LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar winner Karl Malden, the bulbous-nosed character actor acclaimed for film roles in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront" before gaining TV fame as a leading man in "The Streets of San Francisco," died on Wednesday at age 97. Also remembered as the commercial spokesman for American Express travelers checks, sternly warning tourists, "Don't ...

The great thing about the movie of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, now back on the big screen, is that it's directed by Elia Kazan (the only occasion he filmed a play he'd directed on stage) and features three members of the original Broadway cast, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, all magnificent. They're joined ...

THE SELECTED LETTERS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS , 1945-57 edited by Albert J. Devlin with Nancy M. Tischler Oberon Books, 521 Caledonian Road, London N7 9 RH, Tel: 020 7607 3637,

The trouble with the theatre is that there aren't many good playwrights. Few great writers have written for the stage, and only at fleeting moments in the past -- Athens around ...