Brando struggles at 80

Confined to a wheelchair and relying on bottled oxygen to keep him alive, he is barely recognisable as one of the true icons of the cinema.

This is Marlon Brando two months away from his 80th birthday.

The legendary actor, his famous features partly obscured by a white beard, struggled to climb into a car waiting outside his Los Angeles home.

He was driven off to keep an appointment at an eye clinic, where he is being treated for his failing vision, which is believed to be linked to diabetes.

The condition is said to have been triggered by his constant battle to keep down his weight - which at one point went over 30st.

Those who were captivated by Brando's smouldering presence in classic films such as On The Waterfront and The Wild One will be shocked by the deterioration in his appearance.

Apart from hospital visits, he has lived as a recluse in recent years.

He spends most of his time in bed and is dependent on a respirator.

His ever-increasing health problems include heart failure caused by blocked arteries and high blood pressure.

A source said: "He has been going to the hospital once a week for the last two or three months and has been looking increasingly frail, although he appears to have lost about 150lb.

"It is still a shock to see how much he has gone downhill as his eyes do not even seem to open - but for the first time he looked at peace, as if he is resigned to his fate."

Brando's problems have been compounded by family tragedy.

His son Christian was jailed for ten years for shooting his step- sister Cheyenne's lover Dag Drollet.

Unable to cope with her loss, Cheyenne hanged herself in 1995.

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