Movita Castaneda
Encyclopedia
Maria "Movita" Castaneda (born December 4, 1917) is an American
actress best known for being the second wife of actor Marlon Brando
. She was six years older than Brando. In films, she played exotic women/singers, such as in Flying Down to Rio
(1933) and Mutiny on the Bounty
(1935), of which she is the last surviving cast member. She is the mother of Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1961) and Rebecca Brando Kotlizky (b. 1966).
, was born in Nogales
, Arizona
, on a train travelling between Mexico and Arizona. Movita began her acting career singing the Carioca to Ginger Rogers
and Fred Astaire
's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared together, Flying Down to Rio
(1933). She continued playing exotic women in American and Spanish language films in the 1930s, most notably as a Tahitian girl, Tehanni in Mutiny on the Bounty
(1935) alongside Clark Gable
and Franchot Tone
, then starring in two films alongside John Carroll
, Rose of the Rio Grande (1938) and Wolf Call (1939), and in The Girl from Rio
(1939) with Warren Hull
. She starred in the British thriller Tower of Terror (1941) alongside Wilfrid Lawson
and Michael Rennie
. After a break, she appeared as Henry Fonda
's cook in Fort Apache
(1948), then starred with Tim Holt
in two further westerns: The Mysterious Desperado (1949), and Saddle Legion (1951).
In the early 1940s, Movita married the Irish boxer, singer and actor Jack Doyle
(known as the Gorgeous Gael). Doyle was noted for disappearing on drinking bouts and lost several important fights while drunk. The marriage did not last long.
After appearing in a few more minor westerns and a few TV parts, she met the actor Marlon Brando
in the late 1950s, after his breakup with Anna Kashfi
. She had two children with Brando: Miko Brando and Rebecca Brando. Brando played the role of Fletcher Christian
in the 1962 remake
of the 1935 film in which Movita had played a Tahitian girl, Tehanni. Brando then married his co-star Tarita Teriipia
, who played Christian's Tahitian wife Maimiti in the film, with whom he also had two children. After a small TV role in 1977, Movita appeared as Ana in 17 episodes of Knots Landing
from October 1987 to May 1989.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
actress best known for being the second wife of actor Marlon Brando
Marlon 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...
. She was six years older than Brando. In films, she played exotic women/singers, such as in Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio is a 1933 RKO musical film noted for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire and Rogers were not the stars of the film, however, Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond were top-billed. Among the featured players Franklin Pangborn and Eric Blore are...
(1933) and Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1935 film starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and directed by Frank Lloyd based on the Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall novel Mutiny on the Bounty.The film was one of the biggest hits of its time...
(1935), of which she is the last surviving cast member. She is the mother of Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1961) and Rebecca Brando Kotlizky (b. 1966).
Life and work
Movita, a Mexican AmericanMexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
, was born in Nogales
Nogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, on a train travelling between Mexico and Arizona. Movita began her acting career singing the Carioca to Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
and Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared together, Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio is a 1933 RKO musical film noted for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire and Rogers were not the stars of the film, however, Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond were top-billed. Among the featured players Franklin Pangborn and Eric Blore are...
(1933). She continued playing exotic women in American and Spanish language films in the 1930s, most notably as a Tahitian girl, Tehanni in Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1935 film starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and directed by Frank Lloyd based on the Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall novel Mutiny on the Bounty.The film was one of the biggest hits of its time...
(1935) alongside Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
, then starring in two films alongside John Carroll
John Carroll (actor)
John Carroll was an American actor and singer. He was born Julian Lafaye in New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Rose of the Rio Grande (1938) and Wolf Call (1939), and in The Girl from Rio
The Girl from Rio
The Girl from Rio is a 1969 Science Fiction film produced by Harry Alan Towers, directed by Jesus Franco and starring Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler and George Sanders. Led by their queen, a tribe of Amazonian woman attack wealthy men, as part of a long-term plan to take over the world...
(1939) with Warren Hull
Warren Hull
John Warren Hull was an actor and TV personality, active from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was one of the most popular serial actors in the action-adventure field....
. She starred in the British thriller Tower of Terror (1941) alongside Wilfrid Lawson
Wilfrid Lawson (actor)
Wilfrid Lawson was a British character actor of stage and screen.-Life and career:...
and Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...
. After a break, she appeared as 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...
's cook in Fort Apache
Fort Apache (film)
Fort Apache is a 1948 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande , both also starring Wayne...
(1948), then starred with Tim Holt
Tim Holt
Tim Holt was an American film actor perhaps best known for co-starring in the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.-Early life:...
in two further westerns: The Mysterious Desperado (1949), and Saddle Legion (1951).
In the early 1940s, Movita married the Irish boxer, singer and actor Jack Doyle
Jack Doyle
Jack Doyle , known as "The Gorgeous Gael" was at one time or another a contender for the British Boxing Championship, a Hollywood actor and an accomplished tenor.-Early years:...
(known as the Gorgeous Gael). Doyle was noted for disappearing on drinking bouts and lost several important fights while drunk. The marriage did not last long.
After appearing in a few more minor westerns and a few TV parts, she met the actor Marlon Brando
Marlon 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...
in the late 1950s, after his breakup with Anna Kashfi
Anna Kashfi
Anna Kashfi is a former film actress, who had a brief Hollywood career in the 1950s and is best known for having been married to Marlon Brando.-Early life and origins:...
. She had two children with Brando: Miko Brando and Rebecca Brando. Brando played the role of Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian was a master's mate on board the Bounty during William Bligh's fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants...
in the 1962 remake
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells the 1789 real-life mutiny aboard HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh...
of the 1935 film in which Movita had played a Tahitian girl, Tehanni. Brando then married his co-star Tarita Teriipia
Tarita Teriipia
Tarita Teriipaia is a former actress of French Polynesian and Chinese descent most famous for being the wife of Marlon Brando...
, who played Christian's Tahitian wife Maimiti in the film, with whom he also had two children. After a small TV role in 1977, Movita appeared as Ana in 17 episodes of Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
from October 1987 to May 1989.