The celebrity death march continues.

Karl Malden has died at the age of 97. He was probably best known for his role as Lt. Mike Stone on the ABC series The Streets of San Francisco. Actually, he was probably equally well-known for his American Express "Don't Leave Home Without It" commercials that ran in the 70s and 80s.

He played the lead role in the short-lived NBC series Skag in 1980, but most of his roles were in movies, including Patton, On The Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, Kiss of Death, How The West Was Won, Birdman of Alcatraz, Murderer's Row, and Meteor. One of my favorite Malden roles was in the 50s movie Fear Strikes Out, where he played the pushy father of Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall. His last role was a first season episode of The West Wing.

His last appearance in general was a few weeks ago. AFI gave a Life Achievement Award to Michael Douglas and Malden videotaped a congratulations for him. Douglas costarred in The Streets of San Francisco with Malden for several years. The show will air on TV Land July 19.