Actor Karl Malden dies at age 97

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Actor Karl Malden dies at age 97
Ruthe Stein, Special to The Chronicle
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Karl Malden, the Academy Award-winning actor who played Lt. Mike Stone in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco," died today at his Los Angeles home. He was 97.

Mr. Malden's acting career spanned more than six decades, during which he won an Oscar as Blanche DuBois' milquetoast suitor in Elia Kazan's "A Streetcar Named Desire." But he was perhaps even better known for his role as widowed Lt. Mike Stone of the San Francisco Police Department in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco." The show, which debuted as a TV film of the same title in September 1972, ran for five seasons, with Michael Douglas playing Inspector Steve Keller through most of the show's run.

Unlike many current TV shows supposedly set in San Francisco, such as "Monk," the series was actually filmed on location and it could be said that city itself was the show's other co-star. The series opened every week with quick-cut aerial shots of San Francisco, swooping over the Civic Center, through Chinatown, over the Wharf, with the immediately identifiable percussive theme playing in the background.

The ABC series was based on the book "Poor, Poor Ophelia," by Carolyn Weston and was a classic police procedural: The older, more experienced cop teaches his brash, younger partner the value of experience, but grudgingly finds himself conceding that the kid has pretty good instincts as well.

To millions of TV fans, Douglas, who left the show after the second episode of the final season, was always "buddy-boy," Stone's half-mocking but affectionate name for his younger partner. From the beginning, Mr. Malden's Mike Stone treated Douglas' Keller as a surrogate son, poking gentle fun at his bachelor-on-the-prowl lifestyle.

Virtually the entire city was the back lot for "Streets of San Francisco," but careful viewers will find a particular emphasis on Potrero Hill. In fact, one of the early episodes called "The House on Hyde Street," featuring veteran actor Lew Ayres as a reclusive old man, wasn't filmed anywhere near Hyde Street but on the corner of Pennsylvania and 18th streets.

The show's producers were also fond of filming at Fisherman's Wharf and at the Hall of Justice before the construction of the jail facilities. Once, while the series was shooting in Chinatown, a teenage boy was hit by a car. Mr. Malden immediately jumped in to assist, holding up traffic until an ambulance arrived. A gathering crowd thought it was a scene from the show.

Although "Streets" went off the air in 1977, NBC brought Mr. Malden back for a made-for-TV film in 1992 called "Back to the Streets of San Francisco." Stone had been promoted and supervised two younger inspectors. By that time, Douglas had a healthy film career and did not participate in the film.

Mr. Malden earned five Emmy nominations for his "Streets" role.

For many critics and viewers, what made Mr. Malden so perfect for Stone was that he looked like a regular guy, not a Hollywood actor. And that was perhaps one of the keys to his long career.

"The fact that Karl Malden broke his nose twice guaranteed that he would never be a leading man, but the look helped define him in ways that helped him as a character actor," said Chronicle Film Critic Mick LaSalle. "Malden was really at his best when playing off the humble-man appearance, for example in Hitchcock's 'I Confess' (1953), in which he played a relentless police inspector. Often in Malden's films, whether he was the star or the supporting player, there would come a moment when the audience would suddenly see past the Everyman looks. And there, suddenly revealed, would be someone shrewder, more observant and more formidable than they expected - someone with the dignity of true intelligence."

Mr. Malden was born Mladen Sekulovich on March 22, 1912, in Chicago and grew up in Gary, Ind. His father was a Serb who worked in the steel mills and as a milkman, and his Czech mother was a seamstress.

A high school basketball star, Mr. Malden yearned for an athletic college scholarship, but was turned down for refusing to play anything except basketball. He worked at the mills, finding time for amateur theater. Envisioning his name in lights, he shortened it by switching around the letters of his first name and making it his last and co-opting his uncle's given name. Later on, when he played the priest in "On the Waterfront," he insisted that Fred Gwynne's character be named Sekulovich to honor his original name.

Mr. Malden studied at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. He made his Broadway debut in 1937 and joined the Group Theatre where he met Elia Kazan, who would eventually direct him in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront."

Mr. Malden put his career on hold to serve in the 8th Air Force during World War II. As soon as the war ended, he returned to Broadway and took a small role in "Truckline Café" opposite a mumbling novice by the name of Marlon Brando. Mr. Malden and Brando's careers would crisscross over the years.

Mr. Malden's big breaks on the stage were to originate roles in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" and Tennessee Williams's "A Streetcar Named Desire." Not all stage-trained actors transitioned as easily into film. You never caught Mr. Malden overacting in the dozens of movies he made during the 1950s, '60s' and '70s, including, notably, "Baby Doll," "Birdman of Alcatraz" and "Gypsy."

In a 2004 interview, he described his method for getting into a role. "You go to the character they have given you and say, 'What is this character about?' You find the truth of the character, his 'spine' or 'trunk.' Where is the trunk that holds it all together? That's the truth. You've got to get the truth and then as you get older, the roots get thicker and stronger so you can do more."

In addition to his long acting career, Malden is remembered for the 21 years he spent as a pitchman for American Express credit cards, delivering its catch phrase, "Don't leave home without it."

While studying at the Goodman, Mr. Malden courted an actress named Mona Greenberg. They wed in 1938 and became one of Hollywood's longest-running couples, marking their 70th anniversary in December. In addition to his wife, Mr. Malden is survived by daughters Mila and Cara, his sons-in-law, three granddaughters, and four great grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Chronicle staff writer David Wiegand and Chronicle news services contributed to this report. E-mail Ruthe Stein at datebookletters@sfchronicle.com.