List of Karen Black performances explained

Karen Black was an American actress whose career spanned over 50 years, and included over 200 credits across film, television, and theater. She made her Broadway debut in 1965 before making her major film debut in Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now (1966). She subsequently appeared as an acid-tripping prostitute in Dennis Hopper's road film Easy Rider (1969), which she followed with the drama Five Easy Pieces (1970), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, and the disaster film Airport 1975 (1974). Her following role as Myrtle Wilson in Jack Clayton's 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), and as an aspiring actress in John Schlesinger's drama The Day of the Locust (1975), which earned her a third Golden Globe nomination. She subsequently appeared in three roles in Dan Curtis's anthology horror film Trilogy of Terror (1975), followed by Curtis's supernatural horror feature, Burnt Offerings (1976). The same year, she played a kidnapping accomplice in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot.

In 1982, Black starred as a transsexual in Altman's drama Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, followed by a lead in Tobe Hooper's remake of Invaders from Mars (1986). She also appeared on television, guest-starring on such series as E/R (1984–1985), Murder, She Wrote (1987), and Miami Vice (1989). Throughout the 1990s, Black appeared in a wide variety of independent and experimental films, a trend she continued into the 2000s. Her role as a murderous mother in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses (2003) helped cement her status as a cult horror icon. She continued to appear in low-profile films throughout the early 2010s before her death in 2013.

Film

Title! width="17%"

Role	Director(s)	Notes
1960	The Prime Time	Betty – Painted Woman
1966	You're a Big Boy Now	Amy Partlett
1969	Hard Contract	Ellen
1969	Easy Rider	Karen			^[1]
1970	Five Easy Pieces	Rayette Dipesto
1971	Drive, He Said	Olive
1971	A Gunfight	Jenny Simms
1971	Born to Win	Parm
1972	Cisco Pike	Sue
1972	Portnoy's Complaint	Mary Jane Reid
1973	Little Laura and Big John	Laura
1973	The Pyx	Elizabeth Lucy
1973	The Outfit	Bett Harrow
1974	Rhinoceros	Daisy
1974	The Great Gatsby	Myrtle Wilson
1974	Law and Disorder	Gloria
1974	Airport 1975	Nancy Pryor
1975	Trilogy of Terror	Julie / Millicent Larimore/ Therese Larimore / Amelia		Television film	^[2]
1975	The Day of the Locust	Faye Greener
1975	Nashville	Connie White
1976	Crime and Passion	Susan Winters
1976	Family Plot	Fran
1976	Burnt Offerings	Marian Rolf
1977	Capricorn One	Judy Drinkwater
1977	The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver	Miriam Oliver		Television film
1977	Because He's My Friend	Anne		Television film
1978	The Rip-Off	Clarisse Saunders		Also known as: The Squeeze
1978	In Praise of Older Women	Maya
1979	Killer Fish	Kate Neville
1979	The Last Word	Paula Herbert
1979	Mr. Horn	Ernestina Crawford		Television film
1980		Officer Evelyn Carter		Television film Also known as: The Other Side of Fear
1980	Power	Rose Vanda-Buchanan		Television film
1980	Where the Ladies Go	Helen		Television film
1981	Separate Ways	Valentine Colby
1981	Killing Heat	Mary Turner		Also known as: The Grass is Singing
1981	Chanel Solitaire	Émilienne d'Alençon
1982	The Last Horror Film	Herself		Uncredited	^[3]
1982	Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean	Joanne
1982	Miss Right	Amy
1983	Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?	Zee
1984	Bad Manners	Gladys Fitzpatrick		Also known as: Growing Pains
1984	A Stroke of Genius
1984	There's Something Wrong in Paradise	Gina Gina		Television musical film with Kid Creole
1984	Full Circle Again			Television film; co-starring with Robert Vaughn^[4]
1985	Martin's Day	Karen
1985	Cut and Run	Karin		Italian title: Inferno in diretta
1985	The Blue Man	Janus		Also known as: Eternal Evil
1985	Savage Dawn	Rachel
1986	The Flight of the Spruce Goose	Gloria
1986	Invaders from Mars	Linda Magnusson
1986	Hostage	Laura Lawrence
1987		Ellen Jarvis
1988	The Invisible Kid	Deborah Dunn
1988	Dixie Lanes	Zelma Putnam
1988	Out of the Dark	Ruth Wilson
1989	Homer and Eddie	Belle
1989	The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway	Martha Gelhorn
1989	Trust Me	Jilter woman
1990	Overexposed	Mrs. Trowbridge
1990	Twisted Justice	Mrs. Granger
1990	Zapped Again!	Substitute Teacher
1990	Night Angel	Rita
1990	Club Fed	Sally Rich
1990	Mirror, Mirror	Susan Gordon
1990	Pretty Hattie's Baby			Unreleased
1990	The Children	Sybil Lullmer
1990	The Covenant
1990	Haunting Fear	Dr. Julia Harcourt
1990	Fatal Encounter	Joan Caldwell
1990	Evil Spirits	Ella Purdy
1991	Quiet Fire	Kim Martino
1991	The Killer's Edge	Barrett
1991	Dead Girls Don't Tango	Inspector Wilson
1991	Caged Fear	Blanche		Also known as: Hotel Oklahoma
1991	Rubin and Ed	Rula
1991	Children of the Night	Karen Thompson
1991	The Roller Blade Seven	Tarot
1992	The Player	Herself
1992	Tuesday Never Comes	Michelle			^[5]
1992	Judgement	Tiffany Powers		Also known as: Hitz
1992	Auntie Lee's Meat Pies	Auntie Lee
1992	The Legend of the Roller Blade Seven	Tarot
1992	The Double 0 Kid	Mrs. Elliot
1993	Bound and Gagged: A Love Story	Carla
1993	The Trust	Maria Vandermeer
1993	Return of the Roller Blade Seven	Tarot
1993	Movies Money Murder	Bettie		Also producer Also known as: Breaking Up with Paul
1994	Too Bad About Jack	Inspector Wilson
1995	Plan 10 from Outer Space	Nehor
1995	The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley	Evelyn
1995	Dream Catcher
1995	Starstruck	Bertha			^[6]
1996	Sister Island	Rose Walsh		Also known as: Cries Of Silence
1996	Crimetime	Millicent Hargrave
1996		June Rhodes
1996	Every Minute is Goodbye	Schubert			^[7]
1996	Dinosaur Valley Girls	Ro-Kell			^[8]
1996	New York Crossing	Mrs. Tender		Television film Spanish title: Un angelo a New York
1997	Greater Than a Tiger	Paige		Short film	^[9]
1997	Stir	Dr. Gabrielle Kessler
1997	Conceiving Ada	Lady Byron Mother Coer
1997	Men	Alex		Also screenwriter
1997	Dogtown	Rose Van Horn
1997	Modern Rhapsody	Consuelo			^[10]
1998	Invisible Dad	Courtney Whitmer
1998	I Woke Up Early The Day I Died	Whip Lady
1998	Sugar: The Fall of the West
1998	My Neighbor's Daughter	Social Worker		Television film	^[11]
1998	Bury the Evidence	The Mother
1998	Malaika	Jessica Martin
1998	Charades	Jude			^[12]
1998	Waiting for Dr. MacGuffin	Dental Assistant		Short film	^[13]
1998	Lightspeed	High Priestess
1999	The Underground Comedy Movie	Mother
1999	Mascara	Aunt Eloise
1999	Paradise Cove	Ma
2000	Fallen Arches	Lucy Romano
2000	Red Dirt	Aunt Summer
2000	Oliver Twisted	Mrs. Mary Happ
2000	Inviati speciali
2000	The Independent	Herself
2001	The Donor	Mrs. Springle
2001	Gypsy 83	Bambi LeBleau
2001	Hard Luck	Aunt Judy
2001	Soulkeeper	Magnificent Martha		Television film	^[14]
2002	Teknolust	Dirty Dick
2002	Curse of the Forty-Niner	Aunt Nelly
2002	All Hallow's Eve
2003	House of 1000 Corpses	Mother Firefly
2003	Paris	Chantrelle
2003	Buttleman	Mrs. Buttleman		Also known as: Don't Try This at Home
2003	Summer Solstice	Dr. Sally McDermott			^[15]
2004	America Brown	Marianne Brown
2004	Birth of Industry	Sara		Short film	^[16]
2005	Love Wine	Aunt Anita		Television film
2005	Carma	Kate Burns		Voice	^[17]
2005	My Suicidal Sweetheart	Grace's Mom		Also known as: Crazy for Love; Max & Grace
2005	Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula	Agrippina		Short film
2005	Firecracker	Sandra Eleanor
2005	The Straun House	Molly		Also known as: Dr. Rage	^[18]
2006	Hollywood Dreams	Luna
2006	Read You Like a Book	Kate			^[19]
2006	Whitepaddy	Mrs. Leider			^[20]
2007	Suffering Man's Charity	Renee			^[21]
2007	One Long Night	Barbara			^[22]
2008	Contamination	Mavis			^[23]
2008	Watercolors	Mrs. Martin
2008	The Blue Tooth Virgin	Zena
2008	A Single Woman	Storyteller			^[24]
2009	Meet the Eye			Short film
2009	Irene in Time	Sheila Shivvers
2009	Repo Chick	Aunt de la Chasse
2009	Stuck!	Next Door Neighbor Lady			^[25]
2009	Double Duty	Annabelle			^[26]
2009	First Time Long Time	Dr. Shneidel		Short film	^[27]
2010	Better People	Marci		Television film
2010	Nothing Special	May
2011	Some Guy Who Kills People	Ruth Boyd			^[28]
2011	Letters from the Big Man	Sean's Colleague			^[29]
2011	Maria My Love	Maria			^[30]
2012	Mommy's Little Monster	Mrs. Melnick			^[31]
2012	Warnings from the Bathtub	Mother		Short film	^[32]
2012	Vacationland	Louise Bergen			^[33]
2012	Dark Blood	Motel Woman		Filmed in 1993	^[34]
2013	OowieWanna	The Donna		Short film
2013	Ooga Booga	Mrs. Allardyce			^[35]
2013	She Loves Me Not	Karla			^[36]
2013	Bottomless Pit	Herself		Unfinished film, shot for musical group Death Grips	^[37]
2014	Wild in Blue	Justine			^[38]
2014	A Walk Into a Split Mind	Karen		Installment in multi-film series The Being Experience	^[39]

Television

1967	The F.B.I.	Lorraine Chapman	Episode: "The Satellite"
1967	Run for Your Life	Jennifer Palmer	Episode: "Tell It to the Dead"
1967	The Big Valley	Carla	Episode: "Days of Grace"
1967	The Second Hundred Years	Marcia	2 episodes
1967	The Invaders	Claudia Stone	Episode: "The Ransom"
1967	Iron Horse	Patricia Dunne	Episode: "The Prisoners"
1968	Mannix	Elaine Tate	Episode: "License to Kill – Limit Three People"
1968	Judd, for the Defense	Alethea Staunton	Episode: "The Devil's Surrogate"
1968	Adam-12	Susan Decker	Episode: "Log 132: Producer"
1969	The Name of the Game	Monica Garrison	Episode: "Give Till It Hurts"
1972	Ghost Story	Barbara Sanders	Episode: "Bad Connection"
1976–1981	Saturday Night Live	Herself	4 episodes
1984–1985	E/R	Sheila Sheinfeld	3 episodes
1985–1987	Faerie Tale Theatre	Sea Witch / Interviewee	2 episodes
1986	Murder, She Wrote	Dr. Sylvia Dunn	Episode: "One Good Bid Deserves a Murder"
1987	Worlds Beyond	Lee Jeffreys	Episode: "Suffer, Little Children"
1989	Miami Vice	Helen Jackson	Episode: "Victims of Circumstance"
1991	ABC Weekend Special	Miss Kuchenbacker	Episode: "Ralph S. Mouse"
1993	In the Heat of the Night	Carla Ray	Episode: "A Dish Best Served Cold"
1993	Moon Over Miami	Lorraine Pitzer	Episode: "Watching the Detectives"
1997	The Hunger	Miss Gati / Landlady	Episode: "Menage a Trois"
1998	Profiler	Evie Long	Episode: "Cycle of Violence"
1998	Party of Five	Doreen Jablonsky	Episode: "One Christmas, to Go"
1999	Rude Awakening	Crystal Garcia	2 episodes
2003		Vera Morgan	Episode: "Con-Text"	^[40]
2003	Russians in the City of Angels	Patricia Sommers	Episode: "Priklyuchenie"
2010	Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!	Jennifer	Episode: "Choices"

Stage

1961	Take Her, She's Mine	Liza Michaelson / Linda Lehman / Adele McDougall (understudy)	Biltmore Theatre	^[41]
1965	The Playroom	Judy	Brooks Atkinson Theatre
1966	Happily Never After	Sarah Mills	Eugene O'Neill Theatre
1967	Keep It in the Family	Hilda Brady	Plymouth Theatre
1982	Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean	Joanne	Martin Beck Theater

Sources

• Book: Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series. Armstrong. Richard B.. Armstrong. Mary Williams. McFarland. Jefferson, North Carolina. 978-1-476-61230-0. 2015.
• Book: Curti, Roberto . Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980 . McFarland. Jefferson, North Carolina. 978-1-476-61208-9. 2013.
• Book: Gale, Thomson. Video Sourcebook. 2007. Gale Publishing Group. Detroit, Michigan. 39th. 978-1-414-40099-0.
• Book: Segrave. Kerry. Martin. Linda. 1990. The Post-Feminist Hollywood Actress: Biographies and Filmographies of Stars Born After 1939. McFarland. Jefferson, North Carolina. 978-0-899-50387-5. registration.
• Book: The Complete Actors' Television Credits, 1948-1988 – Actresses. Scarecrow Press. Metuchen, New Jersey. 1989. Terrace. Vincent. Parish. James Robert. James Robert Parish. 2. 978-0-810-8225-80.
• Book: Riggs, Thomas. 2000. 31. Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale Publishing Group. Detroit, Michigan. 978-0-787-64636-3.
• Book: Weldon, Michael. 1996. The Psychotronic Video Guide To Film. Macmillan. New York. 978-0-312-13149-4.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Karen Black filmography. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. https://archive.today/20190821095500/https://catalog.afi.com/Person/91906-Karen-Black?sid=4ff52de9-284c-40b2-a6ba-862a4708becb&sr=11.050974&cp=1&pos=0&cxt=Cast1. August 21, 2019. August 21, 2019. live.
2. News: January 4, 1975. Terror film for Karen Black. 15. Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta. Newspapers.com.
3. Web site: Drive-In Dust Offs: The Last Horror Film. Daily Dead. Drebit. Scott. 29 October 2016 . https://archive.today/20190822072842/https://dailydead.com/drive-dust-offs-last-horror-film-1982/. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
4. News: Cable TV Listings: Full Circle Again. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 19, 1987. 6SC. Newspapers.com.
5. Web site: Heavy.com. Worst Of Netflix: Tuesday Never Comes. Sims. Chris. March 8, 2010. https://archive.today/20190823004241/https://heavy.com/entertainment/2010/03/worst-of-netflix-tuesday-never-comes/. August 23, 2019. August 23, 2019. live.
6. Web site: Starstruck: Cast and Crew. AllMovie. August 23, 2019. https://archive.today/20190823005905/https://www.allmovie.com/movie/starstruck-v486062/cast-crew. live. August 23, 2019.
7. Video Watchdog. 43–48. 47. Lucas. Tim. Lucas. Donna. Tim and Donna Lucas. Reviews: Every Minute Is Goodbye. Cincinnati, Ohio. 1070-9991.
8. Book: Klossner, Michael. Prehistoric Humans in Film and Television: 581 Dramas, Comedies and Documentaries, 1905–2004. 2005. 49. McFarland. Jefferson, North Carolina. 978-0-786-42215-9.
9. Web site: AlloCiné. Greater Than a Tiger. fr. https://archive.today/20190823010052/http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=213339.html. August 23, 2019. August 23, 2019. live.
10. News: Film festival to screen unfinished dreams. 1. The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. Persall. Steve. June 9, 1997. Newspapers.com.
11. Web site: My Neighbor's Daughter. Variety. November 12, 1998. Lovell. Glenn. https://web.archive.org/web/20170802070359/https://variety.com/1998/tv/reviews/my-neighbor-s-daughter-1200455953/. August 2, 2017.
12. News: 'Five Easy Pieces' Actress Karen Black Dies at 74. The Hollywood Reporter. August 8, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20161226233250/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/karen-black-five-easy-pieces-nashville-dies-431637. December 26, 2016.
13. Web site: British Film Institute. Waiting for Dr. MacGuffin. https://web.archive.org/web/20181203202156/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b81ab54b6. December 3, 2018.
14. Web site: Film Threat. Soulkeeper (DVD). February 10, 2002. https://archive.today/20190823004523/https://filmthreat.com/uncategorized/soulkeeper-dvd/. August 23, 2019. August 23, 2019. live.
15. Web site: Magic City Morning Star. Waldo Theatre Announces Maine Premiere of "Summer Solstice". Katadhin, Maine. https://archive.today/20190823010534/http://www.magic-city-news.com/Entertainment_8/Waldo_Theatre_Announces_Maine_Premiere_of_Summer_S_39603960.shtml. August 23, 2019. May 31, 2005. August 23, 2019. live.
16. Web site: Birth of Industry. Cleveland International Film Festival. August 23, 2019.
17. Web site: Carma. Film Threat. April 11, 2006. https://archive.today/20190823010644/https://filmthreat.com/uncategorized/carma/. August 23, 2019. August 23, 2019. live.
18. Web site: Dread Central. Dr. Rage (2005). Condit, Jon. March 9, 2006. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823011724/https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/4117/dr-rage-2005/. August 23, 2019.
19. Web site: Rotten Tomatoes. Read You Like a Book. https://archive.today/20190822070136/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/read_you_like_a_book. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
20. Web site: Karen Black. CinéArtistes. fr. https://archive.today/20190822070411/http://www.cineartistes.com/fiche-Karen+Black.html?PHPSESSID=. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
21. Web site: Review: 'Suffering Man's Charity'. The Hollywood Reporter. https://archive.today/20190822070734/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/suffering-mans-charity-159505. August 22, 2019. DeFore. John. June 14, 2007. August 22, 2019. live.
22. Web site: One Long Night. Rotten Tomatoes. August 22, 2019. https://archive.today/20190822070715/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/one_long_night. August 22, 2019. live.
23. Web site: Contamination. Rotten Tomatoes. https://archive.today/20190823011608/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/contamination_2015. August 23, 2019. August 23, 2019. live.
24. Web site: A Single Woman. Rotten Tomatoes. https://archive.today/20190823004025/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_single_woman. August 23, 2019. August 23, 2019. live.
25. Web site: Stuck!. Variety. Koehler. Robert. August 4, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20190822071937/https://variety.com/2010/film/reviews/stuck-2-1117943293/. August 22, 2019.
26. Web site: Los Angeles screening of Double Duty. Hollywood.com. August 22, 2019. https://archive.today/20190822065756/http://www.hollywood.com/general/los-angeles-screening-of-double-duty-59929287/%23/ms-5380/1. August 22, 2019. live.
27. Web site: Tribeca Film Festival. Filmmakers: James Demo. https://archive.today/20190822065756/https://www.tfiny.org/filmmakers/detail/james_demo. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
28. Web site: British Film Institute. Karen Black Filmography. https://web.archive.org/web/20190408041308/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f5bd290. April 8, 2019.
29. Web site: Ebert, Roger. Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times. Letters from the Big Man. https://archive.today/20190822070059/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/letters-from-the-big-man-2011. November 30, 2011. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
30. Web site: Meet the 2011 Tribeca Filmmakers: "Maria My Love" Director Jasmine McGlade Chazelle. Indiewire. https://archive.today/20190822065126/https://www.indiewire.com/2011/04/meet-the-2011-tribeca-filmmakers-maria-my-love-director-jasmine-mcglade-chazelle-242978/. August 22, 2019. Indiewire Staff. April 13, 2011. August 22, 2019. live.
31. Web site: Rotten Tomatoes. Mommy's Little Monster. https://archive.today/20190822065152/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mommys_little_monster. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
32. Web site: Cast. Warnings from the Bathtub Official Site. https://archive.today/20190822065229/http://www.warningsfromthebathtub.com/cast.html. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
33. Web site: 'Five Easy Pieces' Star Karen Black Dead at 74. Press Herald. Portland, Maine. August 9, 2013. Italie. Hillel. https://archive.today/20190822065427/https://www.pressherald.com/2013/08/09/five-easy-pieces-star-karen-black-dead-at-74/. August 22, 2019. live. Associated Press. August 22, 2019.
34. Web site: The Hollywood Reporter. River Phoenix's Last Film 'Dark Blood' to Debut at Film Festival in September. Roxborough. Scott. August 1, 2012. https://archive.today/20130125205627/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/river-phoenixs-last-film-dark-blood-finished-357228. January 25, 2013. August 22, 2019. live.
35. Web site: Dread Central. Ooga Booga (2013). August 22, 2019. March 7, 2013.
36. Web site: Film Threat. She Loves Me Not. August 22, 2019. https://archive.today/20190822071240/https://filmthreat.com/uncategorized/she-loves-me-not/. July 4, 2013. August 22, 2019. live.
37. Web site: Death Grips Announce 'Bottomless Pit' LP. Spin. October 21, 2015. Joyce. Colin. https://archive.today/20190822071410/https://www.spin.com/2015/10/death-grips-bottomless-pit-karen-black-video/. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
38. Web site: Wild in Blue. Rotten Tomatoes. August 22, 2019. https://archive.today/20190822071650/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wild_in_blue. August 22, 2019. live.
39. Web site: Cast. The Being Experience. https://archive.today/20190822071747/http://thebeingexperience.com/cast. August 22, 2019. August 22, 2019. live.
40. Web site: Karen Black Credits. TV Guide. https://web.archive.org/web/20180703133632/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/karen-black/credits/159689/. July 3, 2018.
41. Web site: Karen Black. Playbill. https://web.archive.org/web/20160314114845/http://www.playbill.com/person/karen-black-vault-0000046849. March 14, 2016.