No, don't worry, it's not going to be a two-hour live funeral. Turner Classic Movies is going to show three of Karl Malden's best movies in a mini-marathon starting at 8PM. Here's the lineup:

8PM: On The Waterfront
10PM: A Streetcar Named Desire
12:15AM: Birdman of Alcatraz

This will be a good chance for people who only know Malden from The Streets of San Francisco or American Express ads to see what he was like as an actor on the big screen. I think they should be showing more though. TCM must own more movies that feature Malden.

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.