R.I.P. Karl Malden

[Tom Frame]

Karl Malden, Oscar winner for his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire has died at the age of 97. Clearly, it's a bad time to be a celebrity.

[Richard Kaufman]

And why is Karl Malden mentioned on the Genii Forum? He was probably a magic fan since he was often a presenter at the AMA awards banquet in the 1970s. Might well have been a member of the Magic Castle.

[Ian Kendall]

Wasn't he in the Cincinatti Kid? I remember seeing a photo of him and Jay Ose in an old magazine, and Malden was holding a deck of bikes.

Ian

[Paul Gordon]

Wasn't he in the Cincinatti Kid? I remember seeing a photo of him and Jay Ose in an old magazine, and Malden was holding a deck of bikes.

Ian

Yes, and he stole the show! As always, brilliant. I remember him topping all the top stars in Hotel. He played a cat burgler...

Paul Gordon

[David Alexander]

Philopovich's butcher and grocery store in Gary, Indiana had a delivery boy who was an amateur magician. He would deliver groceries to the Sckulovich family on a regular basis. He would show young Mladen tricks when he came by.

Mladen saw the delivery boy's early professional performances at the Gary Theater when the young performer rented it for his debut. The performer worked under his family name, Vucic, later changing it to Rosini.

Mladen Sekulovich moved out of Gary, changed his name to Karl Malden and went on his own successful career path.

[Curtis Kam]

Didn't he also do the Cards from Mouth in The Sting?

[Dustin Stinett]

He was in The Sting II (not The Sting) which I saw only once and promptly forgot. (Even the great ones do stinkers now and then.)

[Bill McFadden]

TCM ran The Cincinnati Kid last Friday night, and tacked on the Jay Ose trailer as well. Was Mr. Malden ever a member of the AMA board? Have seen a few photos of him with Albert Goshman, and in other Castle events (perhaps even with Vernon?).

A college professor of mine (back in the olden days) maintained that Karl Malden was the finest actor of the 20th Century. Hard point to argue.

[Dustin Stinett]

Malden was indeed great. (But Jack Lemmon was the best. He could play anything; drama, comedy, romance, etc. etc.)

One of Malden's best performances was as the step father in the Streisand film "Nuts" (a fantastic film with a stellar cast). Of course, his turn as Omar Bradley in "Patton" is another great performance.

He had a great run; almost 100 years with most of that as an actor! One cannot askor getmore out of a life!

Dustin

[Bill McFadden]

Jack Lemmon is also my own finest, best, whatever. My guess is that the prof saw Malden at the pinnacle due to his Stanislavski approach and discipline.

Dustin, thanks for the JL reminder, and for your words of admiration for a life lived extraordinarily fully and well.

[Doc Dixon]

Even more impressive than his career, Mr. Malden was happily married 70+ years. Considering the average length of a Hollywood marriage, even decades ago, that's mighty impressive.

[Richard Kaufman]

Jack Lemmon ran hot and cold in his work.
Sometimes superb, sometimes nothing but a lot of tics.

I saw Neil Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" on Broadway when it opened with Peter Falk in the lead which Jack Lemmon later played in the film. The film is not good because Jack Lemmon does exactly what you expect with the part; Peter Falk was superb because he brought an entirely different life to the center of the play.

[Joe Mckay]

Jack Lemmon was great in 'Glengarry Glen Ross'. Anybody else agree that this is the greatest film ever?

Joe

[Bob Coyne]

Jack Lemmon was great in 'Glengarry Glen Ross'. Anybody else agree that this is the greatest film ever?

I agree, Jack Lemmon was great in that film. Superb acting all-around in it. Your mentioning it makes me want to see it again!

[Dustin Stinett]

Im trying to run an office here. Now will you go to lunch? Go to lunch. Will you GO to LUNCH?!

(Gotta love Kevin Spacey too!)

[Leonard Hevia]

I loved Jack Lemmon in The Out of Towners. He played the character of the frustrated businessman whose world falls apart brilliantly.

Malden did a great job in Streetcar Named Desire. Who can forget Streets of San Francisco?