Karl Malden Has Died
by John NolteSome of you might remember the 1999 Academy Awards, the year the great Elia Kazan was finally given an honorary Oscar. The decision to honor Kazan was met with controversy and anger, especially among those who pride themselves on their tolerance, open-mindedness, charity and forgiveness. You see, before Kazan knew better he flirted with Communism, but being a true liberal with an open mind, after learning of the horrors of Stalin’s regime he turned against it and then committed a Hollywood sin worse than furthering an ideology responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths, he named names.
Knowing full well what it would mean, it was Karl Malden, a former Academy President, who proposed and publicly pushed for Kazan to receive this long overdue tribute. And that, along with a 70-year marriage, says an awful lot about the man.
The actor was just as impressive. The simple way to describe him would be as a beefy everyman, but that too easily dismisses a natural and very real screen presence that made him one of the most recognizable faces in the country. Malden worked with some of the most powerful actors of the last fifty years, Brando, McQueen, George C. Scott, Burt Lancaster, and yet he never got lost in the scene. He knew how to watch another actor, he knew how to listen and this kept our eye on him as we waited for what he’d do next. (more…)
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