Malden gets in Hall of Great Western Performers

American actor Karl Malden, who won an Oscar for his performance in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire, has earned another honour for his portrayals in westerns.

Malden, 93, was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the Western Heritage Awards. The ceremony was held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Though health problems kept Malden from attending, he addressed the crowd via videotape. In his message, Malden recalled being the villain in the 1961 film One-Eyed Jack and a gun duel around a fountain with star and director Marlon Brando.

“The way he shot me was brilliant,” Malden said of Brando, who also co-starred with him in Streetcar.

Actor Ernest Borgnine, a past inductee, represented Malden at the ceremony, which also recognised Malden for his work in such Westerns as The Gunfighter, The Hanging Tree and How the West Was Won.

Malden was nominated for an Oscar in another Brando film, On the Waterfront, and for an Emmy for his role as a detective in TV series The Streets of San Francisco.

Founded in 1961, the Western Heritage Awards encourage the preservation of the history and legends of the American West through the creative arts. Past winners include Louis L’Amour, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, John Ford and Jack Palance.