Marlon Brando Rolex GMT-Master From Apocalypse Now...

Marlon Brando's

'Apocalypse Now'

GMT-MASTER 

Discovered!!!

This is such epic news that I had to borrow Hodinkee's "Breaking News" moniker again for this story!!! I can't believe I am writing this, but at the same time I am not surprised: The GMT-Master Marlon Brando wore in "Apocalypse Now" was recently discovered and surfaced at Philipps auction house, which will offer this amazing historical watch in December!

Marlon Brando's Rolex GMT-MASTER he famously wore in the 1979 movie "Apocalypse Now" is pictured above and below.

Marlon Brando gave the watch to his adopted daughter who gave it to her husband years ago, and they just discovered it in a dresser drawer. Marlon Brando hand-etched his name on the back of the watch as seen in the photo below. 

I have written extensively about Marlon Brando and the many different Rolex watches he wore throughout his life, which you can learn far more about below:

...Profiles In Coolness...

Marlon Brando

The Wild One

The Greatest Actor In History

An Amazing Life with Rolex Keeping His Time

1924-2004

Marlon Brando is considered by many to be the greatest actor that ever lived. In his amazing career he won two Academy Awards. One for Best Actor in the 1954 movie "On The Waterfront" and in 1972, another for Best Actor in "The Godfather."

Not only was Marlon Brando a pioneer of cool, but he was also a lifetime Rolex wristwatch wearer. In this article we will see him wearing five different Rolex watches.

Marlon Brando's First Rolex

Marlon Brando was born in 1924, and received his first Rolex in 1943, at age 19 from his parents, and it is seen below. It was a Rolex Oyster Royalite Observatory model.

In the photo below we see Marlon Brando with his dad and notice he is wearing his Rolex Royalite which is pictured abovel.

The inscription on the back of the watch reads, "To Bud, from Mother & Dad. 1943" "Bud" was Marlon Brando's nickname his parents gave him when he was a child.

The Fugitive Kind (1960)

All The Crazy Moonphases

John Goldberger, the author of 100 Superlative Rolex Watches pointed out that in the 1960 movie, The Fugitive Kind, starring Marlon Brando and Joanne Woodward, that Marlon Brando mentions his Rolex Moonphase 6062. John also points out that he thinks the watch is a chronograph, but I can't see it well enough to tell. I definitely see the moonphase on the dial of the watch when Marlon hands it to Joanne.

John Goldberger pointed out to me in an email, "I think this is the first Rolex advertising in the movies, because I bet the original book or script by Tennessee Williams didn't mention the words Rolex Chronometer."

Update: In a follow-up email, John mentioned "Tennessee Williams wrote the script for The Fugitive Kind in 1937, at which time Rolex had NEVER made a Moonphase of any kind. This means that in 1960, the screenplay authors added the words Rolex Chronometer as well as the description for the Moonphase. Also the description is too precise for the knowledge of a film-maker, and the supreme irony is that the model was out of production in 1960!!"

Marlon Brando is pictured below in 1962 with his fellow Hollywood leading men including Rock Hudson, Cary Grant and Gregory Peck.

The Godfather (1972)

Don Vito Corleone

Marlon Brando starred in The Godfather in 1972, which is considered to be on of the best films of all time.

Last Tango In Paris (1972)

Marlon Brando starred in The Last Tango In Paris in which he wore a yellow gold Rolex Datejust as seen in the photos below.

In the next three photos, all taken in 1975 we see Marlon Brando sporting his Pepsi GMT Master on an Oyster bracelet.

The first photo below shows Marlon Brando with famous rock and roll promoter, Bill Graham.

Marlon Brando is pictured below in 1977 sporting his Rolex GMT Master.

In the photo below, Marlon Brando is pictured with his secretary, and he is wearing his Rolex GMT Master.

Superman

In 1978 Marlon Brando played Superman's father Jor-El in Superman: The Movie.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Rolex GMT Master

In this next set of photos we see Marlon Brando wearing his Rolex GMT Master in the movie Apocalypse Now. Apocolypse Now was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and Marlon Brando played Colonel Walter Kurtz. Notice his Rolex GMT Master is missing its bezel. The following set of photos were taken by Mary Ellen Mark from Apocalypse Now.

In this next photo, taken in 1982, we see Marlon Brando pictured with Native American activist and leader of the American Indian Movement, and Brando is wearing his Rolex GMT-Master on a Rolex Oyster Bracelet.

Connie Chung Interview

The two next photos are screen grabs from the 1989 Connie Chung interview, which can be seen below. The photos show that for some reason, Marlon Brando was wearing two watches. A Pepsi GMT as well as a Tag Heuer which I originally mistook for being a two-tone GMT, as it looked similar.

In this next photo, taken toward the end of Marlon Brando's life we see him wearing a two-tone Tag Heuer.

Wimbledon 2019: Borg v. McEnroe

Wimbledon 2019

July 1 - July 14, 2019

It's that time of the year again and Wimbledon is in full swing with the finals coming up this weekend!!! Nick Gould sent in this great photo of Gold Legend, Jack Nicklaus attending Wimbledon 2019 while wearing a yellow gold Day-Date with a black dial.

Borg v. McEnroe
1980 Wimbledon

The rivalry between John McEnroe and Björn Borg is one of the greatest in history. Rolex just debuted this really cool video so I thought it would be great to share a little more detail on their relationship.

In the photo below taken back in the early 1980s, we see Björn Borg and John McEnroe and they are both wearing Rolex Datejust watches.

In the photo below from 1980, we see André Heiniger with legendary tennis star Bjorn Borg on June 11. On the evening of Men's singles finals at Wimbledon. The 1980 Wimbledon Men's final match was between Björn Borg and John McEnroe was a dramatic struggle which went on for a long time with Borg prevailing. This amazing photo appears courtesy of SC3.

...Rolex Presents...

The Spirit Of Wimbledon

Four Part Series 

Wimbledon from 1877 to 2011

Rolex is the primary sponsor of the Wimbledon Tennis tournament, as well as being the official timekeeper. Rolex recently released this amazing four-part documentary on the history of Wimbledon and it is amazing!!!

Rolex and Yachting: A Natural Affinity

Rolex and Yachting
A Natural Affinity

Jay Hernandez: Rolex Watches On and Off-Screen

Rising Rolex Star...


Jay Hernandez

 By DANNY CRIVELLO

           

I watched "Toy Story 4" with my family this past weekend, and one of the voices is played by a Rolex-wearing rising star, Jay Hernandez. Jake wrote about Jay Hernandez last year when the reboot of "Magnum P.I." was first announced by CBS. Though the actor wouldn't be wearing Tom Selleck's 'stache for the reprisal of the role, the viewers were promised the red Ferrari, the dobermanns and, of course, the Rolex Pepsi GMT-Master. 

I've been enjoying the reboot, and Jay brings a fun, laid-back personality to Thomas Magnum's character. He still asks his buddies for favors and never gets hung up on money, even from his clients, though he seems always broke. For him, that justice is served and the case closed are what's important. 

I thought Jay was given the Pepsi GMT-Master II 16710 just for the role but until recently, I was unaware he was a Rolex fan.

Here the California native rocks his personal Batman while being interviewed alongside Perdita Weeks, who plays Juliett Higgins in "Magnum P.I." 

Jay Hernandez also likes to rock his Rolex Oyster Perpetual 39. I love how the light plays on the dark rhodium dial and almost changes its color. 

Before his role in "Magnum P.I.," he starred alongside Mila Kunis as the hot dad in the comedy film "Bad Moms," where he was already sporting his pre-ceramic no-date Submariner.

He was recently cast as one of the voices in "Toy Story 4," as the child's father, and now wears a two-tone ceramic Submariner 116613LN.

Few know that Jay didn't aspire to be an actor. While riding an elevator in a high-rise in Los Angeles, he was approached by a talent manager who suggested Jay had what it took to have a successful career in Hollywood. He enrolled Jay into acting school and sent his pictures to casting agents. Every Rolex tells a story, and Jay's is shaping to be an interesting one!

Rolex Celebrates 5 New Laureates @ 2019 Rolex Awards

Rolex Celebrates

5 New Laureates

2019 Rolex Awards

This year's Rolex Awards Laureates have been chosen and they are ALL AMAZING!!! Check out the video below and be sure to head over to Rolex.org to learn much more about their life-changing missions! This year's Rolex Awards are unique in the sense this was the first year where anyone could vote for the Rolex Award winners, which is so cool if you think about it.

"Behind the Rolex crown is a way of thinking about our place in the world and an aspiration to contribute. We call this perpetual spirit.
It is based on a fundamental belief in unlimited human potential, in continuous improvement, in always pushing the boundaries and taking the long-term view. Our watches are built to last. So is our contribution to future generations."

1978 Rolex Ad

The next two images below were published in 1978 by Rolex in magazines. The first image is fascinating because it appears to be a wrist shot of sorts, but if you examine it closer, you might notice the remarkable similarity to the Rolex crown logo.

The Last Man On The Moon

The Last Man On The Moon

Eugene Cernan

Apollo 17

A NASA Apollo Pepsi GMT-Master Mystery Evolves

Discovering new revelations in Rolex history is always exciting, especially when it involves NASA Apollo Astronauts wearing Rolex!!! Apollo 17 Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan is pictured below in his official NASA Apollo 17 portrait. Eugene Cernan flew in the Gemini IX mission as well as on Apollo 10 and as part of Apollo 17 would be the last man to walk on the Moon.

Eleven years ago I published the mysterious photo below of Eugene Cernan rocking a Rolex GMT-Master on the outside of his Space Suit on a velcro strap. This photo just added to the Rolex Moon Watch Mystery because the obvious question was, if Omega was "the official watch" of NASA then what is an Apollo astronaut doing wearing a Rolex on the outside of his spacesuit!?!

New photographic evidence just came in from Moon Watch Universe that shows Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan conducting lunar EVA training wearing David Scott's Moon Flown Apollo A7lB spacesuit while sporting a Pepsi GMT-Master wristwatch taped on his left strap with yellow tape!?!!

Moon Watch Universe is gathering information in order to complete this exquisite story Rolex GMT-Master pilot's watch used during lunar surface EVA training at the Cape by the Commander of the last Apollo crew taken on June 8, 1972.

Each EVA training was broken down in specific sessions simulating actual planned lunar surface operations.

This next NASA photo [5-72-39922] shows Eugene Cernan of Apollo 17 inspecting rocks during a geology field trip and notice he is wearing his Pepsi GMT.

The Saturn Rocket that would take the Apollo 17 prime crew to the moon is pictured below on its launch pad.

Apollo 17 was the first mission to be launched at night.

Harrison Schmitt took the photo below on December 13, 1972 of Apollo 17 Astronaut and Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan as he salutes the deployed United States flag on the lunar surface during Extravehicular Activity (EVA).

Eugene Cernan's last words as he left the Moon were:

"As I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some  time to come–but we believe not too long into the future–I'd like to just [say] what I believe history will record–that America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."

A plaque left on the ladder of the descent stage of Challenger reads: 

"Here Man completed his first explorations of the moon. December 1972 AD. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind."

The Apollo 17 capsule splashed down on December 19, 1972 and the U.S. Navy SH-3A Sea King helicopter combat support squadron HC-1 Pacific Fleet Angels were sent from the deck of the USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14) to recover the Astronauts as pictured below.

The image above shows Apollo 17s Eugene Cernan exiting his spacecraft just after splashdown and if we look closely is sure does appear he is wearing his Pepsi GMT on his wrist as evidenced below in the close up where we see what appears to be his Rolex Oyster Bracelet!!!

Update: Moon Watch Universe wrote in and said:

Lower photo shows Eugene Cernan exciting the "America" capsule wearing his NASA-issued Speedmaster on a black velcro strap together with his Speedmaster 105.003 that he always wore since the Gemini days...

This older Speedmaster was his lucky charm and he always wore it on the inside of his wrist, this Speedmaster was on a steel mesh Jacoby Bender Champion bracelet... so that's not a ROLEX bracelet at all!!!

CMP Ron Evans took a ROLEX GMT aboard Apollo 17 and although he stayed in lunar orbit, he asked Cernan to take his Personal Preference Kit containing the Rolex aboard Lunar Lander "Challenger" down to the lunar surface...