Christian Brando laid to rest in Kalama
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 5:37 AM PST
By Thacher Schmid and Andre Stepankowsky
Printable version
E-mail this articleKALAMA - Christian Brando, the eldest son of famed actor Marlon Brando, was buried at the Kalama Cemetery Sunday in the community that gave him several years' refuge from a troubled and chaotic life.
During an hour-long service at Steele Chapel at Longview Memorial Park, Chaplain Timothy Berg read poetry and family members remembered Brando.
At 2 p.m., Brando, dressed in a simple flannel shirt, was laid to rest in a pine coffin at the Kalama Oddfellows Cemetery in a plot with a panoramic view of the Columbia River.
"It was sweet - it was laughing, it was crying," Berg said of the service. "It wasn't falling down, you know, but it was sweet."
About 50 people attended. Brando's mother, Anna Kashfi, stayed behind to throw some shovelfuls of dirt into the grave, Rick Little, director of Steele Chapel, said Monday.
Among other mourners was Christian Brando's first wife, Mary Brando. Both she and Kashfi plan one day to be buried there, too, Little said.
Brando moved into a house at 749 Taylor Road in 1997 while he was on probation for the shooting death of his half-sister's boyfriend in May 1990. He moved away in about 2004, after a Kelso woman tried to tie him to the murder of Bonnie Bakley, the wife of actor Robert Blake.
His mother wanted him buried in Kalama because it was one of the few places he felt accepted and appreciated, Little said.
"He was down-to-earth and wanted to live a simple life."
Before he died in Los Angeles of pneumonia Jan. 26 at age 49, Brando had contemplated moving back to Kalama, Little said, conveying information from his family.
News that he was buried just outside the city limits surprised Kalama residents who had befriended him and tried to protect him from publicity.
"I'm shocked," said real estate agent Caddie Barnes, who owned a bar and grill in downtown Kalama that Brando frequented.
"Everyone kind of respected him. He just acted like a normal Kalama resident except he did have some issues to overcome. He was a nice guy."
Barnes added that Brando "wanted his privacy and we gave it to him. ... He loved it here and liked the people here. He'd walk down the street and no one would bother him. He had friends, and everyone called him by his first name. He was just a regular guy."
Brando worked as a welder while he lived in Kalama and had a girlfriend in the area, Barnes said.
The Brando family has old links to Cowlitz County. As of 10 years ago, Marlon Brando owned property in the Speelyai area of the Lewis River Valley, though it could not be confirmed Monday if his estate still owns that land. Barnes said a Kalama businesswoman who was old friends with Marlon Brando encouraged his son to settle in Kalama.
Chaplain Berg said Brando found temporary peace in Kalama and befriended many locals.
"It's a great loving thing when people are willing to protect somebody of fame, and they did (that) in Kalama."
Berg said his research left him with the impression Brando cared less about celebrity than life's simpler pleasures.
"I just talked about how he was a real down-to-earth guy. He loved nature. He loved welding. He fished," Berg said.
Several former friends and neighbors contacted Monday declined to speak to a reporter.
No headstone had been placed by Monday morning, and no flowers or other adornments were in evidence - though Berg said some were left after the graveside service Sunday.
"I hate to hear that, because there were some flowers at Steele Chapel, and there were flowers left" at the grave, Berg said.
Born May 11, 1958, Brando was a high school dropout who had small roles in a handful of movies, including "Yentl" and "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas." But he was better known for his trouble with the law.
He spent five years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in 1990 for killing his sister's boyfriend, Dag Drollet, at the Brando family hilltop estate. Brando said the shooting occurred during a struggle over whether Drollet had beaten Brando's pregnant half-sister, Cheyenne.
His first marriage, to Mary Brando, ended in 1987 after six years. They had known one another since they were 10, the Brando family told Little.
Brando was sentenced to drug and alcohol rehab and probation in 2005 after pleading guilty to spousal abuse of his ex-wife Deborah Brando, and had a 2000 driving under the influence conviction.
"I guess as a society, we've made it really hard for people who are famous," Berg said. "God, he had a hard life, he really did, and I guess that's really true of a lot of people who are born into fame."
friend wrote on Feb 19, 2008 7:07 AM:
somedude wrote on Feb 19, 2008 7:50 AM:
I agree wrote on Feb 19, 2008 8:49 AM:
LIL SIS wrote on Feb 19, 2008 9:23 AM:
Tabu wrote on Feb 19, 2008 11:18 AM:
journalistic reason? wrote on Feb 19, 2008 11:23 AM:
Liza wrote on Feb 19, 2008 1:28 PM:
gayle wrote on Feb 19, 2008 1:35 PM:
me wrote on Feb 19, 2008 3:59 PM:
and death is only a horizon;
and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight."
(Rossiter Worthington Raymond)
I wish him and his family peace..
"
Thacher Schmid, tdn.com web reporter wrote on Feb 19, 2008 4:15 PM:
I called him friend, wrote on Feb 19, 2008 4:26 PM:
Grattitude Of A King wrote on Feb 19, 2008 6:13 PM:
"
kalama res wrote on Feb 19, 2008 8:57 PM:
sweetie wrote on Feb 19, 2008 11:19 PM:
joe wrote on Feb 20, 2008 2:04 AM:
janet wrote on Feb 20, 2008 8:34 AM:
mag wrote on Feb 20, 2008 9:29 AM:
Just an average person wrote on Feb 20, 2008 11:06 AM:
Brittany Spears is the latest prime example of such misplaced sympathetic attention. Let's start honoring some real heroes for a change. "
Kalama Dude wrote on Feb 20, 2008 11:27 AM:
Mystery wrote on Feb 20, 2008 12:18 PM:
Just an average person wrote on Feb 20, 2008 2:14 PM:
CB, eventhough you're not my hero, I do hope you can finally rest in peace, inspite of everything you've gone through here on earth. "
Sara wrote on Feb 20, 2008 3:29 PM:
Tabu wrote on Feb 20, 2008 7:54 PM:
Lucy wrote on Feb 21, 2008 5:36 AM:
where's deborah june wrote on Feb 21, 2008 5:45 AM:
Anon wrote on Feb 21, 2008 2:23 PM:
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