Karl Malden

Karl Malden has died at 97. My first reaction upon hearing this was who'd have guessed he'd outlive Michael Jackson.

He was a constant presence on the big and little screen all my life, and then some. It might have been a blessing that he wasn't handsome enough to be a leading man, since this allowed him to be one of the most respected character actors in town for decades.

He was featured in a number of major productions on the Great White Way, but the most important may have been a 1946 flop called Truckline Cafe, since that's where he first worked with Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando, who'd both be important in his career. These relationships led to his work in All My Sons and A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway and Streetcar (for which he won an Oscar), On The Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks in the movies.

Malden possessed a certain authority that few actors had, and he used it whether he was playing a good man, such as his priest in On The Waterfront, or a bad man, such as in One-Eyed Jacks. He could even play a weak man, as he did in Gypsy or The Cincinnati Kid, and you could see there was something underneath.

In his later years, he concentrated more on the small screen, which was more than happy to trade in on that authority of his. In the 70s, he played Detective Mike Stone in the TV series The Streets Of San Francisco for five years. At the same time, he became the spokesperson for American Express Travelers Cheques, a position he held for over 20 years.








I love how they play on your paranoia.

After all his years of great work, he became best known for those commercials. Now that he's gone, however, that will fade, and the fine work he did in movies will be enjoyed by millions for years to come.