Marlon Brando and his Filipina Caregiver

Pinay’s suit vs Brando’s estate shows actor’s sad last days

August 18, 2006
Updated 00:39:46 (Mla time)
Ruben V. Nepales

LOS ANGELES -- HERE’S LOS ANGELES Times’ critic Lewis Segal’s take on Grace Nono’s recent performance in two shows staged by the Asia Pacific Performance Exchange at the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles): “On both programs, just about anything sung by Grace Nono became an instant classic.”

Congratulations, Grace. We’ve always believed -- and we told some Manila record industry execs many years ago -- that in Grace and her CDs that feature her commanding vocals and Filipino rhythms with a contemporary touch, we have a very good chance of success in the world music market.

With people all around the globe hungry for what is termed “world music,” which is broadly defined as “music from cultures other than those of Western Europe and English-speaking North America, especially popular music from Latin America, Africa, and Asia,” Grace’s CDs, if given more push, will find a niche in this field. The world music market has become a multimillion dollar industry.

Borlaza’s case

We recently obtained a copy of the lawsuit that Pinay majordomo Angela Borlaza, who is also known as Evelyn Magaling, filed against the executors of Marlon Brando’s will. It offers a glimpse of the waning years of one of 20th century’s greatest actors and of a Pinay’s journey into the very heart of Hollywood.

The $2 million lawsuit was launched by Borlaza last June against a stellar Hollywood producer and executive, Mike Medavoy (He was involved in various capacities in such films as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Rocky,” “Annie Hall,” “Platoon,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “The Terminator”) and his brother-in-law, Larry J. Dressler, who are co-executors of Brando’s estate.

Borlaza, who worked for Brando for 10 years as a cook then as a majordomo and a personal assistant until the actor’s death in July 2004, is bringing Medavoy and Dressler to court for allegedly taking away a house that she claims the actor bought for her. The Pinay’s major contention is that 13 days before Brando (80 at the time) died of pulmonary fibrosis, the two brothers-in-law changed the actor’s will. The codicil made them the new co-executors of the estate of the great actor, who came to the Philippines in the 1970s to shoot scenes as Colonel Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece, “Apocalypse Now.”

In her lawsuit, Borlaza charges that Brando was too ill to have signed the codicil when Dressler and his attorney, Charles Larson, came to the actor’s Beverly Hills home on June 18, 2004. She claims that she was asked to leave Brando’s bedroom and that his handyman, identified only as Sam, was recruited by Dressler and Larson as a witness.
Excerpts
The Pinay aide also maintains that Neil Dexter, who allegedly witnessed and notarized Brando’s trust amendment, was not in the house that day.

The lawsuit, filed in LA, made headlines around the world and continues to spark articles, including the recent “Mutiny on his bounty” by Russell Miller, for The Sunday Times magazine of UK’s The Times.

We are printing some excerpts from Miller’s piece:

“The great actor is dying. An oxygen tank hisses softly. Plastic tubes lead from the tank up into his nose, to help him breathe. On the bedside table is the paraphernalia of sickness: the pills and the potions, syringes, lubricants and swabs. His carer is a Filipino woman. She was employed as a cook some years ago, but now she rules the roost. Her sister and her two sons have moved in; all the old staff have been fired. She wanted her husband on the payroll too, even when she was sharing Brando’s bed. When his friends call, she says he is sleeping, or in the bathroom, or cannot be disturbed.

“The Filipino describes herself as his ‘personal assistant’ and the ‘majordomo’ of his residence. She will later tell lawyers that she had a ‘loving and close’ relationship with her employer. So she is not pleased when a Hollywood bigwig lawyer and an accountant arrive with some documents for Brando to sign. He is to change the executors of his will. She is even less pleased when she is invited to leave the room and when a handyman in the garden is invited to witness the signing. She believes mischief is afoot.

“Thirteen days later, on July 1, 2004, the great actor dies.”

Who’s who

The piece continues: “At the time of Christian’s trial, Brando was sharing his bed with the maid at Mulholland Drive. A man with a voracious sexual appetite, his list of alleged former lovers—male and female—reads like a Hollywood Who’s Who: Ava Gardner, Shelley Winters, Noël Coward, Tyrone Power, Hedy Lamarr, Burt Lancaster, Marilyn Monroe, John Gielgud, Marlene Dietrich, Leonard Bernstein, Tallulah Bankhead, James Dean, Ingrid Bergman, Montgomery Clift, Anna Magnani, Rock Hudson, Rita Hayworth… David Niven once came across Brando and Laurence Olivier naked in a swimming pool and kissing passionately. Niven, who knew that Brando had also seduced Olivier’s wife Vivien Leigh, chose to make a gentlemanly exit. ‘I turned my back on them and went back inside to join Vivien. I’m sure she knew what was going on, but she made no mention of it. Nor did I. One must be sophisticated about such matters in life.’

“…After the departure of the maid, Christina Maria Ruiz, and the three children fathered by Brando when he was between 66 and 70, he took on a new Filipino cook, Angela Borlaza, who, like her predecessor, would soon be sharing his bed, even though by then he weighed 350 pounds. To the disquiet of Brando’s few remaining friends and business advisers, it was not very long before Borlaza was exercising an extraordinary influence over the ailing actor.”

No English

Miller goes on: “With Brando more or less confined to his bedroom, mostly sleeping during the day, his former business manager claims Borlaza moved her two children and her sister into the house, along with their dog and a cat, and invited her Filipino friends to visit frequently. All the televisions (sic), except the one in Brando’s bedroom, were permanently connected to Filipino stations, and virtually nobody in the house spoke English. Borlaza’s children turned Brando’s office into their bedroom, and her son Dean, 16, was put on the payroll and started driving the actor’s Lexus, which he promptly crashed, causing $3,000 worth of damage. Borlaza’s sister, Vie, who was said to be a registered nurse, was also put on the staff. Brando was persuaded to buy the family a ranch-style house at Winnetka in the San Fernando Valley, 40 minutes’ drive away, perhaps in the hope that some of them would move out, but none showed the slightest inclination to leave.

“All these events were observed with mounting alarm by his business manager and friend of 40 years, JoAn Corrales. On one visit to Mulholland Drive she said she noticed the housekeeper was wearing a pair of large diamond earrings; a week later it was a strand of pearls that ‘went from her neck to her waist.’ Corrales discovered that Borlaza’s sister had been paid a $1,000 bonus as a ‘new employee,’ even though she had been working for Brando for a year.”

What boggled our mind was to imagine the Mulholland Drive home of the Marlon Brando blaring with The Filipino Channel! Kapamilya pala noon si Lolo Marlon! We note Miller’s assertion that with Borlaza’s family supposedly planting themselves in Brando’s abode, “virtually nobody in the house spoke English.” Come on!
Lawsuit details
Back to Borlaza’s lawsuit, here are some interesting details:

•Borlaza claims that Brando gave the disputed house to her for her “many years of dedicated service.” She and Brando supposedly had an oral contract but she agreed that the title to the property would temporarily be held in the name of the actor’s California corporation, Penny Poke Farms, because “1) they believed that the decedent (Brando) would potentially receive some type of tax advantages under this arrangement, 2) Plaintiff’s (Borlaza) INS status was in question, 3) there was a lawsuit litigated between Christina Ruiz and Marlon Brando, and 4) there were concerns by the decedent’s business manager, Corrales, that if the property was placed in the plaintiff’s name, the plaintiff’s husband could make a community property claim to it.”
•The Pinay aide also revealed that Brando taught her how to spot his true signatures from forgeries. The “Godfather” would put certain dots between various letters of his name when signing. Borlaza charges that Brando’s signature on the codicil did not have these dots and is therefore a forgery.

Previous columns:
‘Maximo’ for Oscars (?)... and some ‘Desperate’ tales - (08/11/2006)
After ‘Imelda,’ Ramona Diaz tackles Pinoy teachers in US - (08/06/2006)
Mel Gibson’s moment of living dangerously - (08/04/2006)
Adam Sandler beyond the wacky dumb-guy image - (07/30/2006)
Amid addiction rehab, Colin finds love and peace in his son - (07/28/2006)

LOS ANGELES -- HERE’S LOS ANGELES Times’ critic Lewis Segal’s take on Grace Nono’s recent performance in two shows staged by the Asia Pacific Performance Exchange at the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles): “On both programs, just about anything sung by Grace Nono became an instant classic.”

Congratulations, Grace. We’ve always believed -- and we told some Manila record industry execs many years ago -- that in Grace and her CDs that feature her commanding vocals and Filipino rhythms with a contemporary touch, we have a very good chance of success in the world music market.

With people all around the globe hungry for what is termed “world music,” which is broadly defined as “music from cultures other than those of Western Europe and English-speaking North America, especially popular music from Latin America, Africa, and Asia,” Grace’s CDs, if given more push, will find a niche in this field. The world music market has become a multimillion dollar industry.

Borlaza’s case

We recently obtained a copy of the lawsuit that Pinay majordomo Angela Borlaza, who is also known as Evelyn Magaling, filed against the executors of Marlon Brando’s will. It offers a glimpse of the waning years of one of 20th century’s greatest actors and of a Pinay’s journey into the very heart of Hollywood.

The $2 million lawsuit was launched by Borlaza last June against a stellar Hollywood producer and executive, Mike Medavoy (He was involved in various capacities in such films as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Rocky,” “Annie Hall,” “Platoon,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “The Terminator”) and his brother-in-law, Larry J. Dressler, who are co-executors of Brando’s estate.

Borlaza, who worked for Brando for 10 years as a cook then as a majordomo and a personal assistant until the actor’s death in July 2004, is bringing Medavoy and Dressler to court for allegedly taking away a house that she claims the actor bought for her. The Pinay’s major contention is that 13 days before Brando (80 at the time) died of pulmonary fibrosis, the two brothers-in-law changed the actor’s will. The codicil made them the new co-executors of the estate of the great actor, who came to the Philippines in the 1970s to shoot scenes as Colonel Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece, “Apocalypse Now.”

In her lawsuit, Borlaza charges that Brando was too ill to have signed the codicil when Dressler and his attorney, Charles Larson, came to the actor’s Beverly Hills home on June 18, 2004. She claims that she was asked to leave Brando’s bedroom and that his handyman, identified only as Sam, was recruited by Dressler and Larson as a witness.
Excerpts
The Pinay aide also maintains that Neil Dexter, who allegedly witnessed and notarized Brando’s trust amendment, was not in the house that day.

The lawsuit, filed in LA, made headlines around the world and continues to spark articles, including the recent “Mutiny on his bounty” by Russell Miller, for The Sunday Times magazine of UK’s The Times.

We are printing some excerpts from Miller’s piece:

“The great actor is dying. An oxygen tank hisses softly. Plastic tubes lead from the tank up into his nose, to help him breathe. On the bedside table is the paraphernalia of sickness: the pills and the potions, syringes, lubricants and swabs. His carer is a Filipino woman. She was employed as a cook some years ago, but now she rules the roost. Her sister and her two sons have moved in; all the old staff have been fired. She wanted her husband on the payroll too, even when she was sharing Brando’s bed. When his friends call, she says he is sleeping, or in the bathroom, or cannot be disturbed.

“The Filipino describes herself as his ‘personal assistant’ and the ‘majordomo’ of his residence. She will later tell lawyers that she had a ‘loving and close’ relationship with her employer. So she is not pleased when a Hollywood bigwig lawyer and an accountant arrive with some documents for Brando to sign. He is to change the executors of his will. She is even less pleased when she is invited to leave the room and when a handyman in the garden is invited to witness the signing. She believes mischief is afoot.

“Thirteen days later, on July 1, 2004, the great actor dies.”

Who’s who

The piece continues: “At the time of Christian’s trial, Brando was sharing his bed with the maid at Mulholland Drive. A man with a voracious sexual appetite, his list of alleged former lovers—male and female—reads like a Hollywood Who’s Who: Ava Gardner, Shelley Winters, Noël Coward, Tyrone Power, Hedy Lamarr, Burt Lancaster, Marilyn Monroe, John Gielgud, Marlene Dietrich, Leonard Bernstein, Tallulah Bankhead, James Dean, Ingrid Bergman, Montgomery Clift, Anna Magnani, Rock Hudson, Rita Hayworth… David Niven once came across Brando and Laurence Olivier naked in a swimming pool and kissing passionately. Niven, who knew that Brando had also seduced Olivier’s wife Vivien Leigh, chose to make a gentlemanly exit. ‘I turned my back on them and went back inside to join Vivien. I’m sure she knew what was going on, but she made no mention of it. Nor did I. One must be sophisticated about such matters in life.’

“…After the departure of the maid, Christina Maria Ruiz, and the three children fathered by Brando when he was between 66 and 70, he took on a new Filipino cook, Angela Borlaza, who, like her predecessor, would soon be sharing his bed, even though by then he weighed 350 pounds. To the disquiet of Brando’s few remaining friends and business advisers, it was not very long before Borlaza was exercising an extraordinary influence over the ailing actor.”

No English

Miller goes on: “With Brando more or less confined to his bedroom, mostly sleeping during the day, his former business manager claims Borlaza moved her two children and her sister into the house, along with their dog and a cat, and invited her Filipino friends to visit frequently. All the televisions (sic), except the one in Brando’s bedroom, were permanently connected to Filipino stations, and virtually nobody in the house spoke English. Borlaza’s children turned Brando’s office into their bedroom, and her son Dean, 16, was put on the payroll and started driving the actor’s Lexus, which he promptly crashed, causing $3,000 worth of damage. Borlaza’s sister, Vie, who was said to be a registered nurse, was also put on the staff. Brando was persuaded to buy the family a ranch-style house at Winnetka in the San Fernando Valley, 40 minutes’ drive away, perhaps in the hope that some of them would move out, but none showed the slightest inclination to leave.

“All these events were observed with mounting alarm by his business manager and friend of 40 years, JoAn Corrales. On one visit to Mulholland Drive she said she noticed the housekeeper was wearing a pair of large diamond earrings; a week later it was a strand of pearls that ‘went from her neck to her waist.’ Corrales discovered that Borlaza’s sister had been paid a $1,000 bonus as a ‘new employee,’ even though she had been working for Brando for a year.”

What boggled our mind was to imagine the Mulholland Drive home of the Marlon Brando blaring with The Filipino Channel! Kapamilya pala noon si Lolo Marlon! We note Miller’s assertion that with Borlaza’s family supposedly planting themselves in Brando’s abode, “virtually nobody in the house spoke English.” Come on!
Lawsuit details
Back to Borlaza’s lawsuit, here are some interesting details:

•Borlaza claims that Brando gave the disputed house to her for her “many years of dedicated service.” She and Brando supposedly had an oral contract but she agreed that the title to the property would temporarily be held in the name of the actor’s California corporation, Penny Poke Farms, because “1) they believed that the decedent (Brando) would potentially receive some type of tax advantages under this arrangement, 2) Plaintiff’s (Borlaza) INS status was in question, 3) there was a lawsuit litigated between Christina Ruiz and Marlon Brando, and 4) there were concerns by the decedent’s business manager, Corrales, that if the property was placed in the plaintiff’s name, the plaintiff’s husband could make a community property claim to it.”
•The Pinay aide also revealed that Brando taught her how to spot his true signatures from forgeries. The “Godfather” would put certain dots between various letters of his name when signing. Borlaza charges that Brando’s signature on the codicil did not have these dots and is therefore a forgery.