Malden is the 40th recipient of the top honor, which is awarded to actors for both their career and humanitarian achievements. Variety reported that Malden will be presented with the award during the 10th annual SAG Awards evening Feb. 22, 2004. In a statement, SAG president Melissa Gilbert — of "Little House on the Prairie" fame — said, "In a career spanning six decades, Karl Malden has superbly achieved the goal of every actor — to bring an extraordinarily rich range of iconic characters to the screen and stage."

Born Mladen Sekulovich in March 1919, Karl Malden starred on Broadway in the original production of A Streetcar Named Desire, repeating his role on film to Oscar-winning effect. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work in 1954's "On the Waterfront."

Malden's numerous Broadway credits also include The Egghead, The Desperate Hours, Tea and Sympathy, Desire Under the Elms, Peer Gynt, All My Sons, Truckline Cafe, The Assassin, Winged Victory, Sons and Soldiers, Counterattack, The Sun Field, Uncle Harry, Flight to the West, Journey to Jerusalem, Key Largo, The Gentle People, Missouri Legend, How to Get Tough About It and Golden Boy. The actor received two Emmy nominations for his work on the television series "The Streets of San Francisco," and he was nominated for Golden Globes for "San Francisco" and for his performance as Herbie in the 1962 film of "Gypsy."