KARL MALDEN
- + Add to Faves
- + Translate
- + Share
العربية
ä¸å›½
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिनà¥à¤¦à¥€
Italiano
日本語
Português
РуÑÑкий
Español
'Karl Malden' (born on March 22, 1912) is an Emmy Award-winning, Oscar-winning and Golden Globe-nominated American actor, known for his expansive manner. In a career that spanned over seven decades, he was featured in classic films such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', ''On the Waterfront'' and ''One-Eyed Jacks'', with 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 1970s crime drama, ''The Streets of San Francisco''.
Early life
The eldest of three brothers and star and breadwinner of his family, Malden was born 'Mladen George Sekulovich' (or, ''Mladen George Sekulović'', Serbian: Младен Секуловић) in Chicago, Illinois on 22 March, 1912. He was the product of a Serb father, Petar Sekulovich, and Minnie Sekulovich, a Czech seamstress. The family moved from Chicago to the Serbian quarter of Gary, Indiana in 1917, when Malden was five years old. It is in Gary where his father would work in the steel mills and as a milk man. The Sekulovich family roots trace back to the city of Bileća in Herzegovina. Malden spoke Serbian until he was in kindergarten. Malden'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. Petar also taught students how to act. A young Malden took part in many of these plays, including a version of ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' but most centering on the community's Serbian heritage. In high school, although he spoke two different languages, including English, he was a popular student and was the star of the school's basketball team. His team was one 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 narrowly elected senior class president. Due to the financial situation of the family, neither of his parents could attend his plays or basketball games, and according to his autobiography, it was playing basketball where Malden broke his nose twice by taking elbows to the face, giving him his trademark bulbous nose. After graduating from Emerson School for Visual and Performing Arts in 1931, with high marks, he briefly planned to leave Gary forArkansas, where he hoped to win an athletic scholarship, but college officials did not admit him due to his refusal to play anything other than basketball, forcing his return to Gary. From 1931 until 1934, he worked as a factory worker in the steel mills, just like his father had.
From his uncle, he changed his name from 'Mladen Sekulovich' to 'Karl Malden', when he became an actor at age 22.
Stage work and education
In September of 1934, Malden decided to leave his native Gary, Indiana to pursue formal dramatic training at the Goodman Theater, later DePaul University. Although he had worked in the steel mills in Gary, Indiana for three years, he had helped support his family, but was unable to save enough money to pay for schooling. Making a deal with the director of the program, he gave the Institute the little money he did have, agreeing that if he did well, he would be rewarded with a full scholarship. He won the scholarship. When Malden performed in the Goodman's children's theater, he wooed the actress Mona Greenberg (stage name -- Mona Graham) who married him in 1938. He graduated from the Chicago Art Institute in 1937. Soon after, without work and without money, Malden once again moved back to Gary, Indiana.
Film career and character actor before and after World War II
His 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 to 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 given a small role in the U.S. Army Air Forces play and film ''Winged Victory''. After the war in 1945, he resumed his acting career, receiving yet another small supporting role in the play, ''Truckline Cafe'', with a young, unknown 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.
Film career: 1950s to 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 Mitch, Stanley Kowalski's best friend and started a romance with Blanche DuBois (Vivian Leigh), ''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 teenaged wife. 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), ''Gypsy'' (1962), ''How the West Was Won'' (1962), ''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965), and ''Patton'' (1970), playing General Omar Bradley. After his last film, ''Summertime Killer'' (1972), roles were harder to find, however, he also starred in the made-for-television movie ''The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro'' (1989) (as Leon Klinghoffer).
Television work
''The Streets of San Francisco''
After years of starring in film and theater, producer Quinn Martin approached Malden in 1972 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 television series.
In order for Malden to star in the series, he was on the search for a co-star. Martin, interviewed and hired an-unknown actor Michael Douglas, to play his young partner, Inspector Steve Keller, alongside Malden. The show would take off from there.
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, where it served as ABC's answer to such shows such as ''Hawaii Five-O'', ''Ironside'', ''Kojak'', ''McMillan and Wife'', ''Police Woman'', ''The Rockford Files'' and ''Switch''.
During the course of the series, both Malden and Douglas performed frequent 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 Mr. Sekulovich refused out of pride. For his work as Lt. Stone, Malden was nominated for Emmys four times between 1974 and 1977 for 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series' but never won. In 1976, Douglas left the show to act in movies and also went on to produce ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', the #1 movie of 1976. Douglas was replaced by character actor Richard Hatch for the series' fifth and final season. The show took a nosedive in the ratings as the storyline focused 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 five seasons and 119 episodes, but Malden enjoyed playing an enduring cop and will probably always be best remembered for this role.
Malden's friendship with Michael Douglas's family began in the early 1930s, when he attended New York Summer Stock, with a then-unfamiliar teen star Kirk Douglas, who would later become Michael's father. Kirk encouraged Karl to have Michael co-star with him on ''The Streets of San Francisco'', early in 1972, and they developed a wonderful chemistry on the show. In 2004, more than 25 years after ''Streets'' had been cancelled, Michael Douglas presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Malden at the 2003 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Malden's six decades in the movies. Douglas also praised his relationship with Malden, citing him as one of his all-time favorite actors. Late in 2005, Douglas did not attend the ceremony renaming the Los Angeles Barrington Station post office for Malden because of scheduling conflicts. Douglas also did not appear in the movie ''Back to The Streets of San Francisco'' with Malden in 1992 because he was starring in ''Basic Instinct'', which was the #1 movie that year. Douglas said of his old friend, "I was coming in for an interview to play the part of Steve Keller. I was waiting and Quinn came out of the office with Karl Malden." Douglas also said, "The very first day of the show, and I was really nervous with this icon, this great, great actor and the lights were running out, and the top of the Nob Hill Fairmount Hotel. Karl said, 'Michael, you can jump in the car, go around.' Michael said, 'Karl, you take the real light and throw it on top of the car as we go pass the Fairmount.' We go pass the Fairmount, we hit this hill, there's so sound, we're airborne and I had enough time to look over at Karl as he looks at me and thank God the wheels were straight, and I thought, Oh! My God! It's over. My first day on the job, I'm out of here! Karl said, 'That's not driving! You call that driving?! That's not driving, that's theatrical driving. I'm going back to my trailer and change my underwear.'" When learning of Malden's own family, Douglas said something about the father/son relationship on ''Streets of San Francisco'': "Karl never had a son, he has daughters. He said on many occasion that he thought of me as his son, he used to be a point of contention with us as he used to call me 'Buddy Boy,' all the time. And he meant it, in a nice way, 'Buddy Boy,' Karl, please don't call me 'Buddy Boy,' anymore. But I'll always be indebted, because up until that time on those kinds of cop shows, where the second cop is normally 2 ft. back. You're really on the show, Karl, so come on up here, you get ahead." The last thing Douglas said was, "He gave me opportunities that nobody would." Today, Douglas keeps in contact with Malden.
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.
Trivia
★ Malden often finds ways to say "Sekulovich" (his real last name) in the movies and television shows he appears in. For example, as General Omar Bradley in "Patton", as his troops slog their way through enemy fire in Sicily, Malden says "Hand me that helmet, Sekulovich" to another soldier.
★ He is a member of the United States Postal Service's 16-member Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, which meets to review recommendations for U.S. commemorative postage stamps.[1]
★ When he won the Best Supporting Actor in 1951 for his role as Mitch in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', he had to rent a tuxedo for the Oscar ceremony. At the ceremony, he was sat behind Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart, and when his name was announced as the winner, he gave his rented suit jacket to Bogart for him to look after. Later, backstage, he sought Bogart for his jacket, but when he couldn't find it he asked Bogart where it had gone. Bogart replied: 'Forget about the jacket, kid. You've just won an Oscar!' He later found his jacket and returned it to the store the following day.
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 Greenberg since December 18, 1938. Their marriage is the third longest in Hollywood history. Actor Charles Lane's marriage to Ruth Covell Lane, from 12 April 1931 until her death on 30 November 2002, was the longest.
Selected Filmography
★ ''They Knew What They Wanted'' (1940)
★ ''Winged Victory'' (1944)
★ ''13 Rue Madeleine'' (1947)
★ ''Boomerang!'' (1947)
★ ''Kiss of Death'' (1947)
★ ''The Gunfighter'' (1950)
★ ''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' (1950)
★ ''Halls of Montezuma'' (1951)
★ ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951)
★ ''The Sellout'' (1952)
★ ''Diplomatic Courier'' (1952)
★ ''Operation Secret'' (1952)
★ ''Ruby Gentry'' (1952)
★ ''I Confess'' (1953)
★ ''Take the High Ground!'' (1953)
★ ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954)
★ ''On the Waterfront'' (1954)
★ ''Baby Doll'' (1956)
★ ''Fear Strikes Out'' (1957)
★ ''Bombers B-52'' (1957)
★ ''Time Limit'' (1957) (director)
★ ''The Hanging Tree'' (1959) (also co-director)
★ ''Pollyanna'' (1960)
★ ''The Great Impostor'' (1961)
★ ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961)
★ ''Parrish'' (1961)
★ ''All Fall Down'' (1962)
★ ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962)
★ ''How the West Was Won'' (1962)
★ ''Gypsy'' (1962)
★ ''Come Fly with Me'' (1963)
★ ''Dead Ringer'' (1964)
★ ''Cheyenne Autumn'' (1964)
★ ''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965)
★ ''Nevada Smith'' (1966)
★ ''Murderers' Row'' (1966)
★ ''Hotel'' (1967)
★ ''The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin'' (1967)
★ ''Billion Dollar Brain'' (1967)
★ ''Blue'' (1968)
★ ''Hot Millions'' (1968)
★ ''Patton'' (1970)
★ ''The Cat o' Nine Tails'' (1971)
★ ''Wild Rovers'' (1971)
★ ''Summertime Killer'' (1972)
★ ''Beyond the Poseidon Adventure'' (1979)
★ ''Meteor'' (1979)
★ ''Miracle on Ice'' (1981)
★ ''Twilight Time'' (1982)
★ ''The Sting II'' (1983)
★ ''Dario Argento's World of Horror'' (1985) (documentary)
★ ''Billy Galvin'' (1986)
★ ''Nuts'' (1987)
★ '' (2003) (documentary)
External links
★
Notes
1. http://www.usps.com/communications/organization/csac.htm
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
