Oscar Award winning veteran American actor and the man who urged travelers “don’t leave home without them” in a series of 70s and 80s television commercial for American Express Travelers Cheques, Karl Malden, has died aged 97.

Born in Gary, Indiana, the birthplace of dead entertainer Michael Jackson, Malden appeared in more than 50 movies and hundreds of television programs in a career spanning more than 70-years.

The eldest of three brothers, Malden was born George Sekulovich, but changed his name because it was too long to appear on a marquee when he was starting his acting career at the age of 22.

Among the films he will be remembered for is the 1951 production of A Streetcar Named Desire – for which he won the 1951 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – the 1954 movie On the Waterfront, The Gunfighter (1950), Halls of Montezuma (1951), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and Patton (1970), where he played General Omar Bradley.

To millions of television viewers around the world though, Malden will be remembered for his five season starring role as Lieutenant Mike Stone in the 70s police series The Streets of San Francisco.

For his work as Lieutenant Stone, Malden was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series four times between 1974 and 1977, but never won.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Malden was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6231 Hollywood Blvd., and in 2005 he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Malden was also a member of the United States Postal Service’s 16-member Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, which reviews recommendations for US commemorative postage stamps and in 2005, the US Postal Service renamed the Los Angeles Barrington Postal Station as the Karl Malden Postal Station in honor of his achievements.

In December 1938 Malden married Mona Greenberg in a wedding that was to become one of the longest marriages in Hollywood’s history.

Karl Malden is survived by his daughter Carla, who helped him publish his autobiography, When Do I Start? in 1997.