Orange County Register

Karl Malden, who died today at 97, enjoyed a lengthy, varied and distinguished career as a character actor.

On film he is best remembered for roles that required restrained passion, grit, wisdom and integrity. Malden wasn’t a showy performer by any means, but he was able to hold his own against Marlon Brando in two of Elia Kazan’s greatest films, “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951) and “On the Waterfront” (1954). Malden won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in the former film. He played Mitch, a frustrated suitor of Blanche DuBois who finally sees she is a mass of deception and neuroses. That scene of realization and accusation is one of the quieter moments from an emotionally fraught film, yet one of its most brutally memorable.

Later in his career, Malden brought his bankable quality of streetwise gravitas to television. He was an effective presence in a series of advertisements for American Express. And he created a new generation of fans when he played police lieutenant Mike Stone in “The Streets of San Francisco” from 1972-77, in the process giving a young actor named Michael Douglas a pointer or two about the thespian’s craft.

The bulbous-nosed actor (he claimed his nose was broken twice during his years as a high school basketball player) also helped out Michael’s father, Kirk, when both were young theater performers.

Kirk Douglas told this amusing story during his recent one-man show. As he was introduced to the struggling Douglas, Malden stumbled over his birth name: Issur Danielovitch. Malden suggested adopting a more marquee-friendly moniker and “Kirk Douglas” was born. (Malden knew a bit about the importance of a marketable stage name. He was born Mladen George Sekulovich but changed his name at 22.)

Malden was a well-respected veteran theater actor by the time he landed his first major screen roles. His Broadway resume spans two decades (1937-57) and includes original productions of “Golden Boy” (his first Broadway appearance), “Key Largo,” “All My Sons” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

Malden remained a fan of the theater until the end of his life. He was a frequent attendee at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, where he served on the board.

Malden was born in Chicago. His mother was Czech, his father Serbian. After working for three years in a Gary, Indiana steel mill he talked his way into Chicago’s acclaimed Goodman School despite being too poor to afford tuition. Shortly after moving to New York he joined the Group Theatre, where he met Kazan.

 Upon returning from air force duty in World War II, Malden resumed acting on film and stage. His performance in Kazan’s production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” in 1947 proved to be his breakthrough. At 35, Malden was finally on his way to becoming a familiar face.

It’s hard for many of us to get Malden’s voice-of-doom delivery of “Don’t leave home without it!” from our memories. A suggestion: Rent “Patton” and “Baby Doll.” In the former, he plays Gen. Omar Bradley as a smooth, self-effacing professional – a stark contrast to George C. Scott’s flamboyant and blustery Gen. George Patton. In the latter , a Kazan/Tennessee Williams collaboration, he plays an indolent southerner driven into a psychosexual frenzy by his childlike young wife.

Those two characters couldn’t be less alike — a testament to this quiet actor’s admirable and often underappreciated craft.

Karl Malden’s filmography

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