Maria Luisa "Movita" Castaneda (April 12, 1916 – February 12, 2015) was an American actress best known for having been the second wife of actor Marlon Brando. In films, she played exotic women/singers, such as in ''

Flying Down to Rio ''Flying Down to Rio'' is a 1933 American pre-Code RKO musical film famous for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond received top billing and the leading roles. Among the ...

'' (1933) and ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935). She is the mother of Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1961) and Rebecca Brando Kotlizky (b. 1966). __TOC__

Life and work

Movita, an American of Mexican descent, was born in Nogales, Arizona, on a train traveling between

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and Arizona. Movita began her acting career singing the Carioca to

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

and

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared together, ''

'' (1933). She continued playing exotic women in American and Spanish language films in the 1930s, most notably as a Tahitian girl, Tehanni in ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...

'' (1935) alongside

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

and

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

. She played an island girl in '' Paradise Isle'' (1937) and again in ''Girl from Rio'' (1939) with

Warren Hull John Warren Hull (January 17, 1903 – September 14, 1974), known professionally as Warren Hull, was an American actor, singer and television personality active from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was one of the most popular serial actors in t ...

. She starred in the British thriller '' Tower of Terror'' (1941) alongside Wilfrid Lawson and

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...

. After a break, she appeared as

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

's cook in '' Fort Apache'' (1948), then starred with

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning mo ...

in two further westerns: ''

The Mysterious Desperado ''The Mysterious Desperado'' is a 1949 American Western film.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982, p. 239. The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that "Tim Holt Westerns have attained a goo ...

'' (1949) and ''

Saddle Legion ''Saddle Legion'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt. It co-stars Dorothy Malone, who was one of Holt's most prestigious co-stars. She was borrowed from Warner Bros. Plot In the Old West T ...

'' (1951). In 1939, Movita married the Irish boxer, singer and actor Jack Doyle in

. The marriage did not endure. After appearing in a few more minor westerns and a few television parts, she met the actor Marlon Brando in the late 1950s, after his breakup with

Anna Kashfi Anna Kashfi (born Joan O'Callaghan; 30 September 1934 – 16 August 2015) was a British film actress who had a brief Hollywood career in the 1950s but was better known for her tumultuous marriage to film star Marlon Brando and the controversie ...

. They married in 1960, and they had two children. Brando played the role of

Fletcher Christian Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was master's mate on board HMS ''Bounty'' during Lieutenant William Bligh's voyage to Tahiti during 1787–1789 for breadfruit plants. In the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Christian se ...

in the 1962 remake of the 1935 film in which Movita had played a Tahitian girl, Tehanni. Brando then married his co-star Tarita Teriipaia in 1962. Castaneda's marriage to Brando was annulled in 1968 after it was discovered her previous marriage to Doyle was still active. After a small role on television in 1977, Movita appeared as Ana in 17 episodes of '' Knots Landing'' from October 1987 to May 1989.

Death

Castaneda died on February 12, 2015, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, after being hospitalized for a neck injury two months before her 99th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castaneda, Movita 1916 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Arizona American film actresses American television actresses American actresses of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses Brando family People from Nogales, Arizona