Karl Malsden Died at 97
Karl Malden, the Oscar-winning, bulbous-nosed character actor, died at the age of 97 on Wednesday. The actor’s health had been failing in recent years, and he died in his sleep at home in Los Angeles, according to Budd Moss, his longtime agent.
Malden was born in Chicago as Malden George Sekulovich to parents of Czech and Serb origins. He grew up in Gary, Indiana, working at a steel mill prior to moving to New York City to act in 1937. Before his career, Malden’s nose, which became a trademark, had been broken two times while playing high school sports. On many occasions, he would say that he was keenly aware that he didn’t have the looks of a leading man.
The actor’s debut on stage was in ‘Golden Boy’ when he moved to the Big Apple. Malden had a career in the acting industry for 70 years, and his talents earned him a spot in the works of playwrights of Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. He was also in works from directors John Frankenheimer, Alfred Hitchcock, and Elia Kazan. Malden even shared the screen with great actors like George C. Scott, Rod Steiger, Montgomery Clift, Vivien Leigh, and Marlon Brando.
Malden was acclaimed for movie roles in ‘On the Waterfront’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ before he gained fame in television as a leading man in ‘The Streets of San Francisco’. The television personality is also remembered as a commercial spokesman for American Express Travelers Checks. In the commercial, he sternly warned tourists not to leave home without travelers checks.
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