Jocelyn Brando acted in ‘Big Heat’ and ‘Dallas’

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Actress Jocelyn Brando, who appeared in more than a dozen films including two with her younger brother, Marlon, has died. She was 86.

Brando, whose married surname was Pennebaker, died Sunday of natural causes at her Santa Monica home, said her son, Martin Asinof of Tillamook, Ore.

Brando, who often defended and praised her better-known and controversial brother, made her Broadway splash in the late 1940s as the leading nurse in “Mister Roberts.”

She appeared in more than a dozen major motion pictures, beginning with Fritz Lang’s “The Big Heat” with Glenn Ford in 1953 and ending with “Mommie Dearest,” which starred Faye Dunaway as mercurial actress Joan Crawford in 1981.

Brando appeared with her brother in two mid-1960s releases, “The Ugly American” and “The Chase.” She also appeared in more than 50 television programs.

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