When Do I Start
How many times did Karl Malden lean his retro hat and cauliflower nose into your TV set and intone "The American Express card--Don't leave home without it"? Would it surprise you to learn that such a rock-solid spokesman for capitalism flirted with communism--or rather, it flirted with him--during his formative years in New York's Group Theatre, alongside stalwarts such asElia Kazan,Clifford Odets, andHarold Clurman? Reconciling his idealistic stage youth with his mature commercial years, and being stolidly as proud of one as the other, is Malden's goal in this earnest memoir. Malden offers insights into two generations of acting: one that put him in the original cast ofA Streetcar Named Desire, and one that made him star of TV'sThe Streets of San Francisco.