Karl Malden - Actor "The Streets of San Francisco" "Patton" "A Streetcar Named Desire" 1912-2009

It's confirmed, The Grim Reaper is taking celebrities left and right.

Karl Malden, best known for his role as Lt. Mike Stone in the TV drama "The Streets of San Francisco" died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 97. Born Mladen George Sekulovich in Chicago, got his bulbous nose while playing basketball in High School. Began acting in plays in school, profession he later continued in college.

In 1942 he joins the 8th Air Force in WWII. After the war he resumed his acting career, playing yet another small supporting role in the Maxwell Anderson play Truckline Cafe, with a then-unknown Marlon Brando. He was given a co-starring role in the Arthur Miller play All My Sons with the help of director Elia Kazan. With that success, he then crossed over into steady film work.

Malden resumed his film acting career in the 1950s, starting with The Gunfighter (1950) and Halls of Montezuma (1950). The following year, he was in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), playing Mitch, Stanley Kowalski's best friend who starts a romance with Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh). For this role, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Other films during this period included On the Waterfront (1954), where he played a priest who influenced Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) to testify against mobster-union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). In Baby Doll (1956), he played a power-hungry sexual man who had been frustrated by a teenage wife. He starred in dozens of films from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, such as Fear Strikes Out (1957), Pollyanna (1960), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Gypsy (1962), How the West Was Won (1962), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and Patton (1970), playing General Omar Bradley. After Summertime Killer (1972), he appeared in the made-for-television film The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro (1989) (as Leon Klinghoffer).

In 1972, Malden was approached by producer Quinn Martin about starring as Lt. Mike Stone in The Streets of San Francisco. Although the concept originated as a made-for-television movie, ABC quickly signed on to carry it as a series. Martin hired Michael Douglas to play Lt. Stone's young partner, Inspector Steve Keller. On Streets, Malden played a widowed veteran cop with more than 20 years of experience who is paired with a young officer recently graduated from college. During its first season, it was a ratings winner among many other 1970s crime dramas, and served as ABC's answer to such shows as Hawaii Five-O, Adam-12, Ironside, Barnaby Jones, Kojak, McMillan and Wife, Police Woman, The Rockford Files, and Switch.

During the second season, production shifted from Los Angeles to San Francisco. For his work as Lt. Stone, Malden was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series four times between 1974 and 1977, but never won. After two episodes in the fifth season, Douglas left the show to act in movies; Douglas had also produced the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975. Lt. Stone's new partner was Inspector Dan Robbins, played by Richard Hatch. The show took a ratings nosedive, and ABC canceled it after five seasons and 119 episodes.

Malden's last role in film or television was in 2000 in the highly acclaimed first season episode of the The West Wing titled "Take This Sabbath Day". Malden portrayed a Catholic priest and used the same Bible he had used in On the Waterfront.

On December 18, 1938, Malden married Mona Greenberg, who survives him. Their marriage was one of the longest in Hollywood's history, with them in December 2008 marking their 70th anniversary. In addition to his wife, Malden is survived by daughters Mila and Cara, his sons-in-law, three granddaughters, and four great-grandchildren.

In 1997, Malden published his autobiography, When Do I Start?, written with his daughter Carla.

Malden died at his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles on July 1, 2009 at the age of 97. He is said to have died of natural causes. Malden's manager said "It could be many things. I mean, he was 97 years old!" A service will be held for Malden in the next 3–4 weeks. He is said to have been in poor health for several years.

Another of the 70's icon bites the dust! Who will be next? Stick around!