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  • BIRTH 01/07/1939
  • DEATH 08/08/2013
  • Country United States
  • SHOWS 12
  • MOVIES 53
  • SCRIPT 1
  • PRODUCTION 1

Karen Black

Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portraying eccentric and offbeat characters, and established herself as a figure of New Hollywood. Her career spanned over 50 years and includes nearly 200 credits in both independent and mainstream films. Black received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Golden Globe Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

A native of suburban Chicago, Black studied theater at Northwestern University before dropping out and relocating to New York City. She performed on Broadway in 1965 before making her major film debut in Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now (1966). Black relocated to California and was cast as an acid-tripping prostitute in Dennis Hopper's road film Easy Rider (1969). That led to a lead in the drama Five Easy Pieces (1970), in which she played a hopeless beautician, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Black made her first major commercial picture with the disaster film Airport 1975 (1974), and her subsequent appearance as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby (1974) won her a second Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

Black starred as a glamorous country singer in Robert Altman's ensemble musical drama Nashville (1975), also writing and performing two songs for the soundtrack, which won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack. Her portrayal of an aspiring actress in John Schlesinger's drama The Day of the Locust (also 1975) earned her a third Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actress. She subsequently took on four roles in Dan Curtis' anthology horror film Trilogy of Terror (1975), followed by Curtis's supernatural horror feature, Burnt Offerings (1976). The same year, she starred as a con artist in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot.

In 1982, Black starred as a trans woman in the Robert Altman-directed Broadway debut of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, a role she also reprised in Altman's subsequent film adaptation. She next starred in the comedy Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983), followed by Tobe Hooper's remake of Invaders from Mars (1986). For much of the late 1980s and 1990s, Black starred in a variety of arthouse, independent, and horror films, as well as writing her own screenplays. She had a leading role as a villainous mother in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses (2003), which cemented her status as a cult horror icon. She continued to star in low-profile films throughout the early 2000s, as well as working as a playwright before her death from ampullary cancer in 2013.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Karen Black, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. ​

Karen Black

Shows (12)

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Vera Morgan
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Dr. Sylvia Dunn
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
The Hunger
The Hunger
Miss Gati / Landlady
The Invaders
The Invaders
Claudia Stone
The Big Valley
The Big Valley
Carla
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Jennifer
Ghost Story
Ghost Story
Barbara Sanders
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
Self - Guest / Various Characters
The F.B.I.
The F.B.I.
Lorraine Chapman
The Hitchhiker
The Hitchhiker
Kay Mason
The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game
Monica Garrison

Movies (53)

The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
Myrtle Wilson
Airport 1975
Airport 1975
Nancy Pryor
Invaders from Mars
Invaders from Mars
Linda Magnusson
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
June Rhodes
Capricorn One
Capricorn One
Judy Drinkwater
Family Plot
Family Plot
Fran
Burnt Offerings
Burnt Offerings
Marian Rolf
Nashville
Nashville
Connie White
Mirror Mirror
Mirror Mirror
Susan Gordon
The Last Horror Film
The Last Horror Film
Karen Black (uncredited)
A Gunfight
A Gunfight
Jenny Simms
The Outfit
The Outfit
Bett Harrow
Teknolust
Teknolust
Dirty Dick
House of 1000 Corpses
House of 1000 Corpses
Mother Firefly
Trilogy of Terror
Trilogy of Terror
Julie / Millicent Larimore / Therese Larimore / Amelia
Dr. Rage
Dr. Rage
Molly
Five Easy Pieces
Five Easy Pieces
Rayette Dipesto
Inferno in diretta
Inferno in diretta
Karin
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
Ellen Jarvis
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of…
Self (archive footage)
Mr. Horn
Mr. Horn
Ernestina Crawford
Charades
Charades
Jude
Power
Power
Rose Vanda-Buchanan
The Day of the Locust
The Day of the Locust
Faye Greener
Stuck!
Stuck!
The Neighbor Lady
Out of the Dark
Out of the Dark
Ruth Wilson
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
Sea Witch
Harold Buttleman: Daredevil Stuntman
Harold Buttleman: Daredevil Stuntman
Mrs. Buttleman
Watercolors
Watercolors
Mrs. Martin
The Independent
The Independent
Karen Black
Paris
Paris
Chantelle
Dark Blood
Dark Blood
Motel Woman
Dead Girls Don't Tango
Dead Girls Don't Tango
Insp. Wilson
Homer and Eddie
Homer and Eddie
Belle
Caged Fear
Caged Fear
Blanche
Twisted Justice
Twisted Justice
Mrs. Granger
The Grass Is Singing
The Grass Is Singing
Mary Turner
In Praise of Older Women
In Praise of Older Women
Maya
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
Whip Lady
Gypsy 83
Gypsy 83
Bambi LeBleau
Ralph S. Mouse
Ralph S. Mouse
Miss Kuchenbacker
Contamination
Contamination
Mavis
Malaika
Malaika
Jessica Martin
Killer Fish
Killer Fish
Kate
Savage Dawn
Savage Dawn
Rachel
She Loves Me Not
She Loves Me Not
Karla
You're a Big Boy Now
You're a Big Boy Now
Amy Partlett
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy…
Joanne
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
Self
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Daisy
Some Guy Who Kills People
Some Guy Who Kills People
Ruth Boyd
Cisco Pike
Cisco Pike
Sue

Script

Charades
Charades

Production

Charades
Charades