Hollywood lost another one of its classic stars when 97-year-old Karl Malden, star of
A Streetcar Named Desire and
On the Waterfront, died Wednesday.
The actor, who landed an Oscar for playing Mitch in
Streetcar, died of natural causes in his Brentwood home, according to his daughter Mila Doerner, the
LA Times reported. The rugged star of more than 50 films and of the popular seventies cop show
The Streets of San Francisco, also turned in memorable performances in
Gypsy and in
Baby Doll, another film based on a Tennessee Williams play.
Despite his long acting career, Malden was widely known for his American Express commercials, in which he popularized the phrase, “Don't leave home without it.”
Malden, a Gary, Indiana native, kicked off his theater career as an adolescent starring as heavies in his father's productions in their Serbian church and Serbian patriotic organization, according to the
Times. 
