"...[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.
"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." --Violet Lucca, Film Comment
"...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...a vivid, easy read... A new, different twist on familiar Brando stories." --Kirkus Reviews