(July 2, 2004) -- LB has a link to the acting career the late Marlon Brando.

Reuters news service reported the following in its obituary of Mr. Brando:

Stella Adler, widely recognized as one of America's foremost acting teachers, was a cousin of Bonnie Adler Lowenthal.

"Stella Adler was my cousin once removed, my father's first cousin," Councilwoman Lowenthal told us. Speaking with us while on vacation, Councilwoman Lowenthal said, "Learning of Mr. Brando's passing was a blow because I thought he was a fine actor and also because of his ties to Stella Adler and her teaching."

Councilwoman Lowenthal got a lump in her throat when she mentioned Ms. Adler's name, quickly adding "Well my gosh, she was family."

Stella Adler's parents were both successful in the theater, and Stella Adler earned professional plaudits for her acting and teaching. "When she passed away, a memorial was held for her at the L.A. Mark Taper Forum," Councilwoman Lowenthal noted.

Among Ms. Adler's other students were Robert De Niro and Warren Beatty.

A play currently being performed at LB's International City Theater, "Awake and Sing," was written by Clifford Odets, who was part of the ensemble company of actors with whom Ms. Adler worked in the 1930s.

The Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatres is today located in the 6700 block of Hollywood Blvd. in L.A. (It was previously on Hollywood Blvd. @ Argyle where a Metro Red Line station now stands, across from the Pantages Theater.) The facility houses the non-profit Stella Adler Theatre, which is described on its web site "is involved in many community outreach programs including children's youth programs, free senior programs and a reading series for new and established playwrights."