Friday, July 03, 2009
Karl Malden Dies, 97 Years Old
Karl Malden died at the age of 97. LA Times:
Karl Malden, a versatile Oscar-winning actor who built a six-decade Hollywood career playing heroes and heavies -- and, often, relatable ordinary men -- yet who was certain he was best known as a commercial pitchman for American Express, has died. He was 97.
Malden died Wednesday of natural causes at his Brentwood home, said Mila Doerner, a daughter.
He received his Academy Award for playing Mitch in the 1951 film “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a role he originated on Broadway. Two decades later, he starred in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco" with Michael Douglas, then in his late 20s.
[...]
For more than 20 years, Malden was the spokesman for American Express travelers checks who turned "Don't leave home without them" into a national catchphrase in a series of commercials that debuted in 1973.
[...]
"I never thought I was salable," Malden recalled in a 2004 interview. "I learned in my second year of drama school that I was not a leading man -- I was a character actor. So I thought, I'd better be the best character actor around."
[...]
Eva Marie Saint, who worked with him in 1954's "On the Waterfront" and became a good friend, called Malden "a consummate actor."
[She said he] "never changed, he always became the character. If you watch his work, he never falls, there's never a false move."
Rest in Peace.
Labels: Celebrity Deaths, Karl Malden
Yeah, he was an Actor's Actor. All profession, no tantrums.
I saw "Streetcar" and "On The Waterfront" for film class in college. Both just blew me away, and I recognized Malden as one of the great character actors ever.
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