Broadway star and 60 year Brentwood resident passes away
Broadway actress Mona Malden, wife of legendary Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden, has passed away at the age of 102. Mona died peacefully in her Brentwood home of 60 years on Saturday July 13, 10 years and 12 days after the passing of Karl Malden. Both Mona and Karl Malden, born Mildred DeLeuw Greenberg and Mladen Sekulovich respectively, met while attending Chicago’s renowned Goodman Theater and appeared in numerous productions. They moved to New York to pursue careers in entertainment and wed on December 18, 1938. With the third longest marriage in Hollywood history, Mona and Karl remained together for 70 years before Karl’s passing on July 1, 2009 from natural causes.
Known as Mona Graham on stage, Mona appeared in 1943’s Broadway comedy I’ll Take the High Road as Cicy and worked as an extra at Fox. She gave up her career in entertainment to focus on raising a family and gave birth to two daughters, Mila and Carla, before moving to Los Angeles in the early ’60s. By that time, Karl Malden was an accomplished actor with several accolades including an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for 1954’s classic On the Waterfront and an Oscar win in 1952 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in A Streetcar Named Desire. Both films starred a young Hollywood icon in the making, Marlon Brando.
Mona is survived by her daughters Mila and Carla, granddaughters Alison, Emily and Cami, and great-grandchildren Mila, Stella, Charlie and Thomas. Lovingly referred to as Gaga by her grandchildren, Mona will be remembered for her unwavering devotion to her family.
