★ 07/01/2019
Biographer Mann (The Wars of the Roosevelts ) presents an insightful and well-researched portrait of Marlon Brando. As Mann shows, Brando transformed acting with the “raw power” and vulnerability of his performances, yet he resented the fame he won and felt little passion for a skill that came naturally to him. Taking a cinematic approach, Mann swoops in on pivotal moments in Brando’s life. He explores in depth Brando’s traumatic childhood with two alcoholic parents, his 1943 arrival in New York City to study at the New School’s Dramatic Workshop, his formative work with drama teacher Stella Adler and director Elia Kazan, his late 1950s and ’60s period as a perceived Hollywood “sellout,” his 1972 comeback with The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris , the refuge he found on an atoll near Tahiti, his struggles with anger and depression, and his complicated family life. Deeply drawn to social advocacy, Brando campaigned for the civil rights movement and refused his Godfather Oscar to protest Hollywood’s depiction of Native Americans. Though sympathetic to Brando, Mann doesn’t shy away from his flaws, such as his often callous treatment of women. The result is a thoughtfully considered study of a supremely talented, observant, and imaginative man who became a reluctant cultural icon. Agent: Malaga Baldi, Malaga Baldi Literary. (Oct.)
Marlon Brando reigned over Hollywood in an era before it was possible to know every little thing about an actor’s life — but this biography [changes] that. Mann went through Brando’s personal archives to craft a story that covers not only his behind-the-scenes persona but the way in which he led the charge for a merging of Hollywood and protest culture.” — Entertainment Weekly , Big Books of Fall Preview
“ Big, sprawling, meticulously researched…Tells us everything we ever wanted to know about the man and then some.” — Washington Post
“An insightful and well-researched portrait of Marlon Brando. Taking a cinematic approach, Mann swoops in on pivotal moments in Brando’s life. Though sympathetic to Brando, Mann doesn’t shy away from his flaws, such as his often callous treatment of women. The result is a thoughtfully considered study of a supremely talented, observant, and imaginative man who became a reluctant cultural icon.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Structuring his biography like a film, Mann jumps from one key moment in Brando’s life to another—the dysfunctional family life, the great movie roles, the tempestuous and often callous relationships with lovers, the tragedies that befell his children—and, while the book brings something new and often revelatory to all of these familiar aspects of the Brando saga, Mann is at his best when he digs into Brando’s tortured relationship with acting itself… A compelling biography, rich in complexity and irony.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Remarkably ambitious … Mann’s book is continuously fascinating, vivid, and full of new information; for anyone interested in Brando, it is indispensable.” — Air Mail
“[THE CONTENDER] is a humanizing portrait that doesn't shy away from the complexity of one of Hollywood's greatest stars.” — AARP Magazine
“ Deeply engaging and perceptive from page one…A thoroughly enjoyable, illuminating read." — Library Journal (starred review)
“ William J. Mann masterfully captures Brando’s allure, his psychological complexity and the epic arc of his career…From Mann, Brando receives a biography every bit as compelling and powerful as his own stage presence.” — BookPage
"Mann uses painstaking years of research, conversations with those who knew Brando best, and his own knack for delving into the lives of Hollywood luminaries to offer fans up a staggeringly comprehensive tale of Brando’s life." — Entertainment Weekly
"William J. Mann sets out in The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando to give the actor the dominant voice in his own story, serving as the advocate Brando is often denied in articles and books… Mann’s book presents a necessary re-examination of Brando and his tumultuous life…The Contender is a standout biography, providing an empathetic look at Brando’s struggle with himself." — Associated Press
"Mann is a dogged investigator who is fixed on establishing truths. Over and over again in his long book he dispels fantastic stories, unstitches embroidered truths and pins Brando down. Mann is an experienced writer about Tinseltown….His research is exhaustive. His tone is agreeably respectful. As Hollywood biographies go, this is as nice and as intelligent as can be." — The Times (UK)
Big, sprawling, meticulously researched…Tells us everything we ever wanted to know about the man and then some.
"William J. Mann sets out in The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando to give the actor the dominant voice in his own story, serving as the advocate Brando is often denied in articles and books… Mann’s book presents a necessary re-examination of Brando and his tumultuous life…The Contender is a standout biography, providing an empathetic look at Brando’s struggle with himself."
[THE CONTENDER] is a humanizing portrait that doesn't shy away from the complexity of one of Hollywood's greatest stars.”
Structuring his biography like a film, Mann jumps from one key moment in Brando’s life to another—the dysfunctional family life, the great movie roles, the tempestuous and often callous relationships with lovers, the tragedies that befell his children—and, while the book brings something new and often revelatory to all of these familiar aspects of the Brando saga, Mann is at his best when he digs into Brando’s tortured relationship with acting itself… A compelling biography, rich in complexity and irony.
Booklist (starred review)
William J. Mann masterfully captures Brando’s allure, his psychological complexity and the epic arc of his career…From Mann, Brando receives a biography every bit as compelling and powerful as his own stage presence.
Remarkably ambitious … Mann’s book is continuously fascinating, vivid, and full of new information; for anyone interested in Brando, it is indispensable.
Marlon Brando reigned over Hollywood in an era before it was possible to know every little thing about an actor’s life — but this biography [changes] that. Mann went through Brando’s personal archives to craft a story that covers not only his behind-the-scenes persona but the way in which he led the charge for a merging of Hollywood and protest culture.
"Mann is a dogged investigator who is fixed on establishing truths. Over and over again in his long book he dispels fantastic stories, unstitches embroidered truths and pins Brando down. Mann is an experienced writer about Tinseltown….His research is exhaustive. His tone is agreeably respectful. As Hollywood biographies go, this is as nice and as intelligent as can be."
Big, sprawling, meticulously researched…Tells us everything we ever wanted to know about the man and then some.
Structuring his biography like a film, Mann jumps from one key moment in Brando’s life to another—the dysfunctional family life, the great movie roles, the tempestuous and often callous relationships with lovers, the tragedies that befell his children—and, while the book brings something new and often revelatory to all of these familiar aspects of the Brando saga, Mann is at his best when he digs into Brando’s tortured relationship with acting itself… A compelling biography, rich in complexity and irony.
Booklist (starred review)
Marlon Brando reigned over Hollywood in an era before it was possible to know every little thing about an actor’s life — but this biography [changes] that. Mann went through Brando’s personal archives to craft a story that covers not only his behind-the-scenes persona but the way in which he led the charge for a merging of Hollywood and protest culture.
Mann’s well-researched biography of the complex and acclaimed actor Marlon Brando, well known for his social and political causes, is skillfully narrated by Will Damron. Damron’s measured baritone is a perfect match to the sprawling artistic arcs of the subject’s life. His quiet and intimate narration style quickly captures the listener’s attention and easily maintains interest. The work emphasizes Brando’s depression, pain, and loneliness and discusses his alcoholic parents as having set his perspectives and sensibilities early in his life. Brando’s many films, successful and not successful, are explored only within the context of the drama of his lived experience. This is especially enjoyable listening for American cinema fans. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Mann’s well-researched biography of the complex and acclaimed actor Marlon Brando, well known for his social and political causes, is skillfully narrated by Will Damron. Damron’s measured baritone is a perfect match to the sprawling artistic arcs of the subject’s life. His quiet and intimate narration style quickly captures the listener’s attention and easily maintains interest. The work emphasizes Brando’s depression, pain, and loneliness and discusses his alcoholic parents as having set his perspectives and sensibilities early in his life. Brando’s many films, successful and not successful, are explored only within the context of the drama of his lived experience. This is especially enjoyable listening for American cinema fans. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
2019-07-15 A new biography of a legendary actor who "used his fame to draw attention to racism and injustice."
It has been 25 years since Peter Manso's 1,000-page Brando: The Biography , and award-winning biographer Mann (The Wars of the Roosevelts: The Ruthless Rise of America's Greatest Political Family , 2016, etc.) believes Manso (and "conventional wisdom") incorrectly portrays Brando (1924-2004) as "eccentric, erratic, narcissistic and hypocritical." In this meticulously researched book, bolstered by access to the Brando estate, Mann "attempts to see Brando's life, career, choices, and actions in a new light." The author describes him as a "thinker, an observer, an examiner of himself and the world, with the goal of figuring out both." He sympathetically portrays Brando as a survivor of childhood trauma, the only son of alcoholic parents: an abusive father and a distant, neglectful mother Brando loved dearly. Mann begins in 1943 in New York City, where the impoverished high school dropout studied at the New School's Dramatic Workshop. He was insecure about many things but not sex, and his womanizing would always be a problem. The gifted teacher, Stella Adler, took "her young student under her wing." She wanted to make him great, but for Brando, acting would always be a "lark, a game of pretense." Although he was in a dark place, Brando did A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway primarily because of director Elia Kazan, whom Brando greatly admired. After its success, Mann writes, he "knew his life was no longer his own." In 1963, he walked with the Congress on Racial Equality—he believed that "if more people knew about the reality of racial discrimination, they wouldn't stand for it"—and he was furious over what the studio did to his directorial debut, One-Eyed Jacks . Throughout, Mann balances Brando's reluctance to act with excellent insights into his finest performances. Brando enjoyed the improvisation he brought to The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris ; it made acting seem "fun and creative." For Mann, Brando was always a "searcher" who "spent his life trying to become ever more conscious."
A complex, intimate, and illuminating inquiry into and defense of Brando.