In Hollywood, fans fondly recall Brando

updated 6:47 p.m. ET July 2, 2004

LOS ANGELES - Camera-clutching fans expressed sadness and shed tears Friday upon learning of film legend Marlon Brando’s death.

“He was the godfather of acting,” Steve Arriaga said, struggling to fight back tears after placing a single red rose on Brando’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“I’m a young actor, and I got into acting because of Brando,” added Arriaga, whose flower was joined by a spray of white roses, white carnations and white gladiolas sent by Johnny Grant, Hollywood’s honorary mayor and chairman of the Walk of Fame.

Brando, the two-time Oscar winner and star of such classic films as “The Godfather,” “On the Waterfront” and “A Streetcar Named Desire,” died Thursday of lung failure at UCLA Medical Center. He was 80.

Although years have passed since Brando did his best work, young and old gathered along Hollywood Boulevard or in front of fabled Grauman’s Chinese Theater or outside the Kodak Theatre where the Academy Awards are held, recalling the actor with affection.

“In my country he was very popular. He is a hero. He is a real star, like John Wayne,” said Mine Caglar, a 36-year-old Turkish immigrant who was signing up tourists for bus tours outside the Kodak.

As she spoke, tourists with cameras mingled with a person dressed as Barbara Eden’s “I Dream of Jeannie” TV character and another decked out as the Muppet Elmo.

For Robert McIntyre of Los Angeles, “On The Waterfront,” in which Brando’s failed prizefighter Terry Malloy left a lasting impression.

“Save Peter O’Toole, he was probably the world’s greatest actor. He changed the face of acting,” said McIntyre, 55.

“The Godfather,” the 1972 film in which Brando’s character, Don Vito Corleone was a favorite of many people who stopped to talk Friday.

Caricaturist Robert Myers noted he has made his share of drawings of the actor in that role.

“He was one of America’s greatest actors, especially in his youth,” said Myers, 45. “As a caricaturist, I appreciate good craftsmanship. He was not a stereotypical actor.”

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