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Story
April 23, 1952
The News And Views
Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina
What is this article about?
Profile of actor Karl Malden, detailing his immigrant family background, early career in theater and basketball injuries, rise to fame via Broadway and films, and how his Oscar win for 'A Streetcar Named Desire' is slowly making him recognized, illustrated by a mistaken identity anecdote.
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HOLLYWOOD ... by Gene Handsaker
HOLLYWOOD--Yes, as Karl Malden is finding out, winning an Oscar certainly helps to make a fellow famous. Take the other Sunday.
He's 39 and his real name's Mladen Sequlovich--a little revision of his first name gave him his professional last name. His mother was born in Czechoslovakia. His father, a Serb, landed at Ellis Island the day of the San Francisco earthquake. San Francisco had been his destination, but he promptly decided on Chicago. He moved shortly to Gary.
In school plays, Karl built the scenery while others acted. But he won a scholarship to the Goodman Theater, an actors' school in Chicago. On Broadway, he got into "Golden Boy" and another hit, "All My Sons." There were "plenty of flops" before his two years in "Streetcar," which brought him here for the movie version.
Malden's most striking facial characteristic is his nose--somewhat bulbous. It was broken twice in games with the Crawford Shoes professional basketball team back in his home town, Gary, Ind.
"Once I jumped for the basket and collided with another fellow's elbow," Karl recalled. "The other time I ran into a wall. Didn't even bother to have it set that time."
His hobby is watching movies being made. I found him looking as avidly as any fan--while Doris Day and Ray Bolger emoted in "April In Paris."
Warner Brothers has him under contract for three movies a year. Currently "Danger Forward." He'll bring his wife and young daughter here from New York if his option's picked up next year.
I'd asked Malden if winning the supporting-actor Academy award as Vivien Leigh's disillusioned lover in "A Streetcar Named Desire," had changed his life in any way.
The foregoing incident was the only example he could cite of the public's growing but still uncertain acquaintance with him.
"I was sitting in a drive-in, having a sandwich and a malt," Karl related. "Fellow in the next car studied me a while and then said, 'Sa-a-ay, I know you!' I said, 'Yes?' and he said, 'Sure, you're that auto salesman from down the street'!"
He pressed his proboscis with a finger to show its soft composition.
HOLLYWOOD--Yes, as Karl Malden is finding out, winning an Oscar certainly helps to make a fellow famous. Take the other Sunday.
He's 39 and his real name's Mladen Sequlovich--a little revision of his first name gave him his professional last name. His mother was born in Czechoslovakia. His father, a Serb, landed at Ellis Island the day of the San Francisco earthquake. San Francisco had been his destination, but he promptly decided on Chicago. He moved shortly to Gary.
In school plays, Karl built the scenery while others acted. But he won a scholarship to the Goodman Theater, an actors' school in Chicago. On Broadway, he got into "Golden Boy" and another hit, "All My Sons." There were "plenty of flops" before his two years in "Streetcar," which brought him here for the movie version.
Malden's most striking facial characteristic is his nose--somewhat bulbous. It was broken twice in games with the Crawford Shoes professional basketball team back in his home town, Gary, Ind.
"Once I jumped for the basket and collided with another fellow's elbow," Karl recalled. "The other time I ran into a wall. Didn't even bother to have it set that time."
His hobby is watching movies being made. I found him looking as avidly as any fan--while Doris Day and Ray Bolger emoted in "April In Paris."
Warner Brothers has him under contract for three movies a year. Currently "Danger Forward." He'll bring his wife and young daughter here from New York if his option's picked up next year.
I'd asked Malden if winning the supporting-actor Academy award as Vivien Leigh's disillusioned lover in "A Streetcar Named Desire," had changed his life in any way.
The foregoing incident was the only example he could cite of the public's growing but still uncertain acquaintance with him.
"I was sitting in a drive-in, having a sandwich and a malt," Karl related. "Fellow in the next car studied me a while and then said, 'Sa-a-ay, I know you!' I said, 'Yes?' and he said, 'Sure, you're that auto salesman from down the street'!"
He pressed his proboscis with a finger to show its soft composition.
What sub-type of article is it?
Biography
Personal Triumph
What themes does it cover?
Triumph
Fortune Reversal
What keywords are associated?
Karl Malden
Oscar Win
A Streetcar Named Desire
Immigrant Background
Basketball Injury
Hollywood Fame
What entities or persons were involved?
Karl Malden
Mladen Sequlovich
Vivien Leigh
Where did it happen?
Hollywood
Story Details
Key Persons
Karl Malden
Mladen Sequlovich
Vivien Leigh
Location
Hollywood
Story Details
Karl Malden, born Mladen Sequlovich to immigrant parents, transitions from scenery builder to acclaimed actor, winning an Oscar for 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and gaining gradual fame, highlighted by a mix-up as an auto salesman.