Brando dies of lung failure at 80

LOS ANGELES, July 2 (UPI) -- Lung failure took the life of Hollywood icon Marlon Brando, UCLA Medical Center said Friday.

The Hollywood legend died Thursday evening at the age of 80 at the Westwood, Calif., hospital where he had been admitted the previous day.

Brando's talent and his turbulent career made him an artistic and social force both on and off the screen.

Brando's breakthrough role was the rough Stanley Kowalski in "Streetcar Named Desire" and made the torn T-shirt worn by his character a symbol of the actor and his style.

Tributes poured into Hollywood after the news of Brando's death broke on Friday from fellow performers who saw him as the most inventive actor of his generation.

Brando won Oscars for his roles in "The Godfather" and "On the Waterfront." He also starred in classics such as "Last Tango in Paris," "Apocalypse Now," and "The Wild One."

Born April 3, 1924 in Omaha, Neb., Brando left home for New York in his late teens.