Trouble was brewing even before Littlefeather arrived at the podium. Brando, Littlefeather, and the Academy Awards. Winning the Academy Award in 1973 for "The Godfather," Brando sent a woman clad in Apache dress named Sacheen Littlefeather to turn down the award on his behalf. Her . Keeler searched records of Littlefeather's family going back to 1850 and did not find evidence of Native ancestry. Sacheen Littlefeather, who famously took to the stage when Marlon Brando won an Oscar for The Godfather to decline the award, has died at the age of 75. He objected to the way Native Americans were represented in the movies. Updated Oct. 2: Sacheen Littlefeather has died at the age of 75. In August, the Academy wrote a formal apology to her for the "emotional burden" that she carried for 49 years. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. In 1973, riding high off the success ofThe Godfather, actor Marlon Brando used his platform to give a voice to Native Americans. "[71] When Clint Eastwood began presenting the Best Picture award, he joked, "I don't know if I should present this award on behalf of all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford Westerns over the years. "I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening, and that we will in the future, our hearts and our understandings, will meet with love and generosity," she added. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. To Orlandi, it was the beginning of Littlefeathers nearly half-century hoax. When he was nominated for an Oscar for his infamous portrayal of Don Corleone in "The Godfather," he refused to attend the ceremony. Later, however, he became critical of Israel and supported the Palestinian cause. [5][27] She reported having tuberculosis at age four and received treatment in an oxygen tent while hospitalized. [132], Roger Ebert had disputed Littlefeather's Native American ethnicity in 2004 in an obituary for Marlon Brando, stating that after her attendance at the Oscars she was "identified as Maria Cruz, an actress who was not an Indian". Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist Marlon Brando sent to the 1973 Academy Awards to decline the lead actor Oscar he won for "The Godfather," died Sunday at age 75.. He clearly understood the effect that this had not only on adults but, in particular, children. [111] In 1990, it was reported that Littlefeather's brother had died of AIDS. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group), Trudy Orlandi keeps of her sister Maria Cruz in the second grade at her home in San Anselmo, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. [38] "I was distressed that people should have booed and whistled and stomped, even though perhaps it was directed at myself," Brando later told Dick Cavett. Legal Statement. Market data provided by Factset. Her sisters say she was an ethnic fraud", "Big Littlefeather Lies Sacheen Littlefeather Lied About Native American Ancestry, Sisters Claim 'It is a fraud. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industryexcuse me [booing and applause] and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group), A 1957 snap shot of Geroldine Cruz shows her with her three daughters (l-r) Marie (who later become famous as Sacheen Littlefeather), Rosalind and Trudy during their days living in Salinas, Calif. (Photo courtesy Trudy Orlandi), Activist Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz, 1946 - 2022) attends teh Q&A at the SAG President's National Task Force For American Indians & NBC Universal Premiere Screening Of "Reel indian" & "American Indian Actors" At LA Skins Fest on November 20, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. AIMcame about thanks to Native American college students in the cities and activists on the reservations who understood all too well that the conditions they were living under were a result of oppressive government policies. [56], At the age of 29 her lungs collapsed. "It was the first Oscars ceremony to be broadcast by satellite all over the world, which is why Marlon chose it. Sacheen Littlefeather stunned Hollywood when she was sent on behalf of Marlon Brando to reject his 1973 Oscar for best actor in "The Godfather." In this combination image, Native American Sacheen Littlefeather speaks at the 45th Academy Awards. FILE - Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American activist, tells the audience at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, March 27, 1973, that Marlon Brando was declining to accept his. She was 75 years old.. [18] She learned more about Native American customs from elders and other protesters, like Adam Fortunate Eagle (then known as Adam Nordwall). "[48], A 1974 article about a Littlefeather interview stated that she was working for a San Francisco radio station when she applied for work with Coppola and that he then referred her to Brando, "knowing Brando's interest in the Indian". The 74-year-old is the subject of a new documentary titled "Sacheen: Breaking The Silence," which details the famous political speech and its aftermath. According to Littlefeather, she could "hear the boos and jeers" as she came on stage. Its one of the biggest hoaxes certainly the biggest hoax since Iron Eyes Cody, said Dina Gilio-Whitaker, a Cal State San Marcos lecturer of American Indian Studies who was commissioned at one point to ghostwrite Littlefeathers memoir. She committed herself to other health education work as well and worked with Mother Theresa doing hospice care for AIDS patients. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who declined Marlon Brando's Best Actor Oscar for him in a memorable 1973 speech, passed away on Sunday. She was accompanied by Brando's secretary, Alice Marchak, and wore an Apache buckskin dress. "I was blacklisted or, you could say, redlisted," she explained. [78], Littlefeather credited the speech with bringing attention back to the situation at Wounded Knee,[57] though news coverage of the standoff at the time makes little mention of Littlefeather or Brando. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. [81][82], Coretta Scott King commended Brando for his non-violent stand, stating, "It is gratifying to see people in entertainment increasingly concerned about injustices in society and not just interested in making money. Marlon Brando Jr. (Omaha, Nebraska, April 3, 1924-Los Angeles, California, July 1, 2004) was an American film and theater actor. Bettmann/Getty Images Sacheen Littlefeather declining Marlon Brando's Oscar in 1973. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal), Trudy Orlandi, with a 2nd grade portrait of her sister Maria Cruz, talks at her home in Marin County, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, about the woman who would later become famous as the Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather. He died of cancer when Sacheen was 19, Orlandi said. [5], Over the years, Littlefeather described her personal experiences with serious health issues, including internal bleeding, collapsed lungs, and cancer. It took nearly 50 years, but in June 2022 they issued a formal apology to Littlefeather and on September 17 an event was held in her honor at the Academy Museum. At the time of the Oscars, she had known Brando for nearly a year. "[86], Littlefeather was described as a founding member of the Red Earth Indian Theater Company in Seattle when awarded an Eagle Spirit Award (Honorary) at the 2013 American Indian Film Festival. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration." ACADEMY APOLOGIZES TO SACHEEN LITTLEFEATHER NEARLY 50 YEARS AFTER REJECTING AN OSCAR ON MARLON BRANDO'S BEHALF, At the 1973 Academy Awards, Sacheen Littlefeather refused the Academy Award for Best Actor on behalf of Marlon Brando who won for his role in The Godfather. Orlandi and Cruz just want the truth to be known about their family. Where did that come from?. Riveting new S.F. The letter, signed by Betty Cooper, director of the American Indian alcoholism program, and Sally Gallegos, director of the Consortium of United Indian Nations, was credited with Mandela's decision to meet with American Indian leaders in October 1990. Sacheen Littlefeather at the 1973 Oscars (Photo: UCLA Library Special Collections, CC BY 2.0). In his original speech as printed by the New York Times, Brando said: True to his political sensibilities, Brando also minced no words about America's treatment of American Indians: Sacheen Littlefeather received phone calls from Coretta Scott King and Cesar Chavez as a result of her intervention at the Academy Awards, congratulating her for what she'd done. [50] He called Littlefeather and asked her to appear on his behalf. [77] In the years immediately following the protest, Littlefeather said that it had "had little effect on the course of her career". Gilio-Whitaker, Dina. Geroldine Cruz was not a battered wife or mentally ill, and their hearing-impaired father never touched alcohol or abused his children. The truth, they say, is that their parents, self-employed makers of horse saddles, raised their three daughters in a loving middle-class home. [26] She characterized this as either being "adopted",[21] or in foster care. Her death came just weeks after she accepted a formal apology in person at a tribute in Los Angeles. Deviating from the prepared speech, she said the following:[60], Hello. Consequently, Littlefeather alleged she was "blacklisted" by Hollywood and never worked again. Marlon Brando had a long history of supporting various social movements dating back to at least 1946 when he backed the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland. "He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award," she said , citing "the treatment of American Indians today" by the film and television industry. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Littlefeather died at her home in Novato, California, after a years-long battle with breast cancer, which eventually metastasized to her right lung. Bettmann via. [74], After giving the speech, Littlefeather spent two days in Los Angeles before returning to San Francisco. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. (Photo by Beck Starr/FilmMagic/Getty Images). All she was able to say was: The crowd cheered and booed. I'm representing Marlon Brando this evening, and he has asked me to tell you in a very long speech which I cannot share with you presently, because of time, but I will be glad to share with the press afterwards, that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. It was televised to 85 million people. [28] She said her mother and two sisters were subject to their father's rage and beatings. Sacheen Littlefeather, who declined Marlon Brando's Oscar for "The Godfather" on his behalf at the 1973 Academy Awards, died Sunday, the Academy of Motion Pictures said. Orlandi grew up with her sister Maria Cruz, the woman who would later become famous as Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather. She has previously reported or edited for Bay Area news and lifestyle publications, including Walnut Creek Patch, and Diablo, Oakland and Alameda magazines, as well as The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand and The Economist. Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.