LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Veteran actor Karl Malden, who won an Academy Award for his role in "A Streetcar Named Desire," has died at age 97, his manager said Wednesday.

Malden died in his sleep about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, said his manager, Bud Ross.

Malden appeared alongside Marlon Brando in two of director Elia Kazan's classic films of the 1950s -- "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront." He won the best supporting actor Oscar for "Streetcar" in 1952 and was nominated for his role as a priest crusading against crooked union bosses in "On the Waterfront."

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