[Another post for Mom, whose birthday was yesterday, but I couldn't get this video clip cut, compressed, and up in time.]
Mom and Dad (Tom Laughlin and Delores Taylor) had become friends with Marlon Brando when Marlon’s son, Christian, attended the Montessori school our folks ran in Santa Monica. (Christian and TC became friends and TC often went over to the Brando’s after school. Marlon LOVED TC and insisted he be TC’s Godmother - yes, you read that right: GodMOTHER.) What does Marlon Brando have to do with Delores’ performance in ‘Billy Jack’?
Marlon was invited to one of the hundreds of screenings Tom had during the creating of ‘Billy Jack’. In the middle of the screening, right after this scene by Delores, Marlon stood up, stopped the screening, and exclaimed for everyone to hear that THIS was the performance by which all actors need to measure themselves by. It was an ultimate honor from the ultimate ‘real’ actor.
With an understanding of just how amazing Delores’ performance is, here is the scene…
PS… Delores Taylor’s performance in this scene was absolutely amazing. It was so real, so convincing. Her feelings of being able to put the school, the kids, everything before her own feelings was so giving and unselfish. If she didn’t have those things to help her thru, then it’s not worth living for. We all have to have something to live for. Bravo for her!! Brando was right on, here.
PS.. So, did he ever become TC’s godmother? Just wondering…
Love you guys and Wado Oginalii!! for being so sharing of these things with the fans. It is a rare treat to get into the lives of these icons.
Always,
Billie
This is my all time favorite movies. I saw it again and again and I now own it on dvd… all of the Billy Jack movies. As I have remarked before online… “Being a child of mixed races, Native American being one of them, I grew up in a single parent-alcoholic home. The bleak life we had to endure daily gave us no adults to look up to. Billy Jack came into my life on the big screen and I found hope. Billy Jack, this fictional character gave me hope when there was none. Gave me the idea that a person could love and be loved even when you were different. Gave me strength to stand up and be counted, stand up for who and what you are and what you believed in. Hope, when there was none… I wanted someone like Jean and Billy to look after me. I wanted a school of freedom where I was. I wanted to be Billy Jack. I had a lot of anger and still do, but I deal with it everyday. I am a female Billie… LOL!! And I use the “Indian Logic” in these movies in my everyday life. At least I try, I really try to… LOL! Thank you always for giving me this hope.
Sincerely,
Billie
(yes, that is my real name.