Son of actor Marlon Brando died of pneumonia after lifelong bouts with drugs and the law

By Juontel White

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 1/26/08— Christian Brando, died at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications with pneumonia. The eldest child of actor Marlon Brando was taken to the hospital on Jan. 11, according to David Seeley the attorney for Marlon’s estate. He died early Saturday at age 49.

“This is a sad and difficult time for the family,” said Seeley.

Christian Brando, despite his small career in the film industry, was more widely known for his interactions with the law.

In 1990 he pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing Dag Drollet, his sister’s then-boyfriend, and subsequently spent five years in prison.

Brando’s half-sister, Cheyenne (who was pregnant for Drollet at the time) told him that Drollet had beaten her.

Brando said he accidentally shot Drollet after the two tussled over a gun during their confrontation. “I did not go into that room to kill Dag Drollet, I just wanted to scare him,” said Brando in his 1991 interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Cheyenne committed suicide at age 25 after she birthed and later lost custody of Drollet’s son.

In 2001, Brando was suggested as a suspect in the murder of his former lover, Bonnie Lee Bakley. Bakley had later married Robert Blake, whose lawyer gave Brando’s name as a possible suspect.

Brando denied any involvement and was fined for being in-contempt of court when he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on the stand during the trial.

In Jan. 2005, Brando was charged with and pleaded guilty to two counts of spousal abuse. His ex-wife, Deborah Brando, said that soon after the two were married, he frequently beat and threatened to kill her.

Deborah sued for domestic violence and Brando countersued, saying that Deborah had beat him because he wanted to end the marriage 10 weeks after the ceremony.

Brando was sentenced three years probation and ordered to complete spousal-abuse prevention program and drug-alcohol rehabilitation. The lawsuits were settled quietly last year.

Brando is survived by his mother and six half-sisters and half-brothers.