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Karl Malden (born on March 22, 1912) is an Oscar-winning American actor, known for his bulbous nose and expansive manner. He starred in films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks, with the late Marlon Brando, and also starred in the blockbuster movie, Patton. Among other notable film roles are Archie Lee Meighan in Baby Doll and Zebulon Prescott in How the West Was Won both starring Carroll Baker. His best-known role was on television as Lt. Mike Stone on the popular 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco. Towards the end of his acting career, he guest-starred on an episode of The West Wing.

Early life

The eldest of three brothers and star and breadwinner of his family, Malden started out his life as Mladen Sekulovich in Gary, Indiana. His parents were a Bosnian Serb father, Petar Sekulovich (who moved from Chicago, where Karl was born as Mladen, to Gary, where he worked as a factory worker in the steel mills), and Minnie Sevarian, a Czech mother who was a seamstress. The Sekulovich family roots trace back to the city of Bileća in Herzegovina. Mladen spoke Serbian until he was in kindergarten. Mladen's father had a passion for music, as Petar began organizing for the choir. As a teenager, he joined the Carol George Choir. In addition, his father produced Serbian plays at his church and most of his father's friends seemed to enjoy them. Petar also taught students how to act, memorizing every line that an actor would usually perform, and nobody was allowed on stage until they were ready, esp. Mladen, who refused. In high school, he was a popular student and was the star of the school's basketball team. His team was 1 point short of winning the game, he threw the ball into the hoop, with only 1 second left to spare, and his team won the game at the very last minute, and he saved the team's victory. His school's team also went to a series of regional tryouts, from sectional to regional. He also participated in the Drama Department, and was elected Class President. His father did not attend his plays or his basketball games. After his graduation from Emerson High School in 1931, with high grades, he planned to leave Gary, Indiana, to move to Arkansas, where he would hoped to get a college athletics scholarship. But upon his arrival during the depression, the college did not admit him; and he went back to his native, Gary, Indiana. From 1931 until 1934, he worked as a factory worker in the steel mills, just like his father did.

Stage Work and Education

Malden decided to leave his native Gary, Indiana, once and for all. Late in 1934, when he arrived in Chicago, Illinois, he heard of the play Jack and the Beanstalk and he jumped at the chance to join his first stage production play. When he moved there he had barely enough money in his pocket to support his attendance at the Goodman Theatre. He worshipped and loved the school that put out a series of plays he acted in. Feeling like the oldest student that he was, he came from a working-class family. He graduated from college in 1937, but soon after, being short of funds once again, Malden had no choice other than to head back to Gary, Indiana, again.

Film career and character actor before and after World War II

His miserable life in his hometown came to an end as he traveled to New York City, and found some more appropriate plays for the city. He first appeared as an actor on Broadway in 1937, then did some radio work, before becoming a movie character actor in 1940, where his first film was They Knew What They Wanted (1940). He also attended the Group Theatre where he began acting in many plays and was introduced by a young Elia Kazan, who would soon work with him on (A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and On the Waterfront (1954)). His acting career was interrupted by World War II and Malden served as a noncommissioned officer in the US 8th Air Force. While in the War, he was offered a small and important role in Winged Victory (1944). After the war in 1945, he resumed his acting career, receiving yet another small supporting role in the play, Truckline Cafe, with a young, unfamiliar actor, Marlon Brando. He also guest-starred in both The Ford Theatre and The Armstrong Circle Theatre. Jobs were getting harder to find for him as he was in his mid-30s and was about to give up. He received a co-starring role in the play, All My Sons with the help of director, Elia Kazan. With that success, he then crossed over into movies.

Immensely-popular film career of the 1950s through the 1970s

Malden resumed his film acting career in the 1950s, starting with The Gunfighter (1950), which followed by Halls of Montezuma (1950). The following year, he starred in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), where he played a card-playing friend of Stanley's, On the Waterfront (1954), where he played a priest who must testify against mob bosses. In Baby Doll (1956), he played a power-hungry sexual man who had been frustrated by a teenaged wife. When that movie was in theaters, the Catholic Churches thought it was a sin; as Malden would be the star of his own family, in real-life. Before and after he arrived in Hollywood, he starred in dozens of films of the late 1950s to the early 1970s, such as, Fear Strikes Out (1957), Pollyanna (1960), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), How the West Was Won (1962), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and Patton (1970) (playing Gen Omar Bradley). On this film, he played an officer who had an injured brother, in real-life, which proved to be the blockbuster movie of 1970, after all the movies he starred in (A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront). After his last film, Summertime Killer (1972), movies were getting harder to find, however, he also starred in the television movie The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro (1989) (as wheelchair-bound senior citizen Leon Klinghoffer).

Television work

The Streets of San Francisco

After years of starring in films and in stage work, he gained greater fame in 1972 after producer Quinn Martin approached Malden with a view to doing a 2-hour movie called The Streets of San Francisco. Though the movie didn't feature a pilot episode, ABC quickly signed the network to do a full season; which it did. In order for Malden to star in his own show, he was searching for a co-star. In the early 1930s, the actor had attended New York Summer Stock with a then-unknown young actor (Kirk Douglas) who at the time was only 15 while Malden was 20. Four decades later, after the seasoned actor became friends of the family, Martin hired an unknown actor, Michael Douglas, to play Lt. Stone's partner, Inspector Steve Keller, and the show took off from there. Martin realized that Michael was actually more than his father's son (Kirk Douglas), but also a friend, as well. On Streets, Malden played Lt. Mike Stone, a veteran widowed California cop whose more than 20 years of experience in the San Francisco Police Department is shared with a young officer who graduated from college. During its first season, it was a ratings winner among many other 1970s crime dramas, and the chemistry of both Malden & Douglas clicked. In fact, while Streets was on the air, both in real-life and on the show, Malden was beginning to become a second-father to co-star (Michael Douglas); as they were actually the best of friends. In 2004, co-star (Michael Douglas) wanted to congratulate his longtime mentor and friend of more than 30 years for Malden's performance, and at the same time, he also presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to his co-star at the 2003 Screen Actors Guild Awards, for Malden's six decades of his own acting. On many episodes, both Malden & Douglas would perform a lot of car chase scenes as well as a lot of detective work. The series also moved its production from Los Angeles to San Francisco, during the second season. At one time, Malden wanted to bring his father, Petar Sekulovich, to San Francisco, California, to guest-star on one episode of Streets, but he refused because the father's son was meant to go there, and just because he was a Sekulovich. For his work as Lt. Stone, Malden was nominated for Emmys twice between 1976 and 1977, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series; but he only won one Emmy in 1976. That same year, his co-star (Michael Douglas) left the show professionally, not only to become a successful movie actor, therefore following his father's Kirk Douglas's and Karl Malden's footsteps, in-between; but to also produce the movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Douglas was replaced by character actor Richard Hatch, for the series' fifth, and final, season; and the show took a nosedive in the ratings as the storyline involved on Inspector Keller's job as a teacher; while his boss was still at work with a new partner. ABC decided to cancel The Streets of San Francisco series after a run of 5 seasons and 119 episodes, but Malden enjoyed playing an enduring cop and will probably always be best remembered for this role.

American Express

He famously delivered the line "Don't leave home without it!" in a series of US television commercials for American Express in the 1970s and 1980s.

Awards

Karl Malden won the 1951 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for A Streetcar Named Desire and was nominated in 1954 for his supporting role in On the Waterfront. Karl Malden is a past president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In October of 2003, Malden was named the 40th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment.

On November 12, 2005, the L.A. Barrington Station renamed the building, Karl Malden Post Office, in Los Angeles, California, in honor of his proud achievements, which was followed by a passage of a bill founded by U.S. Congressman, Henry Waxman.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Karl Malden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6231 Hollywood Blvd. In 2005, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Karl Malden inspired the newsgroup alt.fan.karl-malden.nose.

Private life

In 1976, his father, Petar Sekulovich died of old age. To honor the memory of his father, Malden had a big role in Twilight Time, six years later. It was a private film that was watched by a few people.

Malden has been married to Mona Graham since December 18, 1938. Their marriage is the second longest in Hollywood history. Bob Hope's sixty-nine year marriage to Dolores Reade, which lasted from February 19, 1934 until his death on July 27, 2003, is the longest.

Filmography

External links

1912 births | The West Wing actors | American World War II veterans | American television actors | American character actors | Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nominees | Best Supporting Actor Oscar | Chicago actors | Czech-Americans | Film actors | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Living people | People from Illinois | People from Indiana | Serbian-Americans | Stage actors | Television actors

Karl Malden | Karl Malden | Karl Malden | Карл Малден | Karl Malden

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Karl Malden".

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