Movita Castaneda

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 (1933) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), of which she was the last surviving cast member. She was the mother of Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1961) and Rebecca Brando Kotlizky (b. 1966).[1]

Movita Castaneda
Castaneda in Paradise Isle (1937)
Born
Maria Luisa Castaneda

(1916-04-12)April 12, 1916
Nogales, Arizona, U.S.
DiedFebruary 12, 2015(2015-02-12) (aged 98)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of deathNeck injury
Other namesMovita
Years active1930–89
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 1939; div. 1944)

​
(
m. 1960;
annulled 
1968)
Children2

Life and work
Movita with John Carroll in "Wolf Call" (1939)

Movita, an American of Mexican descent, was born in Nogales, Arizona, on a train traveling between Mexico and Arizona. Movita began her acting career singing the Carioca to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared together, Flying Down to Rio (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 (1935) alongside Clark Gable and Franchot Tone. She played an island girl in Paradise Isle (1937) and again in Girl from Rio (1939) with Warren Hull. She starred in the British thriller Tower of Terror (1941) alongside Wilfrid Lawson and Michael Rennie. After a break, she appeared as Henry Fonda's cook in Fort Apache (1948), then starred with Tim Holt in two further westerns: The Mysterious Desperado (1949) and Saddle Legion (1951).

In 1939, Movita married the Irish boxer, singer and actor Jack Doyle in Mexico.[2] 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. They married in 1960, and they had two children. Brando played the role of Fletcher Christian 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 discovered her previous marriage to Doyle was still active.[3] 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, after being hospitalized for a neck injury. She was 98.[4]

Castaneda was survived by her two children and four grandchildren, as well as a great-grandchild.[5]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1930El Dios del mar
1933Flying Down to RioCarioca SingerUncredited
1934La buenaventura
1934The ScandalGregoria
1934Tres AmoresDoris
1935Señora casada necesita maridoDoncella
1935The Tia Juana KidCabaret Dancer
1935Mutiny on the BountyTehani
1935El diablo del MarMaya
1936Captain CalamityAnnana
1936El capitan TormentaAnyana
1937Paradise IsleIla
1937The HurricaneArai
1938Rose of the Rio GrandeRosita del Torre
1939Wolf CallTowana
1939Girl from RioMarquita Romero
1941Tower of TerrorMarie Durand
1948Fort ApacheGuadalupe
1949The Mysterious DesperadoLuisa
1949Red LightTrinaUncredited
1950Wagon MasterYoung Navajo Indian
1950Federal ManLolita Martinez / Montez
1950The FuriesChiquita
1950A Lady Without PassportLorenaUncredited
1950The Petty GirlCarmelita MorayUncredited
1950KimWoman with BabyUncredited
1951Soldiers ThreeCabaret woman
1951Saddle LegionMercedes
1952Wild Horse AmbushLita Espinosa
1953Dream WifeRima
1953Ride, Vaquero!HussyUncredited
1955Apache AmbushRosita
gollark: I know roughly what my style is and I *could* just not do it.
gollark: Well, obviously it is 14 and I'm trying to cover for it.
gollark: We all have a similar one, although I suppose it's more pronounced if you know you wrote one of the less distinctive ones.
gollark: I find it pretty weird that coltrans thinks mine is maybe 14.
gollark: I would probably do that anyway.

References
  1. "Mail box". Scottsdale Progress. July 27, 1950. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  2. "Jack Doyle Married". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 18 April 1939. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  3. "Brandon's Marriage Voided—Actress Has Other Mate". The Philadelphia Daily News. July 30, 1968. Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Chawkins, Steve (February 17, 2015). "Movita Castaneda dies at 98; film actress was Marlon Brando's second wife". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  5. Movita Castaneda dead, abcnews.go.com; accessed May 19, 2015.
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