Karl Malden
Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American stage, movie and television actor who first achieved acclaim in the original Broadway productions of Arthur Miller's All My Sons and Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire in 1946-7. Recreating the role of Mitch in the 1951 film of Streetcar, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Karl Malden
July 1, 2009 (aged 97)
American
Actor
1937–2000
1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
2
1942–1946[3]
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Malden primarily was a character actor, who according to Robert Berkvist, "for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun authenticity to roles in theater, film, and television",[4] especially in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront (1954), for which he received a second Best Supporting Oscar nomination.
He also played in high-profile Hollywood films such as I Confess (1953), Baby Doll (1956), The Hanging Tree (1959), Pollyanna (1960), One-Eyed Jacks (1961), How the West Was Won (1962), Gypsy (1962), Cheyenne Autumn (1964), Birdman of Alcatraz (1964) and Patton (1970). From 1972 to 1977, he portrayed the leading role of Lt. Mike Stone in the primetime television crime drama The Streets of San Francisco. He was later an advertising spokesman for American Express.
Film and culture critic Charles Champlin described Malden as "an Everyman, but one whose range moved easily up and down the levels of society and the IQ scale, from heroes to heavies and ordinary, decent guys just trying to get along",[5] and at the time of his death, Malden was described as "one of the great character actors of his time"[6] who created a number of "powerhouse performances on screen".[7]
Malden served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1989 to 1992.[8]
Education and early stage work[edit]
In September 1934, Malden left Gary, Indiana, to pursue formal dramatic training at the Goodman School (later part of DePaul University), then associated with the Goodman Theater in Chicago. Although he had worked in the steel mills in Gary for three years, he had helped support his family and was consequently unable to save enough money to pay for his schooling. Making a deal with the director of the program, he gave the institute the little money that he did have, with the director agreeing that, if Malden did well, he would be rewarded with a full scholarship. He won the scholarship.
When Malden performed in the Goodman's children's theater, he wooed actress Mona Greenberg (stage name: Mona Graham), who married him in 1938. He graduated from the Chicago Art Institute in 1937. Soon after, without work or money, Malden returned to his hometown.
Acting career around World War II[edit]
He eventually traveled to New York City, and first appeared as an actor on Broadway in 1937. He did some radio work and in a small role made his film debut in They Knew What They Wanted.[23]
Malden also joined the Group Theatre, where he began acting in many plays and was introduced to a young Elia Kazan, who later worked with him on A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954) and Baby Doll (1956).[24]
His acting career was interrupted in 1942 by the Second World War, during which he served as a noncommissioned officer in the 8th Air Force of the United States Army Air Corps.[3] While in the service, he was given a small role in the United States Army Air Forces play and film Winged Victory.[1][2][25][26] Malden was discharged in 1946 as a Sergeant and was awarded the Air Force Presidential Unit Citation, the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.[3]
After the war, Malden resumed his acting career on Broadway, playing yet another small supporting role in the short-lived Maxwell Anderson play Truckline Cafe (1946), with a then-unknown Marlon Brando. The next year, director Elia Kazan gave Malden a co-starring role in Arthur Miller's breakout play All My Sons. By the end of that year he had joined the legendary original cast of Tennessee Williams's landmark drama A Streetcar Named Desire, also directed by Kazan, playing Harold "Mitch" Mitchell. With that high-profile theatre success, he then crossed over into steady film work.
Other work[edit]
Malden delivered the line "Don't leave home without them!" in a series of U.S. television commercials for American Express traveler's cheques in the 1970s and 1980s. He also advertised the American Express card, with the famous opening line, "Do you know me?" These ads were occasionally spoofed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
From 1990 to 2009, Malden was a member of The United States Postal Service's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) which evaluates potential subjects for U.S. postage stamps and reports its recommendations to the Postmaster General.[32][33]
Personal life[edit]
On December 18, 1938, Malden married Mona Greenberg (May 9, 1917 – July 13, 2019[34][35]), who survived him. Their marriage was one of the longest in Hollywood's history,[36] with their 70th wedding anniversary occurring in December 2008. In addition to his wife, Malden was survived by his daughters Mila and Carla, and his son-in-law Tom. His other son-in-law Laurence predeceased him in 2007.[37] Malden's mother lived to 103 years of age.
In 1997, Malden published his autobiography, When Do I Start?, written with his daughter Carla.[38]