Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor Karl Malden died today at age 97.
Malden won an Oscar for his role in "Streetcar Named Desire" in 1952, but is also known for starring in the popular 1970s television show, "Streets of San Francisco." Malden played the wiser, older mentor to Michael Douglas's younger, rookie cop.
I have never seen a full episode of "Streets of San Francisco," but I do remember him well from "Streetcar" and other movie roles. Mostly, I remember his American Express commercials.
In fact, one of my strongest Karl Malden memories doesn't even really feature Malden at all. It's Johnny Carson doing a spoof of Malden's AMEX commercials (below).
Here's some actual video of Malden in "Streets of San Francisco."
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Comments
While I remember watching
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 21:24 — RonMexicoWhile I remember watching some episodes of "Streets of San Francisco" as a kid (my mom watched it), Johnny Carson's spoof was my first thought when seeing that Malden passed away. The one you posted is funny but there was another where they kept hitting Johnny in the face with pies as he said "What will you do?"
Malden did a great job in the "Fatal Vision" mini-series (I think he won an Emmy?) as Jeffrey MacDonald's father in-law.
That's the one I remember too
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 10:56 — brookecain (author)That's the skit I was thinking of too, but didn't see it on youtube. I bet Carson spoofed him a lot. The one with the hot tub -- I wonder how Carson held his breath for so long? You could tell he was trying hard not to crack up at the end.
And you're exactly right about "Fatal Vision." He was great in that, and that's when he finally won an Emmy. He was nominated for "Streets" several times but never won.