Well Known American Express Voice, Malden, Dies at 97

There are a lot of interesting facts about Karl Malden that many people don’t know. However, now that this giant of the screen has unfortunately been taken from us, many people are learning more Karl Malden trivia than they knew before. For example, did you know that Karl Malden’s real name was actually Mladen George Sekulovich? Or how about that he was featured in three Marlon Brando Movies over the course of his career, including A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, and One Eyed Jacks. Many people, who may have been more familiar with him from his role on TV in The Streets of San Francisco, are unaware of some of those earlier film roles which helped to launch his career.<

 

Of course, any Karl Malden quiz is likely to reference his most famous advertising endorsement. This of course was for American Express. The famous, “Don’t Leave Home Without it” line belonged to Malden, and is still a well remembered advertising slogan.

 

Other interesting facts include that Malden’s first language was actually Serbian, which he learned from his Serbian father. English came with kindergarten. His more traditional name from his family was changed in his early twenties due to the theatre company that he was working for requesting a name that would fit on the marquee. However, one of the most interesting bits of Karl Malden trivia is the way that he would fit his real name “Sekulovich” into many of his film and television roles. Malden said the word “Sekulovich” in Patton, Dead Ringer, Fear Strikes Out, Birdman of Alcatraz, On the Waterfront, Streets of San Francisco, and more.

 

Malden met his wife while in a drama school which was attached to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Mona Greenberg was also an actress. After completing his theatre training, Malden made his way to New York to begin breaking into the acting scene in the theatre. It was through Group Theatre that he would meet Elia Kazan who would help make Malden more of a household name by casting him in the Brando pictures he would star in throughout the fifties. Kazan also helped him get one of his first co-starring roles in theatre, in the famous Arthur Miller play, “All My Sons”.

 

Malden passed away on July 1, 2009, at the age of 97 years old. His award wins included an Academy award, SAG life achievement recognition, and an Emmy.