EXCLUSIVE: Inside Marlon Brando's Bizarre 'Secretly Taped Calls' With A-List Celebrities — Including King of Pop Michael Jackson
Marlon Brando was said to have recorded phone calls with A-list celebrities.
June 30 2026, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Marlon Brando was said to have recorded private calls with some of the most rich and famous celebrities and held secrets about a plethora of A-Listers, from Marilyn Monroe to Michael Jackson.
Ahead of the July 1 anniversary of the Guys and Dolls actor's death, RadarOnline.com revisits Brando's bizarre quirk – that seemingly resulted in many tapes filled with juicy gossip.
Marlon Brando: The 'Consummate Control Freak"
Marlon Brando was a major star with huge Hollywood connections for decades.
Peter Manso, the author of Brando: The Biography, exclusively described the actor as a "consummate control freak" who "secretly tape-recorded" his phone calls using an "elaborate" system in his home.
"All the calls were automatically taped. It was connected to his eight or nine phone extensions all over the house," the writer told Radar in a resurfaced interview. "I know he taped his conversations because I even have a shoebox full of some tapes, given to me legally."
Hollywood Legends 'Quaking in Their Boots' Over Tapes
Marlon Brando died at 80 years old.
Manso also pointed out that "most of Marlon’s friends and associates had no idea he was recording phone conversations until it quietly leaked out recently in Hollywood circles."
When the rumors of Brando's surprising practice got out, it left some major stars and members of famous families "quaking in their boots that these tapes could be sold or made public."
Marlon Brando's 'Dirty Gossip'
Marlon Brando allegedly had secrets about Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedys.
One reason celebrities may have had reason to fear was Brando had "some of the most incredible dirty gossip," that allegedly included "sordid secrets" he'd learned over the years after making it big in Hollywood.
"He revealed gay and lesbian secrets of Hollywood stars. And he revealed gay secrets about himself," added Manso.
According to the author, Monroe "spilled secrets about the Kennedys and other government stuff," to Brando, who then supposedly "passed on some of it to his buddies."
"He also talked at length about Rita Moreno — one of his great passions," he shared, referring to Brando and Moreno's steamy on-again, off-again relationship after costarring together on Désirée in the 1950s.
Inside Marlon Brando's Hollywood Career and Death
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Marlon Brando was famous for his roles in 'The Godfather,' 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' and more.
Brando began professionally acting in the film industry in 1950, but he really hit it big the following year when he scored the iconic role of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire after previously starring in the stage play.
His lengthy Hollywood resume also includes On The Waterfront (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), The Godfather (1972), Superman (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979), and many more.
Due to his decades of fame, Brando obviously was connected with some the biggest stars. He reportedly even knew secrets involving major names such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Brigitte Bardot, John Wayne, Sammy Davis Jr., Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby, Paul Newman, Sophia Loren, Rod Steiger and Steve McQueen.
Brando passed away on July 1, 2004, at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif. His cause of death was later confirmed to be respiratory failure from pulmonary fibrosis, as well as congestive heart failure.
