Is Brando Broke?

According to a new book, screen legend Marlon Brando is in debt to the tune of $20m.

The book, Brando In Twilight, also suggests that the Superman star has hidden his two Academy Awards in case debt-collectors come calling.

Author Patricia Ruiz claims Marlon is living in a one-bedroom bungalow on government benefits and has stashed away the Best Actor Oscars he won for On The Waterfront and The Godfather.

The book also claims that his former maid, Christina Ruiz (who the author says is not a direct relative), is threatening to reopen a $100 million lawsuit against the actor because he has broken agreements to pay $10,000 a month to support her three children, including Brando's ten-year-old autistic son Timothy.

Other claims made in the book suggest Brando spent vast sums of money trying to defend his son Christian who was jailed for the manslaughter of his half-sister Cheyenne's boyfriend, Dag Drollet in 1990.

According to the book, Brando was left $7m in debt when Christian was convicted.

More worryingly, Marlon's health also appears to be on the decline.

Reportedly, care nurses were recently forced to padlock the fridge to stop the 80-year-old from binge eating.

As a result, he was spotted in the freezer section of a local store hunting for ice cream.

The actor has always suffered from weight problems. On the set of Apocalypse Now, he insisted on being shot in shadows so as not to reveal his ballooning weight on screen.

It's thought Marlon has been diagnosed with pneumonia, and relies heavily on an oxygen tank to help him breathe.

Yet despite reportedly telling family and friends he was ready for death last year, Marlon appears to have found a new lease of life by agreeing to lend his voice to upcoming animated movie Big Bug Man, according to American gossip site The Scoop.