Karl Malden, known for his role as Lt. Mike Stone in "The Streets of San Francisco," grew up as Mladen Sekulovich on the streets of Gary.

With Malden's death on Wednesday at age 97, Gary lost another celebrity with strong ties to the city.

Malden's upbringing in Gary meant a lot to him.

"It doesn't matter how old you are or where you might live at the moment, it's the way you were raised and where you were raised that are the most important parts of your life forever," Malden told The Times' Phil Potempa during a 2007 interview.

"Most people everywhere know that I was raised among the steel mills in Gary, Ind., and that's fine by me," Malden said.

Malden was reared in Gary during the 1920s, '30s and '40s. His neighborhood was an enclave of Eastern European immigrants. That neighborhood had people from Yugoslavia, Poland, Greece, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, among other nations. Those people came to Gary to work at the steel mills. Malden himself worked at U.S. Steel's Gary Works after he dropped out of college.

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, who is working on plans for a Michael Jackson tribute next Friday, says he is working on a tribute to honor Malden as well.

"Karl Malden is one of our favorite sons," Clay said Wednesday. "And he was one of our great movie actors."

Malden's film credits include dozens of motion pictures and TV shows. He won a best supporting actor Oscar in 1951 for his role in "A Streetcar Named Desire," a role he also performed on Broadway.

Malden received a variety of honors in Northwest Indiana, including his addition to the South Shore Wall of Legends at the Indiana Welcome Center. People like Malden, who achieved great success in his chosen field, need to be lifted up to young people in the region to serve as inspirational examples of persistence and hard work.

Malden will be missed.