Karen Black
Biography
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.
Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Saturday Night Live
1975
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Adam-12
1968
Mannix
1967
Miami Vice
1984
American Playhouse
1982
Party of Five
1994
The Carol Burnett Show
1967
The F.B.I.
1965
Filmography
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self · 1962
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self · 1961
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host · 1975
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
as Vera Morgan · 2001
Murder, She Wrote
as Dr. Sylvia Dunn · 1984
Adam-12
as Susan Decker · 1968
Mannix
· 1967
Miami Vice
as Helen Jackson · 1984
American Playhouse
as Self · 1982
Party of Five
as Doreen Jablonsky · 1994
The Carol Burnett Show
as Self - Guest / Various Characters · 1967
The F.B.I.
as Lorraine Chapman · 1965
Profiler
as Evie Long · 1996
The Name of the Game
as Monica Garrison · 1968
The Big Valley
as Carla · 1965
Run for Your Life
as Jennifer Palmer · 1965
The Hitchhiker
as Kay Mason · 1983
The Invaders
as Claudia Stone · 1967
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
as Jennifer · 2007
Judd, for the Defense
· 1967
Police Story
as Office Evelyn Carter · 1973
People's Choice Awards
as Self · 1975
The Hunger
as Miss Gati / Landlady · 1997
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Guest Interviewee · 1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Sea Witch · 1982
Ghost Story
as Barbara Sanders · 1972
Rude Awakening
as Crystal Garcia · 1998
Tales of the City
as Self · 1993
The Second Hundred Years
as Marcia · 1967
Easy Rider
as Karen · 1969
House of 1000 Corpses
as Mother Firefly · 2003
E/R
· 1984
The Player
as Karen Black · 1992
Capricorn One
as Judy Drinkwater · 1977
Moon Over Miami
· 1993
The Great Gatsby
as Myrtle Wilson · 1974
Russians in the City of Angels
as Patricia Sommers · 2003
The Day of the Locust
as Faye Greener · 1975
Worlds Beyond
as Lee Jeffreys · 1986
Nashville
as Connie White · 1975
Family Plot
as Fran · 1976
E! True Hollywood Story
· 1996
Five Easy Pieces
as Rayette Dipesto · 1970
Airport 1975
as Nancy Pryor · 1974
Power
as Rose Vanda-Buchanan · 1980
Invaders from Mars
as Linda Magnusson · 1986
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
as Self (archive footage) · 2015
Night Angel
as Rita · 1990
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
as June Rhodes · 1996
Science Fiction Film Awards
as Self
Killer Fish
as Kate · 1979
Mr. Horn
as Ernestina Crawford · 1979
The Outfit
as Bett Harrow · 1973
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
as Linda Magnusson (archive footage) (uncredited) · 2014
Out of the Dark
as Ruth Wilson · 1988
The Double 0 Kid
as Mrs. Elliot · 1992
Burnt Offerings
as Marian Rolf · 1976
The Last Horror Film
as Karen Black (uncredited) · 1982
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
as Ellen Jarvis · 1987
Cut and Run
as Karin · 1985
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
as Self · 1997
Savage Dawn
as Rachel · 1985
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
as Whip Lady · 1998
A Gunfight
as Jenny Simms · 1971
She Loves Me Not
as Karla · 2013
The Underground Comedy Movie
as Mother · 1999
Ooga Booga
as Mrs. Allardyce · 2013
Dogtown
as Rose Van Horn · 1997
Wild in Blue
as Justine · 2014
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos
as Self · 2009
Teknolust
as Dirty Dick · 2002
Eternal Evil
as Janus · 1985
Zapped Again!
as Homeroom Teacher · 1990
Wamego: Ultimatum
as Self · 2009
In Praise of Older Women
as Maya · 1978
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
as Self · 2004
Altman on His Own Terms
as Self · 2000
Children of the Night
as Karen Thompson · 1991
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies
as Auntie Lee · 1992
Mascara
as Aunt Eloise · 1999
Homer and Eddie
as Belle · 1989
The Independent
as Karen Black · 2000
Airports
· 2025
You're a Big Boy Now
as Amy Partlett · 1966
Quiet Fire
as Kim Martino · 1991
Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?
as Zee · 1983
Some Guy Who Kills People
as Ruth Boyd · 2011
Born to Win
as Parm · 1971
Trilogy of Terror
as Julie / Millicent Larimore / Therese Larimore / Amelia · 1975
Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage
as Self · 1999
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
as Joanne · 1982
Whitepaddy
as Mrs. Leider · 2006
Evil Spirits
as Ella Purdy · 1991
Curse of the Forty-Niner
as Aunt Nelly · 2002
Judgement
as Tiffany Powers · 1992
Final Judgement
as Mrs. Sorrel · 1992
Law and Disorder
as Gloria · 1974
Crazy for Love
as Grace's Mom · 2005
Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop
as Investigator Evelyn Carter · 1980
Crime and Passion
as Susan Winters · 1976
Cisco Pike
as Sue · 1972
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula
as Agrippina · 2005
Mirror Mirror
as Susan Gordon · 1990
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven
as Tarot · 1993
Bound and Gagged: A Love Story
as Carla · 1993
The Roller Blade Seven
as Tarot · 1991
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
as Self (archive footage) · 2013
Men
as Alex · 1997
Hollywood Dreams
as Luna · 2007
Maria My Love
as Maria · 2012
Read You Like a Book
as Kate · 2006
Conceiving Ada
as Lady Byron / Mother Coer · 1999
Fertile La Toyah Video Magazine #2: The Kinky Issue!
· 1994
Suffering Man's Charity
as Renee · 2007
The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway
as Martha Gelhorn · 1988
The Little Mermaid
as Sea Witch · 1987
Red Dirt
as Aunt Summer · 2000
Dead Girls Don't Tango
as Insp. Wilson · 1992
Bad Manners
as Gladys Fitzpatrick · 1984
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
as Self · 2010
Invisible Dad
as Courtney Whitmer · 1998
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
as Self · 2003
A Light in the Darkness
as Mrs. Melnick · 2002
Return of the Roller Blade Seven
as Tarot · 1993
The Grass Is Singing
as Mary Turner · 1981
New York Crossing
as Mrs. Tender · 1996
Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk
as Self – Joanne (archive footage) · 2014
The Trust
as Maria Vandermeer · 1993
Bottomless Pit
as Karen Black · 2015
The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver
as Miriam Oliver / Sandy · 1977
Best of Tromadance Film Festival: Volume 1
as ("Los Vampirios Moronious" short) · 2002
On the tracks of a filmmaker
as Karen Black · 1988
Where the Ladies Go
as Helen · 1980
Harold Buttleman: Daredevil Stuntman
as Mrs. Buttleman · 2003
Karen Black: Actress at Work
as Self · 1999
The Invisible Kid
as Mom · 1988
Haunting Fear
as Dr. Julia Harcourt · 1990
Light Speed
as High Priestess · 1998
George Sluizer - Filming beyond Bounderies
as Self
Plotting 'Family Plot'
as Self · 2001
Paris
as Chantelle · 2003
Flight of the Spruce Goose
as Gloria · 1986
Wanderlust
as Herself · 2006
Crimetime
as Millicent · 1996
Hostage
as Laura Lawrence · 1987
Little Laura and Big John
as Laura · 1973
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs
as Self · 1998
Soulkeeper
as Martha la Magnifica · 2001
Hard Contract
as Ellen · 1969
First Time Long Time
as Dr. Shneidel · 2009
The Blue Tooth Virgin
as Zena · 2008
Plan 10 from Outer Space
as Nehor · 1995
Fallen Arches
as Lucy Romano · 2000
Blood Money
as Barrett · 1991
Mommy's Little Monster
as Mrs. Melnick · 2012
A Single Woman
as Storyteller · 2008
Drive, He Said
as Olive · 1971
Miss Right
as Amy · 1982
Martin's Day
as Karen · 1985
Chanel Solitaire
as Emilienne d'Alençon · 1981
Letters from the Big Man
as Sean's Colleague · 2011
The Squeeze
as Clarisse Saunders · 1978
Rhinoceros
as Daisy · 1974
Too Bad About Jack
· 1994
Because He's My Friend
as Anne · 1978
The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley
as Evelyn · 1995
Stir
as Dr. Gabrielle Kessler · 1997
Every Minute Is Goodbye
· 1996
Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts
as (archive footage) · 2018
The Last Word
as Paula Herbert · 1979
Dark Blood
as Motel Woman · 2012
Separate Ways
as Valentine Colby · 1981
Twisted Justice
as Mrs. Granger · 1990
Repo Chick
as Aunt De La Chasse · 2009
Tuesday Never Comes
as Michelle · 1992
One Long Night
as Barbara · 2007
Gypsy 83
as Bambi LeBleau · 2001
Portnoy's Complaint
as Mary Jane Reid a.k.a. Monkey · 1972
Firecracker
as Sandra / Eleanor · 2005
Ralph S. Mouse
as Miss Kuchenbacker · 1991
Meet the Eye
· 2009
Club Fed
as Sally Rich · 1990
Hawk Warrior of the Wheelzone
as Tarot · 2012
Rubin & Ed
as Rula · 1992
Dixie Lanes
as Zelma Putnam · 1988
WAMEGO: Making Movies Anywhere
as Self · 2004
The Pyx
as Elizabeth Lucy · 1973
The Children
as Sybil Lullmer · 1990
Caged Fear
as Blanche · 1991
Birth of Industry
as Sara · 2004
Bury the Evidence
as The Mother · 1998
The Donor
as Mrs. Springle · 2001
America Brown
as Marianne Brown · 2005
Henry Jaglom Finds 'A Safe Place'
as Self · 2010
Double Duty
as Annabelle · 2009
Charades
as Jude · 1998
Contamination
as Mavis · 2008
Watercolors
as Mrs. Martin · 2008
Stuck!
as The Neighbor Lady · 2009
Starstruck
as Bertha · 1995
Irene in Time
as Sheila Shivvers · 2009
Dinosaur Valley Girls
as Ro-Kell · 1995
Dr. Rage
as Molly · 2005
Nothing Special
as May · 2010
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black: Teather Penumbra
· 1994
Fatal Encounter
as Joan Caldwell · 1990
Paradise Cove
as Ma · 1999
OowieWanna
as The Donna · 2012
Cries of Silence
as Rose Walsh · 1996
Angel Blue
as Social Worker · 1998
Overexposed
as Mrs. Trowbridge · 1990
The Prime Time
as Betty · 1960
Malaika
as Jessica Martin · 1998
Oliver Twisted
as Mrs. Mary Happ · 2000
Vacationland
as Louise