Brando sued for £70m palimony settlement

Don Corleone, the menacing patriarch of the Godfather films, was fond of pointing out that nothing is more important than family. But Marlon Brando, the Hollywood legend who played him, stands accused of failing to take that message to heart.

His former maid lodged a $100m action against him in a Los Angeles court this week, claiming that he lived with her for 13 years, fathered her three children and promised to support her financially for life, before abandoning her last year.

Maria Christin Ruiz, 43, says the relationship began in 1988. They shared a house and had three children, the oldest of whom, Ninna, is 13, according to the case papers.

But Brando stopped paying maintenance when they separated, her lawyer, Donald Wolman, said, although he was paying child support.

Now 77, Brando was reported by the Daily Variety yesterday to have been admitted to hospital this week suffering from pneumonia.

A request for comment to his representatives, the Special Artists Agency, proved to be an offer they could refuse.