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December 2, 2008 5:10:08 AM CST

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Brando's Troubled Firstborn Dies

Posted Jan 26, 08 7:44 PM CST in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Christian Brando, the eldest of the late Godfather's nine children, died today from pneumonia at 49. Brando, the product of his iconic father's first marriage, earned the media limelight in 1990 for shooting to death his sister's boyfriend, he LA Times reports. But he was in and out of the court system for much of his troubled life.

Marlin Brando and his first wife divorced when Christian was 5 months old, then fought a much-publicized custody battle for 16 years. Christian had long since dropped out of high school and developed a substance abuse problem when he was charged with killing Dag Drollet. He claimed it was accidental and served five years. He resurfaced later as the one-time lover of Robert Blake's murdered wife.

Source Los Angeles Times

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Actor Marlon Brando, left, smiles with his son, Christian, during a news conference after Christian was released on $2 million bail in Los Angeles, in this Aug. 15, 1990, file photo. Brando has died from...   (Associated Press)
Christian Brando is photographed outside the Los Angeles County superior courthouse in this Oct. 25, 2005, file photo, in Burbank, Calif. Brando, the eldest son of the late famed actor Marlon Brando,...   (Associated Press)
Marlon Brando in 1950. (PAR38542)   (Magnum Photos)
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