HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson.
On our show this week: some jazz music from Wynton Marsalis.
And a listener wants to know about a kind of horse called theAppaloosa.
But first, we remember American actor Marlon Brando.
Marlon Brando
The American movie industry lostone of its greatest stars on July first. Marlon Brando died in LosAngeles, California at the age of eighty. Gwen OUten takes a lookback at the actor’s long life in movies.
MARLON BRANDO: “You don’t understand. I could’ve had class. Icould’ve been a contender. I could’ve been somebody instead of a bumwhich is what I am.”
GWEN OUTEN: That was Marlon Brando playing a former boxer in thenineteen-fifty-four movie “On the Waterfront.” Marlon Brando wassomebody, of course. Many critics say he was the greatest actor ofall time. And many actors say Marlon Brando influenced them morethan any other person in the movie industry.
Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska in nineteen-twenty-four. Hismother was an actress. His father was a salesman. His childhood wasnot happy. In a book about his life, Brando wrote that both hisparents were dependent on alcohol. He wrote that his father neversaid anything good about his son.
Marlon Brando linked his interest in acting to the painful yearsof his childhood. He said a child who feels unaccepted by hisparents will search for a different identity that will beacceptable.
When he was nineteen, Brando moved to New York City. He studiedacting and learned what is called the “method” style of realisticacting. In nineteen-forty-seven, he became a Broadway star with hisfamous performance as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’ play,”A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Brando’s fame grew in nineteen-fifty-one when he acted the samepart in the film version of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Brando actedin more than forty movies. He won two Academy Awards for Best Actor.One was for his work in “On the Waterfront.” The other was forplaying Vito Corleone, the powerful head of a criminal organizationin “The Godfather” in nineteen-seventy-two. He was nominated forfive other Academy Awards.
Brando was a private man but he did not lead a quiet or easylife. He was married three times. He had at least seven children.Brando dealt with several tragedies. One of his sons was sent toprison for killing a man. Brando’s daughter, Cheyenne, killedherself in nineteen-ninety-five.
No public service was held to honor Marlon Brando after hisdeath. A family spokesperson said he would not have wanted one. Butthe actor’s place in Hollywood history is secure.
The Appaloosa
DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listenerquestion this week comes from Nice, France. Anne Claude Petit asksabout the Appaloosa horse.
Appaloosa horses have colorful spots on their bodies. Historyexperts have found the horses shown in ancient cave paintings. Thehorses lived in Persia, China and Egypt. Spotted horses weredeveloped into riding horses in Spain and taken to Mexico in thesixteenth century. They spread across North America.
The Nez Perce Indians used the spotted animals to produce horsesthat were fast, strong and gentle. The Nez Perce lived near thePalouse River that flows through the northwestern states ofWashington and Idaho. White settlers called the colorful horse “aPalouse horse.” Later, the name was pronounced Appaloosa. The breedwas recognized in nineteen-thirty-eight when Claude Thompson andGeorge Hatley established the Appaloosa Horse Club. Its headquartersis in Moscow, Idaho.
Today, the Appaloosa Horse Club recognizes more thansix-hundred-thousand Appaloosa horses. The club says Appaloosas areused everywhere a good horse is needed, including show racing andjumping. Appaloosas are also used for riding, on ranches and in thecircus.
Appaloosas have broad heads, short bodies and strong legs. Theymove very smoothly. An Appaloosa can have one of many differentdesigns on its body.
It may be white with colored spots, or colored with white spots.It may have a white back or colored spots on the back end. It may bea colored horse with light or white spots on the hips and legs. AnAppaloosa can also be colored at birth but become almost white asthe horse ages except for dark markings on the legs and face.
To be officially recognized as an Appaloosa, a horse must alsohave a visible white part of the eye, similar to the human eye. Itshould also have striped hooves and a special kind of partly coloredskin around the mouth and nose.
Every year, the Appaloosa Horse Club organizes a championshipcontest for Appaloosas and their riders. The contest this year endedlast week in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For more information about thecontest and the horses, the Web site of the Appaloosa Horse Club iswww.appaloosa.com.
The Magic Hour
Wynton Marsalis is a famous jazzmusician, composer and conductor. He is the artistic director ofJazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. He was the first jazzmusician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. That was innineteen-ninety-seven. Wynton Marsalis has released more than fortyrecords. He plays trumpet on his new album with the Wynton MarsalisQuartet. It is called “The Magic Hour.” Shep O’Neal tells us aboutMarsalis and his music.
SHEP O’NEAL: Wynton Marsalis says “the magic hour” is a specialhour of the day for a family. He says that for children, the magichour is one hour before they go to sleep. For parents, it is onehour after the children go to sleep.
Marsalis says the album celebrates the child in all of us.Critics say the album is full of simple pleasures. Here is one ofthem, a song called “Free to Be.”
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Wynton Marsalis says he made the new album with three othermusicians because he wanted to restate his love of jazz music in aquartet. “The Magic Hour” also includes two songs by guest singers.This one is called “Baby, I Love You.” The singer is Bobby McFerrin.
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One critic says Wynton Marsalis is the most recognized jazzartist in the world today. Three years ago, United Nations SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan declared him an international ambassador ofgoodwill. Wynton Marsalis and his group are performing in the UnitedStates and ten other countries this summer. We leave you with thesong “Skipping” from “The Magic Hour.”
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HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join usagain next week for VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
This program was written by Shelley Gollust, Nancy Steinbach andCaty Weaver. Paul Thompson was the producer. And our engineer wasJim Sleeman.