of the children's existence was the alcoholism of both parents, which was particularly acute with their mother, who later became a leader in Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
. Although Jocelyn, a talented actress, was blacklisted for having signed a peace petition, she managed a career that spanned five decades in the theater, film and television.
Jocelyn Brando came to the stage naturally, first appearing in a theatrical production under the direction of her mother, who was a principal in an Omaha community theater group. Her mother, Dorothy Brando gave Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
his start in theater in this same group. She made her Broadway debut soon after her 22nd birthday, appearing in The First Crocus at the Longacre Theatre on January 2, 1942; the play closed after five performances. Her next appearance on Broadway came two months after her younger brother began his role as Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire.-In the play:Stanley lives in the working class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella , and is employed as a factory parts salesman. He was an Army engineer in WWII, having...
in Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
.
On February 18, 1948, Jocelyn appeared in her second role on Broadway, which was considerably more successful than her debut. She played Navy nurse Lieutenant Ann Girard in Mister Roberts
Mister Roberts (play)
Mister Roberts is a 1948 play based on the 1946 Thomas Heggen novel of the same name.The novel began as a collection of short stories about Heggen's experiences aboard the USS Virgo in the South Pacific during World War II...
, which starred family friend Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
in the eponymous title role. The play was a smash hit, running about three years (1157 performances).
Jocelyn did not complete the run of the play, appearing in the comedy The Golden State in the 1950-51 season, a flop that lasted but 25 performances. She rebounded with the critically acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful, 1952 revival of O'Neill's
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
Desire Under the Elms
Desire Under the Elms
Desire Under the Elms is a play by Eugene O'Neill, published in 1924, and is now considered an American classic. Along with Mourning Becomes Electra, it represents one of O'Neill's attempts to place plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy in a rural New England setting. It is essentially a...
which ran for only 46 performances. One of her co-stars was the lead actress, Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
. Jocelyn Brando would later appear with Dewhurst in a Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's Mourning Becomes Electra
Mourning Becomes Electra
Mourning Becomes Electra is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932...
.
Back in uniform as a military officer, Jocelyn made her film debut in Don Siegel
Don Siegel
Donald Siegel was an influential American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel.-Early life:...
's war drama, China Venture (1953). When she first arrived in Hollywood, she gave an interview with The New York Times in which she commented on her brother's advice—or lack of it—to the tyro film actress: "Marlon is a sweet fellow, and he works very hard. I asked him for a tip about pictures, and he answered, 'Oh, I just say the words. That's all I know about picture acting.' He probably was smart at that to let me find my own way."
It was her second film that was her best-known movie role: detective Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
's doomed wife in Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
's The Big Heat
The Big Heat
The Big Heat is a 1953 film noir directed by Fritz Lang, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Lee Marvin. It is about a cop who takes on the crime syndicate that controls his city after the brutal murder of his beloved wife. The film was written by former crime reporter Sydney Boehm based on a...
(1953). Jocelyn's character was killed by a car bomb, intended for screen husband Ford. She also appeared in supporting roles in two of her brother's films, The Ugly American
The Ugly American
The Ugly American is the title of a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. The novel became a bestseller, was influential at the time, and is still in print...
(1963) and The Chase
The Chase (1966 film)
The Chase is a 1966 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn, about a series of events set into motion by a prison break. Since one of the two escapees is Charlie "Bubber" Reeves , the escape causes a stir in a nearby town where Bubber is a well-known figure.The film deals with themes of racism...
(1965).
In the late 1960s, Jocelyn joined the cast of the CBS soap opera, Love of Life, where
she created the role of Mrs Krakauer, mother of Tess (Toni Bull Bua) and Mickey (Alan Feinstein). On primetime television she played the recurring role of Mrs. Reeves on Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
. Other popular TV series that featured her work include Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Richard Diamond, Private Detective is an American detective drama which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.-Radio:...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
, Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
and Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
.
Many fans of the 1981 film Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. The book, which depicts Christina's childhood and her relationship with her mother, was published in 1978.-Christina Crawford's claims:...
believe Jocelyn portrayed actress Barbara Bennett
Barbara Bennett
Barbara Jane Bennett was an American silent film actress.Born into an acting family, she was the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison. Her sisters were actresses Constance and Joan Bennett.Bennett would never succeed to...
, sister to Constance Bennett
Constance Bennett
-Early life:She was born in New York City, the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison , a wealthy performer of English and Spanish ancestry...
and Joan Bennett
Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
, in the movie, but this is incorrect. It is coincidence that the Redbook writer in the movie has the same name. The real Barbara Bennett was never a magazine writer. She held sporadic jobs, once as a literary rep for Walter Wanger, scouting best-sellers and the like as potential movie properties, especially for Wanger's wife, her sister Joan.
In later life, Jocelyn Brando, known for her sharp sense of humor, ran her own bookstore in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
known as The Book Bin. She wrote poetry; and conducted workshops at her home in the Intensive Journal method, a self-therapy technique developed by Ira Progoff
Ira Progoff
Ira Progoff was an American psychotherapist, best known for his development of the Intensive Journal Method while at Drew University. His main interest was in depth psychology and particularly the humanistic adaptation of Jungian ideas to the lives of ordinary people...
.
Jocelyn Brando had two sons, Gahan Hanmer, by actor Don Hanmer and Martin Asinof, by writer Eliot Asinof
Eliot Asinof
Eliot Asinof was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction best known for his writing about baseball. His most famous book was Eight Men Out, a nonfiction reconstruction of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.-Biography:...
. She died at her Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
home, aged 86, from undisclosed causes.