The Peculiar Truth about Marlon Brando’s Best Friend
Published in
3 min readNov 28, 2023
- Marlon Brando grew up in Evanston, Illinois during the Great Depression. At age 9, he met a boy his same age who had just moved to town. They became fast friends.
- His pal was named Wally Cox.
- Wally’s sister recounted how the boys became inseparable. Once, she said, Marlon tied Wally to a tree… and left him there. She was surprised their friendship endured after that, but it did.
- Though they went separate ways throughout the years, their friendship would last a lifetime.
- Cox’s family moved to New York City, and years later the Brando family moved there, too.
- Brando enlisted in the military during WWII, but he was considered unfit to serve because of a knee injury. Wally Cox served four months in the Army but was honorably discharged to care for his invalid mother.
- The two friends reconnected in New York City where they eventually shared an apartment.
- To most people, they appeared to be an odd couple. Brando was intense and brawny; Cox often portrayed milquetoasts. Yet both men were smart and funny. Though only 5’6”, wiry thin, and bespectacled, Cox was surprisingly athletic and could hold his own against Brando.
- Cox performed stand-up comedy, first at private parties and then in…
