Karl Malden, one of the last surviving icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood, passed away yesterday in Los Angeles, at 97 years-old from natural causes. With an unforgettable face and a distinguishing nose which he fortunately never had surgery on, despite appearing in more than 70 films, he will be best remembered for titles like A Streetcar Named Desire , a movie which won him the 1951 Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and On the Waterfront , for which he was again an Oscar nominee along with Marlon Brando.

Born to a Czech mother and Serbian father, Malden George Sekulovich had a solid background in theatrical training and a powerful presence on stage and on camera, although it was undoubtedly his lack of physical appeal that made him all-too-often a supporting actor. At age 22, he changed his name, but anecdotally kept the custom of using his surname, Sekulovich, as a recurring gag line in dialogues in his films, plays and TV series.

It was precisely in TV series that he had some of his most memorable parts and, indeed, much of his fame came from playing Lieutenant Mike Stone for five seasons in The Streets of San Francisco , alongside debut actor for the time, Michael Douglas. As a final plum in a lifetime career devoted to cinema, Malden was chosen in 1988 to be the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts in Hollywood, a position he held for a five-year term.