stage debut in 1938 and first appeared in films in the 1940 melodrama `` They Knew What They Wanted . '' After serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II , he made his mark in the New York production of `` Streetcar , '' by Tennessee Williams . Watch Malden talk about why he got into acting '' Malden also did extensive work in television , starring with Michael Douglas in the police drama `` The Streets of San Francisco '' from 1972-77 . He was nominated four times for Emmys for the show , and won a supporting-actor Emmy for his part in the miniseries adaptation of the true-crime bestseller `` Fatal Vision '' in 1985 . His other well-known screen roles include his performances in `` Patton , '' in which he played World War II Gen. Omar Bradley alongside George C. Scott 's title character ; the steamy `` Baby Doll , '' another Elia Kazan-Tennessee Williams collaboration ; and `` Gypsy . '' Malden was also famous for a series of television ads for the American Express card , in which he advised viewers , `` Do n't leave home without it .
LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Veteran actor Karl Malden , who won an Academy Award for his role in `` A Streetcar Named Desire , '' has died at age 97 , his manager said Wednesday . Karl Malden in `` The Streets of San Francisco '' in 1974 . Malden was nominated for four Emmys for the series . Malden died in his sleep about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday , said his manager , Bud Ross . Malden appeared alongside Marlon Brando in two of director Elia Kazan 's classic films of the 1950s -- `` A Streetcar Named Desire '' and `` On the Waterfront . '' He won the best supporting actor Oscar for `` Streetcar , '' which was released in 1951 , in 1952 and was nominated for his role as a priest crusading against crooked union bosses in `` On the Waterfront . '' Ross said he did not know the cause of death . `` It could be a combination of things , '' Ross said . `` He was 97 years old . '' Born Mladen George Sekulovich in Gary , Indiana , the bulb-nosed actor made his New York