Marlon Brando is widely regarded as one of the great thespians in the world of cinema. From being a high-school dropout and being kicked out of school twice to becoming one of the greatest figures in the second half of the 20th century, Brando’s journey itself is stuff worth making a cinematic masterpiece.
Leaving an indelible mark on the film industry, he will always be remembered for his acting and activist persona. However, before he became a glorified celebrity and Hollywood luminary, the Godfather actor worked on several low-paying jobs from an elevator operator to a sandwich man.
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5 Low Paying Jobs Marlon Brando Did Before He Became An Acting Trailblazer
Marlon Brando gave an acting masterclass, no matter what role he undertook. Whether it was Stanley Kowalski or Vito Corleone, his intensity and portrayal turned each role into a memorable experience for the audience. But before he went on to win countless accolades like the Oscars, Golden Globe, or BAFTAs, he worked in several low-paying jobs.
After being expelled from two schools for his alleged bad and reckless behavior, he moved to Greenwich Village, New York in 1943, to live with his sister. There the brilliant actor worked on many frowned-upon jobs. As he writes in his memoir, Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me, he got a job as an elevator operator at a department store of Best & Company.
From then on the Godfather star worked as a waiter, a short-order cook, a sandwich man, and several other jobs that he didn’t quite recall. However, before that, Brando also worked at a small construction company, performing menial tasks like digging trenches, settling tiles, laying pipes, and helping construct houses for about $35 a week.
Even before such jobs, at the age of 14 or 15, Brando became part of a band called Keg Brando and His Kegliners, playing drums. While the band failed and made no money he became an usher at a local movie theatre before being fired from there for not wearing the proper uniform.
Marlon Brando Would Have Never Become An Actor If Not For His Bad Knee
Marlon Brando came from a humble background and spent his teen years on a farm. After being kicked out of school and then out of a military school, Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Brando decided to drop out of high school despite receiving a reinstatement letter from the administration of Shattuck.
Despite dropping out, he decided to sign up for the army influenced by other boys his age. His decision was also influenced by the army being interest in taking students with a military school background and commissioning them as officers, as he revealed in his memoir.
However, his military dreams were short-lived. Here is an excerpt from his book, relating what had happened.
At the induction center, a doctor asked me if I had any physical problems.
“Sometimes my knee bothers me a little,” I said.
I’d injured it in a football scrimmage at Shattuck when someone tackled me from behind and snapped the semilunar cartilage, which had been removed. The doctor grabbed my leg and pulled it sideways, causing my knee to spin a little like a ball in a socket.
‘Sorry, son, you’ve got a trick knee,” he said. “You’re 4-F.”
While his parents sat him down afterward and even offered him money to learn a trade, he chose to go to New York to become an actor, the only thing he states anyone had ever praised him for besides sports. And that is how Marlon Brando became a trailblazer, who continues to inspire generations of actors.
Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me can be purchased on Amazon.
