Karl Malden born Mladen George Sekulovich Serbian Cyrillic Младен Секуловић March 22 1912 July 1 2009 was an SerbianAmerican actor He was primarily a character actor who for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun authenticity to roles in theater film and television especially in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor On the Waterfront 1954 Pollyanna 1960 and OneEyed Jacks 1961 Malden also played in highprofile Hollywood films such as Baby Doll 1956 The Hanging Tree 1959 How the West Was Won 1962 Gypsy 1962 and Patton 1970 From 1972 to 1977 he portrayed Lt Mike Stone in the prime time television crime drama The Streets of San Francisco He was later the spokesman for American Express Malden was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1989 to 1992