Brando RIP

[RickM]

Originally posted by singpilot
I'll dig out some of his movies for the weekend too.

May not have to dig anything out. I'm sure there'll be a Brando-fest on TBS or some other channel pretty soon.

[dd74]

If we started a Mulholland run at Coldwater Cyn., we'd drive right past his house.

From all that's been said historically about Brando, the reason he did not like the industry was two-fold: "Streetcar" spoiled him. He was the darling after it, and never recovered from everything and everyone being thrown at him.

Later, he disliked the industry because it now began to tell him what to do, even though, to a large extent, he was in more control than ever.

Nicholson is a great example of how to stay in control and still be on top of one's game. It's a tough gig.

[techweenie]

dd: "Nicholson is a great example of how to stay in control and still be on top of one's game. It's a tough gig."

Yeah, and that 'great example' was right next door. And another great example was about a mile to the West: Warren Beatty.

And there was Marlon, pigging out and wearing muu-muus. Well, he wanted to end the adulation in the worst way. And he chose the worst way.

[Mulholland]

Originally posted by dd74
If we started a Mulholland run at Coldwater Cyn., we'd drive right past his house.

That set of curves he lived on is one of my favorite stretches...He and Nicholson shared a driveway/gate.

[dd74]

Originally posted by Mulholland
That set of curves he lived on is one of my favorite stretches...He and Nicholson shared a driveway/gate.

Your favorite going east or west? I found if going east, if one doesn't pay attention, they'll end up through Brando's gates and in his front yard...being devoured by those wild dogs he has back there...

[speeder]

Brando, Nicholson and Helena all live more or less together in a compound of three (main) houses on one parcel of land and share a driveway and gate. It is probably one of the more interesting addresses on this spinning ball of ours in terms of what has gone down there between the three of them and their many guests.

Helena, for you non-Hollywood types, is an old friend of Jack's from the '60s when she was a belly dancer on the Sunset Strip. She played the nasty dyke who they picked up hitchhiking in "Five Easy Pieces". In the '80s she hosted the hippest nightclub in town, (Helena's), which was really Jack's private club since he put up the dough. One of my good friend's mother was a belly dancer w/ her in the '60s, so we always went there and sat w/ Helena, etc., free dinners when I was young and broke. It was pretty intensely star-studded, this was the mid '80s and Madonna was the DJ on weekends, it was a lot of fun.

I could write a book too, but I never would. Too many friends involved.

[Mulholland]

Originally posted by dd74
Your favorite going east or west? I found if going east, if one doesn't pay attention, they'll end up through Brando's gates and in his front yard...being devoured by those wild dogs he has back there...

Preferably going east...You hit that big sweeper between 55-70 mph (left), then you come into that "S" that could end you through the gates of the compound. You then come out of it (hopefully) and see the Valley and go down toward the straight...Great at night, given you have the safety factor of being able to take aggressive lines because you can see the headlight play of oncoming...Good news, no more dogs.

edit - Oh, before the big sweeper, just after you pass the housing project (okay, gated community) on the right, there is a negative cambered turn to the right that you gotta be careful on. Once you pass this you get on it hard into the sweeper.

[techweenie]

You guys can be doing 60-70 out of the 'S' approaching Brando/Nicholson's gate going East, but you'd better not admire the Valley view for long, because right below Brando's house is a blind, decreasing-radius right turn that collects 3-4 head-ons a year.

BTW, mul: that "housing project" you refer to has no homes under $6 million in it.

[dd74]

Originally posted by techweenie
You guys can be doing 60-70 out of the 'S' approaching Brando/Nicholson's gate going East, but you'd better not admire the Valley view for long, because right below Brando's house is a blind, decreasing-radius right turn that collects 3-4 head-ons a year.

I've two-wheel drifted that turn on a bicycle. That's probably the nastiest section in that part of Mulholland.

[techweenie]

speeder: "Brando, Nicholson and Helena all live more or less together in a compound of three (main) houses on one parcel of land and share a driveway and gate."

Well, not any more. About 4 years ago, Nicholson added another entrance gate at the East end of the property, because the main gate was too well known. Helena moved away about 6 years ago. I don't know who's in house #3 at the moment, but Nicholson's oldest daughter has lived in the compound on & off.

Living acreoss the street, I had people drop scripts in my mail box; had people wandering on my lawn 'because they couldn't get in to see Marlon' and once, had a guy come to my door with "psychic information" for Jack. I sent him away without giving him Jack's address, but noticed him hanging out across the street for days. Called Jack's security company, and ultimately, the guy was arrested on Jack's property carrying a pistol. :-(

Sometimes, I'm sure it sucks to be famous (although I'm sure it never sucks to be Jack).