KB
Karen Black
Actor, Composer, Writer, Producer, Additional Credits
Born July 1, 1939Died August 8, 2013 (74 years)
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.
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.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2018 | |
| 2015 | Wild in Blue · as Justine |
| 2014 | Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films · as Linda Magnusson |
| 2013 | She Loves Me Not · as Karla |
| 2013 | Ooga Booga · as Mrs. Allardyce |
| 2013 | Kroll Show (TV Series) · as Sylvia |
| 2012 | Dark Blood · as Motel Woman |
| 2012 | Mommy's Little Monster · as Mrs. Melnick |
| 2011 | Maria My Love · as Maria |
| 2011 | Letters from the Big Man · as Sean's Colleague |
| 2011 | Some Guy Who Kills People · as Ruth Boyd |
| 2010 | Nothing Special · as May |
| 2009 | Double Duty · as Annabelle |
| 2009 | |
| 2009 | Repo Chick · as Aunt De La Chasse |
| 2009 | Irene in Time · as Sheila Shivvers |
| 2008 | A Single Woman · as Storyteller |
| 2008 | The Blue Tooth Virgin · as Zena |
| 2008 | Watercolors · as Mrs. Martin |
| 2008 | Contamination · as Mavis |
| 2007 | Funny or Die Presents (TV Series) · as Debbie Rubbie |
| 2007 | One Long Night · as Barbara |
| 2007 | Suffering Man's Charity · as Renee |
| 2007 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (TV Series) · as Jennifer |
| 2006 | Hollywood Dreams · as Luna |
| 2006 | Read You Like a Book · as Kate |
| 2006 | Whitepaddy · as Mrs. Leider |
| 2005 | Firecracker · as Sandra / Eleanor |
| 2005 | Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula · as Agrippina |
| 2005 | Crazy for Love · as Grace's Mom |
| 2005 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2005 | Carma · as Kate Burns |
| 2004 | America Brown · as Marianne Brown |
| 2003 | The Work of Director Chris Cunningham · as Dancer (segment "windowlicker") |
| 2003 | Summer Solstice · as Dr. Sally Mcdermott |
| 2003 | Paris · as Chantelle |
| 2003 | |
| 2003 | House of 1000 Corpses · as Mother Firefly |
| 2003 | Russians in the City of Angels (TV Series) · as Patricia Sommers |
| 2002 | Curse of the Forty-Niner · as Aunt Nelly |
| 2002 | A Light in the Darkness · as Mrs. Melnick |
| 2002 | Teknolust · as Dirty Dick |
| 2001 | Gypsy 83 · as Bambi Lebleau |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) · as Vera Morgan |
| 2001 | Hard Luck · as Aunt Judy |
| 2001 | |
| 2001 | Soulkeeper · as Martha La Magnifica |
| 2000 | Red Dirt · as Aunt Summer |
| 2000 | Fallen Arches · as Lucy Romano |
| 2000 | Oliver Twisted · as Mrs. Mary Happ |
| 1999 | The Underground Comedy Movie · as Mother |
| 1999 | Mascara · as Aunt Eloise |
| 1999 | Paradise Cove · as Ma |
| 1998 | |
| 1998 | Bury the Evidence · as The Mother |
| 1998 | My Neighbor's Daughter · as Social Worker |
| 1998 | I Woke Up Early the Day I Died · as Whip Lady |
| 1998 | Rude Awakening (TV Series) · as Crystal Garcia |
| 1998 | Invisible Dad · as Courtney Whitmer |
| 1998 | Light Speed · as High Priestess |
| 1998 | Malaika · as Jessica Martin |
| 1997 | Conceiving Ada · as Lady Byron / Mother Coer |
| 1997 | |
| 1997 | Dogtown · as Rose Van Horn |
| 1997 | The Hunger (TV Series) · as Miss Gati / Landlady |
| 1997 | Stir · as Dr. Gabrielle Kessler |
| 1997 | Modern Rhapsody · as Cast |
| 1996 | Children of the Corn: The Gathering · as June Rhodes |
| 1996 | Profiler (TV Series) · as Evie Long |
| 1996 | Crimetime · as Millicent |
| 1996 | Sister Island · as Rose Walsh |
| 1996 | E! True Hollywood Story (TV Series) |
| 1996 | Dinosaur Valley Girls · as Ro-Kell |
| 1996 | Every Minute Is Goodbye · as Schubert |
| 1995 | Plan 10 from Outer Space · as Nehor |
| 1995 | Starstruck · as Bertha |
| 1994 | Party of Five (TV Series) · as Doreen Jablonsky |
| 1993 | Bound and Gagged: A Love Story · as Carla |
| 1993 | Moon Over Miami (TV Series) |
| 1993 | The Trust · as Maria Vandermeer |
| 1993 | Return of the Roller Blade Seven · as Tarot |
| 1992 | Legend of the Roller Blade Seven · as Tarot |
| 1992 | Auntie Lee's Meat Pies · as Auntie Lee |
| 1992 | The Double 0 Kid · as Mrs. Elliot |
| 1992 | Hitz · as Tiffany Powers |
| 1992 | Final Judgement · as Mrs. Sorrel |
| 1992 | Tuesday Never Comes · as Michelle |
| 1992 | Dead Girls Don't Tango · as Insp. Wilson |
| 1991 | Evil Spirits · as Ella Purdy |
| 1991 | Quiet Fire · as Kim Martino |
| 1991 | Children of the Night · as Karen Thompson |
| 1991 | The Roller Blade Seven · as Tarot |
| 1991 | Caged Fear · as Blanche |
| 1991 | Blood Money · as Barrett |
| 1991 | Ralph S. Mouse · as Miss Kuchenbacker |
| 1991 | Rubin and Ed · as Rula |
| 1990 | Mirror Mirror · as Susan Gordon |
| 1990 | Hollywood Mavericks · as Rayette Dipesto |
| 1990 | Club Fed · as Sally Rich |
| 1990 | Haunting Fear · as Dr. Julia Harcourt |
| 1990 | Night Angel · as Rita |
| 1990 | The Children · as Sybil Lullmer |
| 1990 | Zapped Again! · as Homeroom Teacher |
| 1990 | Twisted Justice · as Mrs. Granger |
| 1990 | Overexposed · as Mrs. Trowbridge |
| 1990 | Fatal Encounter · as Joan Caldwell |
| 1989 | Homer and Eddie · as Belle |
| 1989 | The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway · as Martha Gelhorn |
| 1988 | Dixie Lanes · as Zelma Putnam |
| 1988 | Out of the Dark · as Ruth Wilson |
| 1988 | The Invisible Kid · as Mom |
| 1988 | In the Heat of the Night (TV Series) · as Carla Ray |
| 1987 | It's Alive III: Island of the Alive · as Ellen Jarvis |
| 1986 | Hostage · as Laura Lawrence |
| 1986 | Worlds Beyond (TV Series) · as Lee Jeffreys |
| 1986 | Invaders from Mars · as Linda Magnusson |
| 1986 | Flight of the Spruce Goose · as Gloria |
| 1985 | Martin's Day · as Karen |
| 1985 | Eternal Evil · as Janus |
| 1985 | Savage Dawn · as Rachel |
| 1984 | Bad Manners · as Gladys Fitzpatrick |
| 1984 | Cut and Run · as Karin |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Dr. Sylvia Dunn |
| 1984 | E/R (1984) (TV Series) |
| 1984 | Miami Vice (TV Series) |
| 1983 | The Hitchhiker (TV Series) · as Kay Mason |
| 1983 | Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? · as Zee |
| 1982 | Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean · as Joanne |
| 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre (TV Series) · as Sea Witch |
| 1982 | The Last Horror Film · as Karen Black (uncredited) |
| 1982 | Miss Right · as Amy |
| 1981 | The Grass Is Singing · as Mary Turner |
| 1981 | Separate Ways · as Valentine Colby |
| 1981 | Chanel Solitaire · as Emilienne D'alençon |
| 1980 | Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop · as Investigator Evelyn Carter |
| 1979 | Killer Fish · as Kate |
| 1979 | The Last Word · as Paula Herbert |
| 1979 | Mr. Horn · as Ernestina Crawford |
| 1978 | In Praise of Older Women · as Maya |
| 1978 | The Squeeze · as Clarisse Saunders |
| 1978 | Because He's My Friend · as Anne |
| 1977 | Capricorn One · as Judy Drinkwater |
| 1977 | The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver · as Miriam Oliver / Sandy |
| 1977 | ABC Weekend Special (TV Series) · as Miss Kuchenbacker |
| 1976 | Burnt Offerings · as Marian Rolf |
| 1976 | America at the Movies · as Rayette Dipesto |
| 1976 | Family Plot · as Fran |
| 1975 | Crime and Passion · as Susan Winters |
| 1975 | The Day of the Locust · as Faye Greener |
| 1975 | Nashville · as Connie White |
| 1975 | Trilogy of Terror · as Julie / Millicent Larimore / Therese Larimore / Amelia |
| 1974 | Airport 1975 · as Nancy Pryor |
| 1974 | Law and Disorder · as Gloria |
| 1974 | The Great Gatsby · as Myrtle Wilson |
| 1974 | Rhinoceros · as Daisy |
| 1973 | The Outfit · as Bett Harrow |
| 1973 | The Pyx · as Elizabeth Lucy |
| 1973 | Little Laura and Big John · as Laura |
| 1973 | Police Story (TV Series) |
| 1972 | Portnoy's Complaint · as Mary Jane Reid A.k.a. Monkey |
| 1972 | Ghost Story (TV Series) · as Barbara Sanders |
| 1971 | Cisco Pike · as Sue |
| 1971 | Born to Win · as Parm |
| 1971 | A Gunfight · as Jenny Simms |
| 1971 | Drive, He Said · as Olive |
| 1970 | Five Easy Pieces · as Rayette Dipesto |
| 1969 | Easy Rider · as Karen |
| 1969 | Hard Contract · as Ellen |
| 1968 | Adam-12 (TV Series) · as Susan Decker |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game (TV Series) · as Monica Garrison |
| 1967 | Mannix (TV Series) |
| 1967 | Judd for the Defense (TV Series) |
| 1967 | The Second Hundred Years (TV Series) · as Marcia |
| 1967 | The Invaders (TV Series) · as Claudia Stone |
| 1966 | You're a Big Boy Now · as Amy Partlett |
| 1966 | The Iron Horse (TV Series) · as Patricia Dunne |
| 1965 | The F.B.I. (TV Series) · as Lorraine Chapman |
| 1965 | The Big Valley (TV Series) · as Carla |
| 1965 | Run for Your Life (TV Series) · as Jennifer Palmer |
| 1960 | The Prime Time · as Betty |