Marlon Brando: A Memoir

by Nancy K. Peardon

Overview

"…[Nancy's] proven herself to be a lasting and loyal friend and someone that's worthy of being a personal confidant…I love her children, I hate her husband, for reasons I won't bother with now, mostly because he's there and I'm not. I would trust her with my money and my shorts" —Marlon Brando

A young woman meets Marlon Brando while working as an assistant in her father's Beverly Hills dental office. It's 1976. Brando's a screen legend. The twenty year old is enraptured by the fifty-two year old star of such classic American films as A Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata!, The Wild One, On the Waterfront, The Godfather, and Last Tango in Paris. Brando's as dazzled by her—"I think I'm falling in love," he sighs, taking her hand in his to kiss—and on that day, he and Nancy Peardon embark on an intimate and tempestuous relationship that was to last another twenty-eight years until the actor's death in 2004.

Serving as Brando's on-again, off-again executive assistant, Peardon becomes his steadfast confidante, experiencing a side of the famously private actor few know about or could ever discern from his memorable roles, from Stanley Kowalski to Vito Corleone. He was mischievous, principled, idiosyncratic, volatile, enigmatic, fierce in his views on everything from the film industry to international affairs, but ultimately as vulnerable as a child. Marlon Brando: A Memoir explores Marlon Brando the man, behind Marlon Brando the myth, from the vantage point of someone who knew him like no other.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940044418554
Publisher:	Nancy K. Peardon
Publication date:	04/02/2013
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

A Los Angeles writer, Nancy K. Peardon has a long history in Hollywood. As a young woman she worked as an assistant to her father, a prestigious Beverly Hills dentist with an extensive list of famous patients, among them James Dean, Lucille Ball, and Montgomery Clift, to name only a few. After her father retired, Nancy went on to work in the entertainment industry, where she served as an Executive Assistant to some of the most renowned directors and producers in Hollywood. But none of her relationships were as compelling, complex, and ultimately as personal as her relationship with Marlon Brando. In her debut memoir, Marlon Brando: A Memoir, Nancy shares an intimate look, a deep and loving look, at Marlon, the man, himself.

Editorial Reviews

Their interactions are funny, shocking, and sad (especially as the actor's health deteriorated), and, more importantly, never gossipy or frivolous...Beyond simply humanizing Brando or elaborating upon his legacy, this memoir shows how complicated truly great friendships can be, and how rare genuine people are to come by. It is a warm, engaging book that begs to be shared.

Film Comment

11/11/2013
In this intimate memoir, Peardon—Brando’s long-time executive assistant and confidante—recounts meeting the Hollywood icon in her father’s dental office and describes their initial attraction, which eventually blossomed into a decades-long friendship. She saw a side of him that few others did and earned his trust to became a member of his inner circle. Peardon recalls that Brando was always there for her, from the start of her marriage and the birth of her children through her later divorce. She manages to tell all about the deceased star without profaning his memory—a tricky thing. However, Peardon is reluctant to delve into certain events that would help readers better understand her life and character, and this takes away from the narrative. Still, her memoir is a fascinating must-read for Brando fans.

Publishers Weekly

With her debut memoir, Marlon Brando's former executive assistant delivers a chatty tell-all about the often erratic Hollywood legend. Peardon's life story may cause readers to ask: Why would an intelligent, energetic and attractive young woman be friends with a man who once locked her in the trunk of a car for fun and threatened to cut her hand with a knife--even if his name was Marlon Brando? Gossip about the late actor's troubled family life and accusations of his abusive behavior toward women are nothing new, but this memoir isn't intended as another scathing account of the Hollywood icon. Instead, it's a loving--and gushing--tribute to a friend, warts and all. Peardon met Brando in the late 1970s, when she was 20 and working as an assistant at her father's dental office; Brando, in his 50s, was a patient. They were immediately attracted to each other, writes Peardon, but Brando wouldn't have sex with her, he said, because he liked her father. Thus began their "on again off again" 28-year platonic friendship, during which Peardon sometimes worked for the difficult Brando; he fired her twice. The author writes about Brando with fawning adoration, quick to forgive and point out his good qualities, such as his commitment to civil rights issues. In some ways, Brando seems to have been a father figure to her, especially after her own father committed suicide; according to Peardon, her conversations with Marlon Brando helped her through many life challenges, including her divorce. The book re-creates dialogue between Peardon and Brando, which makes for a vivid, easy read, and also includes a few pictures, letters and handwritten notes from Brando himself. Alice Marchak, Brando's personal assistant for 50 years, offers a tougher, more inside look into the legend's day-to-day life in her 2008 memoir Me and Marlon, but hard-core fans may appreciate Peardon's wide-eyed adulation. A new, different twist on familiar Brando stories.

Kirkus Reviews