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Acclaimed Oscar winner dies at 97
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-03 09:35 Oscar winner Karl Malden, the bulbous-nosed character actor acclaimed for film roles in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront before gaining TV fame as a leading man in The Streets of San Francisco, died on Wednesday at age 97.
Also remembered as the commercial spokesman for American Express travelers checks, sternly warning tourists, "Don't leave home without them," Malden died in his sleep at his Los Angeles-area home, according to his longtime agent, Budd Moss. He said the actor had been in failing health. In a career spanning seven decades, Malden made his mark playing plain-spoken men of gruff manners, though he was noted for bringing an understated, natural dignity to many roles. His talents earned him a place in the works of playwrights Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, as well as directors Elia Kazan, Alfred Hitchcock and John Frankenheimer. He shared the screen with the likes of Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Montgomery Clift, Rod Steiger and George C. Scott. Malden, whose trademark nose was broken twice while playing high school sports, often said he was keenly aware that he lacked the looks of a leading man. His stage debut came that year in Golden Boy and he later appeared in the original cast of Miller's All My Sons. AP- Reuters |
