Karl Malden | |
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Publicity photo, c. 1950s
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Born |
Mladen George Sekulovich March 22, 1912 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | July 1, 2009 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
(aged 97)
Resting place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery |
Residence | Los Angeles |
Nationality | American |
Education | Emerson School for Visual and Performing Arts |
Alma mater | DePaul University |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1937–2000 |
Home town | Gary, Indiana (raised) |
Spouse(s) | Mona Greenberg (1938–2009; his death; 2 children) |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | Petar Sekulović, Minnie (née Sebera) Sekulovich |
Awards | Awards and recognition |
Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Ђорђе Секуловић; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. He was primarily a character actor who "for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun authenticity to roles in theater, film and television", especially in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire (for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), On the Waterfront, Pollyanna, and One-Eyed Jacks. Malden later played in high-profile Hollywood movies such as Baby Doll, How the West Was Won, and Patton as well as appearing on U.S. television as Lt. Mike Stone on the 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco and as the spokesman for American Express. Film and culture critic Charles Champlin described Malden as "an Everyman, but one whose range moved easily up and down the levels of society and the IQ scale, from heroes to heavies and ordinary, decent guys just trying to get along", and at the time of his death Malden was described as "one of the great character actors of his time" who created a number of "powerhouse performances on screen". Malden was also President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1989 to 1992.
Karl Malden, the eldest of three sons, was born Mladen Sekulovich in Chicago, Illinois on March 22, 1912, he was born on his mother's twentieth birthday and was raised in Gary, Indiana.