Marlon Brando’s historic refusal to receive his Oscar for the “Godfather”

Today 52 years ago, on March 27, 1972, the legendary actor, denies the “Best Actor” for the perhaps best known role of his career, the one in the film “The Godfather”. Marlon Brando may have won Oscar I Men’s Role for his excellent performance as Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Copola’s film “Godfather”, but not only did he refuse to receive it, but he did not even attend the award ceremony. In his place, on Oscar night he sent Indiana Sachin Littlefeather (Sacheen Littlefeather), not to receive for his sake the gold statuette but to read a letter by which he wanted to send a strong message to the Hollywood industry on the rights of the Indians. With this act Marlon Brando made history, even if some did not see his choice with a good eye. The 45th Oscar Award ceremony was a night written in history. When Roger Moore and Liv Ulman announced Marlon Brando’s name at the presentation of the award for Best Actor, no one fell off the clouds. His performance was unprecedented and somehow everyone expected it. But where the shock came from was when while everyone was waiting to see him climb the stage under the well-known musical background of the “Godfather”, instead they saw a 26-year-old Indiana, with traditional costume finally climbing the stage. With a move on her hand she refused to receive from Roger Moore the Oscar on Brando’s behalf and explained why she was there. Littlefeather then read a section of a long statement Brando had written, the whole of which was later published in the press, including the “New York Times”. “I represent Marlon Brando tonight and he asked me to tell you that he is grateful, but regrets that he cannot receive this generous award. And the cause is none other than the behavior of the film industry in the American Indians,” began her statement by Sanhin Littlefeather. The 26-year-old didn’t… have time to finally read Marlon Brando’s protest, due to “pressed time”. He spoke, however, of the position supported by the well-known actor and of the ugly image formed for Indians through the Hollywood industry, which featured them violent, bloodthirsty, barbarian and warlike. In fact, the producer of the “Godfather”, Albert Rudy threatened Sanhin even with arrest, to prevent the scene, but his effort stood unsuccessful. Marlon Brando was an advocate of human rights and a keen supporter of America’s indigenous people. So, protesting the way American cinema presented the Indians by making an ugly impression of them, he sent the Oscar evening Sanhin Littlefeather in his place. Sanhin was an actress of descent from the Apache Indians. He was not there to receive the Oscar instead of Brando, but to read a 15-page letter that the actor had written about Indian rights. At the time, Indians had little representation in the film industry and were mainly used as extras. Even the roles depicting an Indian character were given to white actors. The event, however, was not accepted by the public. The crowd reacted with an epiphony storm to express its contempt and disgust. Nevertheless, 26-year-old Indiana maintained her temper and completed her statement. There were, of course, a few few who applauded the young actress. There were many who turned against Marlon Brando after this act. Nevertheless, Marlon Brando’s move has remained in history as one of the unforgettable moments on Oscar night. In an interview with Variety, Sanhin Littlefeather had revealed that “She did it for all those natives around the world who suffered from racist prejudice and discrimination. I did it for all those born in the light of genocide, in the US and Canada, and for all those suffering from extreme stereotypes, which are not our choice,” he said among others. Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously declassified Marlon Brando’s 1973 Best Actor Academy Award, dies at 75. — The Academy (@TheAcademy) “It was not a performance, it was a real presentation,” she would say or a few years later responding to those who accused her of all this being staged and that she was paid for it. “I think that’s what surprised people: it was so real. It really touches people’s hearts to this day.” Her appearance in 1973 on stage was accepted with applause but also many disapprovals. She died at the age of 75 in October 2022. However, just a month after Littlefeather’s death, her sisters, Rosalid Crews and Trudy Orlandi, revealed that Shahin Littlefeather was not even an Indian! Sacheen Littlefeather, the activist best known for refusing Marlon Brando’s Oscar for The Godfather, has been branded a fraud — The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) “It’s a lie. Our father was an Indian, but our family comes from Mexico. Our father was born in Oxnard. It was a fraud and is an insult to the legacy of the Natives, but it also insults our parents,” Orlandi said, according to . She also stressed that at the time her sister began her career, “she had a greater taste for declaring an Indian than of Spanish origin.” Throughout her life she argued that she grew up with her white mother and Indian father in a cabin in Salinas, California, and had even described her father as a “hard Apache alcoholic”, who caused fear to her entire family. The sisters still told her things weren’t like that at all… “Our father was deaf, had lost his hearing at the age of 9 to meningitis. He was born poor. His father was an alcoholic and beat him, so they moved him to foster homes. Our sister just borrowed his story, he never drank,” the two sisters explained. The reason they decided to tell the truth, shortly after their sister died was that they wanted to restore their parents’ memory, who were two people hardworking and honest. “Sahin didn’t want to be Mexican. So, it makes some sense that she spent most of her life pretending to be someone else. What best describes my sister is the phrase: “He created an imagination, lived and died in it.”