A large-nosed (he broke it twice as a high school football player) supporting player, typically as gruff, blunt or uncouth characters, Malden made his name in several outstanding movies of the 1950s and 60s. Raised in Gary, Indiana, he studied acting at the Goodman Theater School before moving to NYC to pursue a stage career. Malden made his debut in Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy" in 1937. He continued to work on stage throughout the 1940s and 50s, appearing in "Key Largo" (1939), "Winged Victory" (1943) and Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" (1947) before landing the role of Mitch in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" (also 1947). In the 50s, he played the lead in Ibsen's "Peer Gynt" (1951) and was featured in "Desperate Hours" (1955).
Malden made his feature acting debut in "They Knew What They Wanted" (1940) and recreated his stage role in the film version of "Winged Victory" (1944). Malden was memorable in three films under the direction of Elia Kazan: "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), winning an Oscar for reprising his stage role of Mitch, the lonely suitor to Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh); "On the Waterfront" (1954), as the militant priest, and, as the bridegroom to Carroll Baker's child bride, "Baby Doll" (1956). The actor offered effect support as the police investigator in Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess" (1952), as Anthony Perkins' domineering father in "Fear Strikes Out" (1957) and as a tough sheriff with an outlaw past in Marlon Brando's "One-Eyed Jacks" (1961). In "Gypsy" (1962), he was believable as Rosalind Russell's agent and lover and he gave stolid support as General Omar Bradley to George C Scott's "Patton" (1970). His film work in the 1970s and 80s slowed and his last film appearance to date was as Barbra Streisand's sexually abusive stepfather in "Nuts" (1987). Malden directed one feature, the highly effective wartime courtroom drama "Time Limit" (1957).
While Malden's TV credits date back to the 1940s, from the early 70s through the 90s, he was a fixture on the small screen. Teamed with Michael Douglas (and later Richard Hatch), he portrayed Lieutenant Mike Stone, a dedicated veteran cop, in the TV crime drama "The Streets of San Francisco" (ABC, 1972-77). Malden also headlined the short-lived "Skag" (NBC, 1980), a realistic (and sometimes downbeat) look at life among steelworkers in Pittsburgh. In longforms, Malden has played everything from a crusty ship captain ("Captains Courageous", ABC 1977) to the coach of the American Olympic hockey team ("Miracle on Ice", ABC 1981) to the father of a murder victim ("Fatal Vision", NBC 1984) to the wheelchair-bound victim of a terrorist attack ("The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro", NBC, 1989).
- Also Credited As:
Mladen George Sekulovich
- Born:
March 22, 1912 in Gary, Indiana
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Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Ditch digger, Milkman, Steelworker
Family
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Daughter: Carla Malden. co-wrote father's memoirs
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Daughter: Mila Malden.
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Father: Petar Sekulovich. Yugoslavian immigrant; was an actor in Serbia before moving to the US where he worked in a steel mill and then delivered milk in Gary, IN
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Mother: Minnie Sekulovich. of Czech ancestry
Education
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The Goodman School of Drama, Chicago, Illinois, 1933-36
Milestones
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1937 Moved to NYC
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1937 Stage debut in "Golden Boy"
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1938 Appeared on Broadway in "How to Get Tough About It" and "Missouri Legend"
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1940 Film debut, "They Knew What They Wanted"
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1943 Was a member of the ensemble of "Winged Victory", produced on Broadway; reprised role in film adaptation
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1947 Breakthrough stage role in original cast of Arthur Miller's drama "All My Sons", directed by Elia Kazan
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1949 Early TV credits include "Little Women" (CBS)
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1951 Acted on stage in "Peer Gynt"
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1951 Reprised role of Mitch in the Kazan-directed feature version of "A Streetcar Named Desire"; won Supporting Actor Oscar
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1953 Co-starred in the thriller "I Confess", helmed by Alfred Hitchcock
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1954 Earned second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor as the dockside priest in Kazan's "On the Waterfront"
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1955 Returned to Broadway in "Desperate Hours"
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1956 Reunited with Kazan and Tennessee Williams for the feature film "Baby Doll"
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1957 Cast as baseball player Jimmy Piersall's father in the biopic "Fear Strikes Out"
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1957 Directed feature, "Time Limit"
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1957 Made last stage appearance to date in "The Egghead"
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1960 Co-starred in the Disney feature "Pollyanna"
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1961 Acted in Marlon Brando's directorial debut "One-Eyed Jacks"
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1962 Had banner year with four strong performances: as Warren Beatty's father in the drama "All Fall Down"; the prison warden in "Birdman of Alcatraz"; the patriarch of a pioneer family in "How the West Was Won"; and as the suitor to Madame Rose in "Gypsy"
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1965 Co-starred in "The Cincinnati Kid"
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1967 Acted opposite Michael Caine (as Harry Palmer) in the Ken Russell-directed "Billion Dollar Brain"
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1970 Portrayed General Omar Bradley to George C. Scott's "Patton"
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1977 Starred in the small screen remake of "Captains Courageous" (ABC)
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1979 Had featured roles in two disaster-themed features, "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure" and "Meteor"
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1980 Starred in short-lived series "Skag" (NBC)
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1981 Portrayed US Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in the ABC movie "Miracle on Ice"
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1984 Offered memorable, Emmy-winning turn as a man who slowly comes to suspect his daughter was murdered by her husband in the based-on-fact NBC miniseries "Fatal Vision"
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1985 Appeared as the Walrus in an all-star CBS version of "Alice in Wonderland"
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1987 Hosted and narrated a pair of NBC specials, "Unsolved Mysteries"
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1987 Last feature film appearance to date, "Nuts"
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1988 Cast as Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Jr. whose decision to authorize the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam has repercussions in his family in the fact-based CBS drama "My Father, My Son"
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1989 Portrayed wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer who was murdered by terrorists in "The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro" (NBC)
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1990 Co-starred in the ABC movie "Call Me Anna", based on actress Patty Duke's autobiography
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1992 Reprised his signature TV role of policeman Mike Stone in "Back to the Streets of San Francisco" (NBC)
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1993 Portrayed a bus driver who fought to save himself and a group of school children who were kidnapped and buried alive in the true story "They've Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping Story" (ABC)
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2000 Made guest appearance as a priest on NBC's acclaimed "The West Wing"
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After graduating high school, worked in steel mills for three years before attending drama school in Chicago
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Co-starred as Mitch, the man who courts Blanche DuBois, in Broadway premiere of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire", stage by Kazan
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Raised in Gary, Indiana
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Served as spokesman for American Express in memorable series of commercials, spouting tagline "Don't leave home without it"
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Starred as Lieutenant Mike Stone on the ABC crime drama "The Streets of San Francisco"; garnered four consecutive Emmy nominations as Lead Actor in a Drama Series from 1974 to 1977
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Worked frequently on radio dramas