Karl Malden

Karl Malden (born March 22, 1912, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died July 1, 2009, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) was an American actor who won critical acclaim for his strong character roles, ranging from psychologically intense villains to the earnest Everyman, most notably alongside Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and On the Waterfront (1954).

Malden grew up in Gary, Indiana, and worked in the steel mills there for several years before training as an actor at Chicago’s Goodman School of Drama. While performing in New York in 1946, Malden met Brando and director Elia Kazan. Malden’s career took off after Kazan cast him as the naive suitor, Mitch, in Streetcar on Broadway and in the screen adaptation, a role that won him an Academy Award for best supporting actor (1951).

Malden acknowledged that his looks, especially his bulbous twice-broken nose, would prevent him from being cast as a handsome leading man. Nevertheless, he demonstrated his versatility in more than 50 roles, notably playing Dad Longworth in Brando’s One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Harvey Shoemaker in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and General Omar Bradley in Patton (1970). He reached a new audience as the lead detective, Mike Stone, in the television show The Streets of San Francisco (1972–77) opposite a young Michael Douglas.

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Malden served (1989–92) as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and in 1999 his recommendation led to an honorary Oscar for Kazan, a contentious choice given Kazan’s cooperation with the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. Malden was presented with the 2003 Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award.