Yes, this is an image of Karl Malden from his six-year run in the TV series The Streets of San Francisco, but this IS a television blog and we must pay appropriate respect.
Malden passed today at age 97 in his home in Brentwood.
From TCM (release):
The films will run in that order starting at 8 pm eastern.
He was an unlikely star and certainly no matinee idol but he landed some of the biggest character parts during his career, especially in the 50s and 60s ... Herbie in Gypsy, Omar Bradley in Patton, Archie in Baby Doll ... real showcases for his talent.
Leon Klinghoffer in The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro! Though that was much later on (1989).
He IS Mitch in Streetcar for my parents and my generation.
I remember reading (can't cite it now) that when he finally relented and took a TV series both he and co-star Michael Douglas pushed ABC hard to make the show as cimematic as possible, and in a time where not a whole lot of prime time television was shot outside LA this show was filmed completely on location.
Of course, Douglas left the show before the end of the run to produce an Oscar winning film, and he has given some credit to his time on Streets for teaching him how the business works.
From the Los Angeles Times obituary today:
"After 50 years of doing all those other things in the business, wherever I go, the one thing people will say to me is, 'Don't leave home without it,' " Malden said in 1989. "What am I going to say? It's kind of frustrating in a way, but at the same time, American Express has been very good to me, and it's given me independence. I don't have to jump at anything and everything that comes my way."
Not to worry. Honestly, I hadn't even thought of the AmEx commercials until I read the above. But, since it came up, it's the first clip after the jump.
After that, Hulu has the film Time Limit posted, and I've embedded the thing as the second clip. It's the only film Malden has ever been credited with directing, though he did complete the direction of The Hanging Tree for Delmer Daves in 1959, two years later.
About directing, he told the Christian Science Monitor in 1959:
Karl Malden, who directed "Time Limit" for Richard Widmark, doesn't want to become a director. Nowadays most actors, whether from Broadway or Hollywood, seem to want to grasp the reins one way or another, either as director or as producer. Mr. Malden, so far, is unconvinced.
"I'd have to start all over as a director," he explains. "If I did that, then people would stop thinking of me as an actor, and I couldn't get acting jobs any more. Direction is a tough business, a highly specialize d kind of country to work in. Of course if something wonderful comes along again, like 'Time Limit,' it might be hard to refuse."
Malden's last acting appearance was a guest spot in the first season of NBC's The West Wing as Father Cavanaugh in the episode Take This Sabbath Day. A pivotal scene from that episode is the third and final clip after the jump.
Malden was married for more than 70 years to actress Mona Graham. That must be the longest marriage in the history of what we call the show business community.
A lot of actors can't be lucky when it comes to their final acting project; no one ever knows when it's Time. I'm sure James Dean would rather have lived, but at least he left us with 'Giant' still to come. It would have been nice if Peter Sellers could rest on 'Being There' as his final project, but instead he's saddled with that 'Fu Manchu' movie.
It's only six minutes long, but I don't think Karl Malden couldn't have asked for a better final showcase of his talents. Sometimes it's hard to see the character for the actor, but not this time. Father Thomas Cavanaugh is one of the best one-shot guest roles seen on 'The West Wing'. And I'm not just saying that because he died; always thought so.
Posted by: Toby OB | July 02, 2009 at 09:11 PM