Damn! I liked the Streets of San Fransisco.

Academy Award and Emmy winning actor Karl Malden died today. He was 97.

Malden, who starred in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco" and was the longtime American Express traveler's check spokesman, warning travelers to not leave home without it.

Malden's family informed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences of his death on Wednesday. Malden served as the academy's president from 1989-92.

According to his daughter Mila Doerner, Malden died of natural causes at his home in Brentwood.

He made his screen debut in the 1940 movie "They Knew What They Wanted."

In a career that spanned over seven decades, Malden was featured in classic films such as "A Streetcar Named Desire", "On the Waterfront" and "One-Eyed Jacks", with "Marlon Brando", and also "Patton".

Among other notable film roles are Archie Lee Meighan in "Baby Doll" and Zebulon Prescott in "How the West Was Won".

His best-known role was on television as Lt. Mike Stone on the 1970s crime drama, "The Streets of San Francisco," with actor Michael Douglas. The series, which ran from 1972 to 1977, earned Malden four consecutive Emmy nominations as lead actor in a drama series.