Christian Brando, at 49; son of legendary actor

Marlon Brando kisses his son Christian in court during Christian Brando's murder trial in 1990. (los angeles times/file 1990)

LOS ANGELES - Christian Brando, the troubled eldest son of the late actor Marlon Brando, died of pneumonia Saturday at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. He was 49.

Mr. Brando was taken to the hospital on Jan. 11, said David Seeley, a lawyer representing Marlon Brando's estate.

Born on May 11, 1958, Mr. Brando was a high school dropout and never had much of a career. He had small roles in a handful of movies, including 1968's "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!" but he was better known for his brushes with the law.

He spent five years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in 1990 for killing his sister's boyfriend, Dag Drollet, at the Brando family's estate.

Mr. Brando said he accidentally shot Drollet as they struggled for a gun during an argument over whether Drollet, 26, had beaten Mr. Brando's pregnant half-sister, Cheyenne.

Cheyenne, who later gave birth to Drollet's son but lost custody of the child, committed suicide in 1995. She was 25. Family associates said she had been distraught since her boyfriend's death.

In a 1991 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Brando said he never intended to kill Drollet, but wanted to scare him. "I just sat there and watched the life go out of this guy," Mr. Brando said.

At his son's trial, Marlon Brando pleaded for leniency, telling the court: "I think that perhaps I failed as a father."

Mr. Brando's former wife, Deborah, sued him for domestic violence in 2005. She asserted that shortly after their 2004 marriage, he repeatedly beat her and threatened to kill her in the presence of her teenage daughter.

Mr. Brando countersued, alleging that his former wife broke into his home and beat him because he wanted to annul their marriage only 10 weeks after exchanging vows. The lawsuits were settled last year on undisclosed terms.

Mr. Brando was charged in January 2005 with two counts of spousal abuse and later pleaded no contest. He was placed on three years' probation and ordered to drug and alcohol rehabilitation, as well as a spousal abuse prevention program.

Mr. Brando was also the onetime lover of Bonnie Lee Bakley, who was shot to death in 2001. At one time, Bakley said that Mr. Brando had fathered her child, but tests showed that the father was actor Robert Blake, whom she later married.

Blake was tried for her murder and acquitted but later ordered to pay $30 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. During that civil case, Blake's lawyer suggested that Mr. Brando was the killer, although police never implicated him.

Mr. Brando, who had denied any involvement, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on the stand during the trial.

Seeley said Mr. Brando was not married at the time of his death and did not leave any children.

Mr. Brando was the eldest of the actor's nine children, according to a will the Oscar-winner left following his death in 2004. Mr. Brando's mother was actress Anna Kashfi. She and Marlon Brando divorced after a year.

That touched off a 16-year custody battle for Christian, who was 5 months old at the time of the separation.

"I found him to be an extremely personable, bright gentleman," said Bruce Margolin, an attorney who represented Mr. Brando.