Karl Malden

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. 2Early life 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 20th birthday and was raised in Gary, Indiana. His Bosnian Serb father, Petar Sekulović (1886–1975), worked in the steel mills and as a milkman, and his mother, Minnie (née Sebera) Sekulovich (22 March 1892 – 15 July 1995), was a Czech seamstress and actress. The Sekulovich family's roots trace back to Podosoje near Bileća, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Malden only spoke Serbian until he was in kindergarten and was fluent in the language until his deat