The Mammoth Book of Celebrity Murders (33 page)

The truth is that Drollet was unhappy in his relationship with Cheyenne and had told her that if her violence continued he would have to leave her, this being the probable catalyst for the
outpouring of emotion to Christian. Cheyenne was obviously seeking sympathy from her older brother and may well have wanted him to teach her boyfriend a lesson. Unfortunately the lesson would be
hard taught as Cheyenne had managed to wind her brother up into such a rage that the totally unaware and unprepared Drollet would not stand a chance.

At around 10.30 p.m. Cheyenne and Christian returned to their father’s home to find that Marlon was in his private quarters and that Drollet was relaxing in the den. Christian wanted to
have it out with Drollet and so he went straight there to confront him. Having been revved up by Cheyenne all through dinner he was now angry and ready to exact revenge, believing as he did that
Drollet had apparently been abusing his little sister. Christian stormed into the room shouting “Are you slapping my sister around?” Even before Drollet could reply Christian added,
“You will not do that anymore.” Drollet was completely puzzled, staring in amazement at the man in front of him, then his eyes widened as he realized that Christian was holding a gun
and that it was pointing directly at his face. At that moment something tipped Christian over the edge and he fired one shot, hitting Drollet in the head.

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot startled the whole household and Marlon soon entered the den to find his son staring at Drollet, who lay on the floor, blood pooling around him from an
obvious head wound. Reality soon kicked in and Marlon, though stunned, took control of the situation, immediately requesting that the authorities be summoned. He tried to comfort the dying man but
could see at once that his words were of little help; it was also apparent that he was not sufficiently skilled to administer the type of help which Drollet badly needed. Closer inspection led
Brando to the conclusion that even if help arrived immediately, Drollet’s injuries were likely to be fatal.

Marlon then turned his attention to his son, who on cursory inspection had obviously been drinking heavily, although the reality of his actions had sobered him up somewhat. Marlon tried his best
to calm his son down, and also managed to dissuade him from trying to leave the house. His son was now panicking, and in his dilemma had considered making a run for it in an attempt to avoid being
caught at the scene. Even as a young man Christian was never that keen on facing the music for any of his wayward actions, large or small. What he had achieved that evening was, however, very much
on a new level. On this occasion Marlon was not prepared to let his son leave, any thoughts of leniency would depend on his co-operation, whereas running away would only imply more guilt – if
more guilt was possible. Marlon talked him round, pointing out that he should stay and deal with the situation – whatever happened he would have his father’s support, even though Brando
himself did not know why Drollet lay dead in his house. Marlon escorted Christian and Cheyenne into his own bedroom to cool off and ordered them to stay put and await his further instructions.
Christian took this short amount of time to apologize to his horrified sister, who couldn’t believe that the evening had ended so tragically. She may have set her brother up to teach her
boyfriend a lesson, but did not expect to lose the father of her unborn child in the process. With a mixture of alcohol and terror her brain struggled to see how her discussions earlier had somehow
created the bloody havoc in which they were both enmeshed.

When the emergency services arrived it was Marlon himself who answered the door, immediately rushing the officers into the den. Upon entering the room LA Fire Department Captain Tom Jefferson
described the scene as eerie, observing that Drollet “was lying back on the couch, kind of like he was watching TV”. He stated that the victim was holding a remote control in one hand
and a cigarette lighter in the other; in the moments before being shot the young man had clearly been engaged in a spot of channel hopping. The only difference between him and any other television
viewer that night was the fact that he had just sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

When the police searched the property they found Christian talking with his distraught sister, the pair still in their father’s bedroom. The couple were separated by the officers,
Christian was put in handcuffs and escorted from the property to a waiting police car. He was still under the influence of alcohol, a reading of his blood alcohol level was taken and the result
showed that it contained 0.19 per cent alcohol, almost twice the drink-driving level.

He was initially interviewed by Steve Osti from the LAPD who described him as chatty but erratic. He was told that he had the right to remain silent and had the right to an attorney. Christian
did not take up either offer and immediatly confessed to shooting Drollet, claiming, “I did it because he hurt my sister. He was lying on the couch. He was fighting with my sister. I told him
to leave my sister alone. We were both in a rage. The fucking gun went off.” Although his statement was full of inconsistencies regarding the actual events which had occurred in the den, he
never at any point denied the fact that he was the one who had pulled the trigger. However many questions remained. Why had he got the gun in the first place? Was it for self-defence, believing
that Drollet was beating his sister? Or was it to commit murder? Had Christian been aiming to scare Drollet when the gun accidentally discharged? These were all questions which would have to be
answered if Christian Brando intended to maintain his liberty.

With a big Hollywood star involved in such a controversy it was only a matter of time before the tabloid press got wind of the hot new story. The announcement of Drollet’s death was on
television before Marlon had managed to call his long-time friend Jacques Drollet, Dag Drollet’s father, and break the sad news that his son was dead – let alone admit that it was his
son who had dealt him the final card. Marlon needn’t have worried, for in a world where television news travels faster than a speeding bullet, Jacques Drollet had already seen the headlines
and was now aware that his son had been killed at Marlon Brando’s house. He just didn’t know why.

A media frenzy, the likes of which had never been seen before, took everyone involved by surprise. There were stories that reporters had scaled the high walls surrounding Brando’s house on
Mulholland Drive and, managing to evade the high-level security system, had got into the grounds, where they rummaged through the garbage in a bid to beat their rivals to “bag” an
exclusive. To their disappointment the reporters had succeeded in selecting the wrong garbage and instead of sifting through Brando’s rubbish they were scouring through his neighbour’s
discarded trash. The neighbour was none other than Jack Nicholson, not press friendly at the best of times, whose rubbish turned out to be no more incriminating than anyone else’s.

The whole area around Brando’s home was swarming with the media. News reporters were already making their television links from outside Brando’s main gates, which were guarded by a
multitude of uniformed officers. Photographers and press agents had decamped to the area in their hundreds, not wishing to miss any vital clues as to what was happening. Several news stations had
taken to the skies and were recording anything and everything from their “eye-in-the-sky” helicopters – although only the basic facts were known, the amount of police activity in
the grounds and the heavily policed security cordon around the perimeter, meant that something very newsworthy had occurred at Brando’s house that evening. And when the police outnumber the
ambulance men, murder seems like a likely option.

Marlon Brando sat in his home and struggled to make any sense of the unreal situation which he now found himself in, a far cry from his humble beginings. He was born 66 years before
Drollet’s death, in Omaha, Nebraska, to proud parents, Marlon Brando Sr and Dorothy Pennebaker. He was the Brandos’ only son and the third of three children – his sisters being
Jocelyn aged four and Frances aged two. He was the son that the parents had hoped for and who now made the family unit complete. But by the time Brando had reached the age of 12, Marlon Sr and
Dorothy had started to have marriage problems and the couple separated. Dorothy was then left to bring up the three children alone, so with them in tow she moved to Santa Ana, in Orange County,
California.

Marlon Sr and Dorothy had been separated for around two years before a reconciliation was achieved and the couple reunited. With their relationship now back on track they decided that a new
start would be helpful, so they moved house once again, this time upping sticks to Libertyville, Illinois, just north of Chicago, near Lake Michigan.

When Brando reached his mid teens he attended the Shattuck Military Academy boarding school in Fairbult, Minnesota. But the headstrong young man was already exhibiting signs of his uniquely
independent character, even in military collage, and did not take to the discipline there, so they eventually expelled him for misconduct.

By 1943, Brando moved to New York, where he attended the Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research. He took the work very seriously and was a natural student. His teacher Stella
Adler had lived in Moscow in the early 1930s, and had studied with Konstantin Stanislavsky at the Moscow Arts Theatre. Stanislavsky taught the “method”, which is where actors have to
try and develop every part they play using their own emotions. On passing on her interpretation of the “method”, she found the young Brando was an excellent student and that this
technique suited his acting style. Later in life this lesson was to prove invaluable to him as he used the method style of acting for every character he portrayed throughout his long career.

Brando’s acting career enjoyed a number of great highs and he will always be known as one of Hollywood’s legends. By his early twenties he was already proving to be such a competent
actor that he auditioned for and managed to secure the role as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’
A Streetcar Named Desire
, a role for which he won many plaudits. Throughout the
movie Brando gave a brilliant performance and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards – quite an achievement by anybody’s standards. He was now wealthy
beyond his wildest dreams and a recognized star the world over. Enjoying the benefits that his fame brought him, he indulged in his many passions, including food and women. The Oscar was well
deserved but he would need to draw on his geat emotional strength more than ever when he would eventually have to go before the most demanding of all audiences – just twelve true men, not
handing out awards, but rather jail sentences.

He met his first wife when he was 33 years old while filming
The Young Lions
. His young bride, Anna Kashfi, an Indian actress, was formerly known as Joan O’Callaghan. Already
pregnant and showing, the wedding ceremony was held at Brando’s aunt’s house in East Rock. By May the following year Anna gave birth to their son, Christian Devi Brando, named after a
close friend of his father, Christian Marquand. The marriage was rocky from the start and was not helped by the fact that Brando was openly seeing other women. Anna’s own problems with
alcohol and barbiturates abuse caused their relationship to flounder, inevitably the marriage was turbulent and the couple divorced when Christian was still in nappies.

Brando soon went on to marry his second wife, a Mexican actress called Movita Castaneda, and in 1960 they had a child, another son for Brando, called Miko. This marriage also floundered –
Brando’s womanizing ways had not left him – and two years later it all ended in a bitter divorce. Brando’s third wife was already in the wings and once again he was quick to make
an honest woman of her. The latest Mrs Brando, another actress, Tarita Teripaia became pregnant and blessed her husband with his third son in as many women. Simon, the youngest of Brando’s
boys, was soon followed by two daughters, Cheyenne and Rebecca.

Brando, quick to marry, was equally quick to adopt the favours of a string of other beautiful women, many content to play second fiddle to the official Mrs Brando. Back in the saddle and up to
his old tricks, the eclectic Brando family continued to grow.

It is true to say that the Brando ran an open house, with a diverse range of people constantly coming and going. In line with his A-list status, he also maintained the trappings of his success,
with various homes both in America and elsewhere, even buying a private island where his family could relax away from the media’s prying eyes and long-range lenses. The whole Brando clan were
constantly shuttled between the various family homes and the private family island near Tahiti.

Brando was able to secure custody of Christian although his busy filming schedule meant that he did not spend a significant amount of time with the boy. Instead, Christian was primarily brought
up by a small army of ever-changing nannies and helpers. Although they both apparently enjoyed the small amount of time they did manage to have together, the time slots seemed few and far between.
Like most maturing boys, however, the need for a strong male influence, a guiding hand, was evidently required, but sadly lacking.

One may have supposed that to have a tremendously successful father like Brando would have meant that life would be easy, and that the son might expected his every whim to be pandered to. In
reality Christian, like many kids growing up, only craved the love and closeness of his parents. Even with good role models the offspring of famous people can often go off the rails when they reach
young adulthood. With the confidence bestowed through their parents’ shimmering stardom they are keen to experience life for themselves, and clearly have the financial ability to enjoy all
that the world has to offer. Inevitably, having famous parents can make you popular amongst your peers and Christian happily found himself in this position, never short of friends who were always
ready to party. He spent the majority of his time travelling between Hollywood and Tahiti where he became the favourite older brother to Cheyenne who was 11 years younger than Christian, a fact
which did not stop the pair from spending a great deal of time together, chatting and confiding in one another. Cheyenne enjoyed the support that Christian offered, and he in return became a father
figure to her, providing a level of protection which would later reveal itself in a more dramatic and bloody way.