Brando's personal effects at auction in NY

The personal effects of Hollywood legend Marlon Brando - from his driving licences to a fake bloody finger - go on sale next week in an auction that may provide clues to the life of the private, eccentric actor.

The more than 300 lots in Thursday's auction at Christie's are being sold by Brando's estate and expected to sell for more than US$1 million (Bt41.34 million).

Many of the lots feature scripts, pictures, clothing and other materials from Brando's movies, including 36 pages of Brando's notes on "Mutiny on the Bounty". Also included are a note from "The Godfather" author Mario Puzo appealing to Brando to take the starring role in the movie, a telegram to Marilyn Monroe when she was hospitalised for depression, his old wallets, credit cards and a medical-alert tag listing his allergy to penicillin.

Brando biographer Peter Manso called the auction "grossly insensitive".
He said the actor would be "turning over in his grave" to know that his personal possessions were being put up for sale.

According to Manso, Brando left instructions that his bedroom be sealed with a padlock after his death, saying, "They will steal the buttons off my shirt."

On stage and screen, Brando was known for his iconic portrayal of brutish male ego in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and brooding menace as a Mafia kingpin in "The Godfather".

He lived a lifestyle that intrigued his fans, shunning mainstream Hollywood, advocating environmental and Native American causes and buying an atoll in French Polynesia. When he died last July at the age of 80, Brando left an estate valued at more than $20 million split among nine of his children.

Brando won Oscars for his role in "On the Waterfront" in 1954 and his role in "The Godfather" in 1972.