Karl Malden

Born to a Czech mother and a Serbian father in Chicago as Mladen Sekulovich, on March 22, 1912, Karl Malden did not speak English until he was in kindergarten.

His family moved to Gary, Indiana, when he was five years old. He attended and graduated from Emerson High School there. in 1931. In high school, he participated in the drama department and was narrowly elected senior class president. Among other roles, he played Pooh-Bah in The Mikado.

After graduating from high school in the nearby steel town of Gary, Indiana, Malden worked in the industry for three years until 1934, when he was frustrated with the drudgery of manual labor. He left to attend the Arkansas State Teacher's College, then the Goodman Theater Dramatic School and never looked back. Three years later, he went to New York City to find fame. Malden rapidly became involved with the Group Theater, an organization of actors and directors who were changing the face of theater, where he attracted the attention of director Elia Kazan. With Kazan directing, Karl starred in plays such as "All My Sons" by Arthur Miller and "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams.

Is one of 8 actors who have received an Oscar nomination for their performance as a priest. The others, in chronological order, are: Spencer Tracy for San Francisco (1936) and Boys Town (1938); Charles Bickford for The Song of Bernadette (1943); Bing Crosby for Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945); Barry Fitzgerald for Going My Way (1944); Gregory Peck for The Keys of the Kingdom (1944); Jason Miller for The Exorcist--The Version You've Never Seen Before (1973); and Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt (2008). Tracy, Crosby and Fitzgerald all won Oscars for their performances.

Attended and graduated from Chicago Art Institute (1937), and came back to Gary, Indiana, without work or money.

The Maldens married in 1938 and stayed married until his death in 2009, making theirs the third longest marriage in Hollywood history surpassing the 69 years of Bob Hope and Dolores Hope (1934 until his death in 2003) and just behind Art Linkletter and Lois Foerster (married 1935-2010) with 74 years, and Norman Lloyd and Peggy Lloyd, who hold the record with 75 years.

While Malden had one screen appearance before his military service in World War II, in They Knew What They Wanted (1940), he did not establish his film career until after the war.

Had appeared with Richard Widmark in five films: Kiss of Death (1947), Halls of Montezuma (1951), Take the High Ground! (1953), How the West Was Won (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964).

Malden won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and showed his range as an actor in roles such as that of Father Corrigan in On the Waterfront (1954) and the lecherous Archie Lee in Baby Doll (1956).

At the urging of Elia Kazan, he change his name from Mladen Sekulovich to Karl Malden, taking his maternal grandfather's given name for his first name, and switching a couple of letters of his own first name for his last name. Malden remained a strong friend of Kazan's after the famed director was chastised by the Hollywood community for naming names before the House of Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. He strongly supported Kazan's controversial "lifetime achievement" Oscar honor, claiming that politics should have no place when it comes to awarding artistic merit.

Born Mladen Sekulovich, he always regretted that in order to become an actor, he had to change his name. Since he was proud of his heritage, when he starred in a movie or on TV, he insisted that a character carry his family name: In On the Waterfront (1954), Fred Gwynne's character was named "Sekulovich".

The most controversial film he starred in was Baby Doll (1956), which he played a dullard husband whose child bride is exploited by a businessman. The film was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency for what was termed its "carnal suggestiveness." It was written by Tennessee Williams.

He starred in dozens of films 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) as General Omar Bradley.

His wife graduated from Roosevelt High School in Emporia, Kansas, where she attended Kansas State Teachers College (now Emporia St. University). He and Mona visited the campus in 1959, and was impressed by the ESU Summer Theatre. He returned in the summer of 1964, to teach, working with the actors in the company. Prior to leaving, he gave his honorarium to established the Karl Malden Scholarship, which is still given today.

Was close friends with The Magnificent Seven (1960) star Brad Dexter, who was also of Serbian descent.

Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1963

Was a commercial spokesperson for American Express Traveler's Checks, from 1968 to 1989.

In the early 1970s, he built a television career on the tough but honest screen persona he had created when he starred as Detective Mike Stone on The Streets of San Francisco (1972), co-starring with Michael Douglas. He also became the pitchman for American Express, a position he held for 21 years.

In 1971, he accepted the Academy Award for "Best Director" on behalf of Franklin J. Schaffner, who was not present at the awards ceremony.

Remained good friends with Michael Douglas, during and after the making of The Streets of San Francisco (1972).

After his father's death, six years later, he traveled to his father's real-life hometown of Yugoslavia, there, he helped produce the film Twilight Time (1982), a private movie.

In 1988, he was elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a position he held for five years. Following that he, published his memoir entitled, "When Do I Start?: A Memoir", written with his daughter Carla.

President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) from 1989 to 1992.

Malden also courted controversy by pushing for a special salute to Elia Kazan at the 1999 Academy Awards. Malden defended both Kazan and the award, arguing that Kazan's artistic achievements outshone any shame attached to Kazan's naming names before the Congressional committee investigating Communists in Hollywood. Marlon Brando refused to give Kazan the statuette; Robert De Niro ultimately did.

Received an honorary degree (Doctor of Humane Letters) from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana (2001).

On November 11, 2004, his ex-The Streets of San Francisco (1972), co-star, Michael Douglas, presented him with the Monte Cristo Award of the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, Connecticut, for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Among the recipients besides Malden were Jason Robards, Zoe Caldwell, Edward Albee, August Wilson and Brian Dennehy.

On November 12, 2005, the Los Angeles Barrington Station renamed the building, after him, in Los Angeles, California, in honor of his proud achievements. This was followed by a passage of a bill founded by U.S. Congressman, Henry Waxman.

On December 12, 2008, just six days before his 70th wedding anniversary, Malden was inducted into the Wall of Legends, at St. Sava Church in San Gabriel, California, where Milan Opacich paid tribute to a wonderful man who was a great benefactor of a Serbian Ortodox church.

Was offered a scholarship to attend Chicago's Goodman Theater, where he met his future wife, Mona Malden (nee Mona Greenberg), a fellow scholarship student. They wed in 1938 and remained married for over 70 years until Karl's death on July 1, 2009.