List of Karen Black performances

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 in The Day of the Locust (1975)

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

Karen Black film credits

Year	Title	Role	Director(s)	Notes	Ref.
1960	The Prime Time	Betty – Painted Woman	Gordon Weisenborn		[1]
1966	You're a Big Boy Now	Amy Partlett	Francis Ford Coppola		[1]
1969	Hard Contract	Ellen	S. Lee Pogostin		[1]
1969	Easy Rider	Karen	Dennis Hopper		[1]
1970	Five Easy Pieces	Rayette Dipesto	Bob Rafelson		[1]
1971	Drive, He Said	Olive	Jack Nicholson		[1]
1971	A Gunfight	Jenny Simms	Lamont Johnson		[1]
1971	Born to Win	Parm	Ivan Passer		[1]
1972	Cisco Pike	Sue	Bill L. Norton		[1]
1972	Portnoy's Complaint	Mary Jane Reid	Ernest Lehman		[1]
1973	Little Laura and Big John	Laura	Luke Moberly Bob Woodburn		[1]
1973	The Pyx	Elizabeth Lucy	Harvey Hart		[2]
1973	The Outfit	Bett Harrow	John Flynn		[1]
1974	Rhinoceros	Daisy	Tom O'Horgan		[1]
1974	The Great Gatsby	Myrtle Wilson	Jack Clayton		[1]
1974	Law and Disorder	Gloria	Ivan Passer		[1]
1974	Airport 1975	Nancy Pryor	Jack Smight		[1]
1975	Trilogy of Terror	Julie / Millicent Larimore/ Therese Larimore / Amelia	Dan Curtis	Television film	[3]
1975	The Day of the Locust	Faye Greener	John Schlesinger		[1]
1975	Nashville	Connie White	Robert Altman		[1]
1976	Crime and Passion	Susan Winters	Ivan Passer		[1]
1976	Family Plot	Fran	Alfred Hitchcock		[1]
1976	Burnt Offerings	Marian Rolf	Dan Curtis		[1]
1977	Capricorn One	Judy Drinkwater	Peter Hyams		[1]
1977	The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver	Miriam Oliver	Gordon Hessler	Television film	[4]
1977	Because He's My Friend	Anne	Ralph Nelson	Television film	[4]
1978	The Rip-Off	Clarisse Saunders	Antonio Margheriti	Also known as: The Squeeze	[5]
1978	In Praise of Older Women	Maya	George Kaczender		[6]
1979	Killer Fish	Kate Neville	Antonio Margheriti		[6]
1979	The Last Word	Paula Herbert	Roy Boulting		[1]
1979	Mr. Horn	Ernestina Crawford	Jack Starrett	Television film	[7]
1980	Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop	Officer Evelyn Carter	Lee H. Katzin	Television film Also known as: The Other Side of Fear	[4]
1980	Power	Rose Vanda-Buchanan	Barry Shear Virgil W. Vogel	Television film	[4]
1980	Where the Ladies Go	Helen	Theodore J. Flicker	Television film	[4]
1981	Separate Ways	Valentine Colby	Howard Avedis		[8]
1981	Killing Heat	Mary Turner	Michael Raeburn	Also known as: The Grass is Singing	[9]
1981	Chanel Solitaire	Émilienne d'Alençon	George Kaczender		[1]
1982	The Last Horror Film	Herself	David Winters	Uncredited	[10]
1982	Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean	Joanne	Robert Altman		[1]
1982	Miss Right	Amy	Paul Williams		[7]
1983	Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?	Zee	Henry Jaglom		[1]
1984	Bad Manners	Gladys Fitzpatrick	Robert Houston	Also known as: Growing Pains	[4]
1984	A Stroke of Genius		Jyll Rosenfeld		[11]
1984	There's Something Wrong in Paradise	Gina Gina		Television musical film with Kid Creole	[4]
1984	Full Circle Again	Un­known	William Fruet	Television film; co-starring with Robert Vaughn[12]	[4]
1985	Martin's Day	Karen	Alan Gibson		[4]
1985	Cut and Run	Karin	Ruggero Deodato	Italian title: Inferno in diretta	[13]
1985	The Blue Man	Janus	George Mihalka	Also known as: Eternal Evil	[14]
1985	Savage Dawn	Rachel	Simon Nuchtern		[15]
1986	The Flight of the Spruce Goose	Gloria	Lech Majewski		[4]
1986	Invaders from Mars	Linda Magnusson	Tobe Hooper		[1]
1986	Hostage	Laura Lawrence	Hanro Möhr Percival Rubens		[1]
1987	It's Alive III: Island of the Alive	Ellen Jarvis	Larry Cohen		[4]
1988	The Invisible Kid	Deborah Dunn	Avery Krounse		[1]
1988	Dixie Lanes	Zelma Putnam	Don Cato		[4]
1988	Out of the Dark	Ruth Wilson	Michael Schroeder		[1]
1989	Homer and Eddie	Belle	Andrei Konchalovsky		[1]
1989	The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway	Martha Gelhorn	José María Sánchez		[4]
1989	Trust Me	Jilter woman	Robert Houston		[1]
1990	Overexposed	Mrs. Trowbridge	Larry Brand		[1]
1990	Twisted Justice	Mrs. Granger	David Heavener		[1]
1990	Zapped Again!	Substitute Teacher	Doug Campbell		[4]
1990	Night Angel	Rita	Dominique Othenin-Girard		[4]
1990	Club Fed	Sally Rich	Nat Christian		[4]
1990	Mirror, Mirror	Susan Gordon	Marina Sargenti		[4]
1990	Pretty Hattie's Baby		Ivan Passer	Unreleased	[4]
1990	The Children	Sybil Lullmer	Tony Palmer		[4]
1990	The Covenant		Chris Peschken		[4]
1990	Haunting Fear	Dr. Julia Harcourt	Fred Olen Ray		[4]
1990	Fatal Encounter	Joan Caldwell	Henri Charr		[4]
1990	Evil Spirits	Ella Purdy	Gary Graver		[4]
1991	Quiet Fire	Kim Martino	Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs		[4]
1991	The Killer's Edge	Barrett	Joseph Merhi		[4]
1991	Dead Girls Don't Tango	Inspector Wilson	John Carr		[4]
1991	Caged Fear	Blanche	Robert Houston	Also known as: Hotel Oklahoma	[4]
1991	Rubin and Ed	Rula	Trent Harris		[1]
1991	Children of the Night	Karen Thompson	Tony Randel		[4]
1991	The Roller Blade Seven	Tarot	Donald G. Jackson		[4]
1992	The Player	Herself	Robert Altman		[1]
1992	Tuesday Never Comes	Michelle	Jason Holt		[16]
1992	Judgement	Tiffany Powers	William Sachs	Also known as: Hitz	[17]
1992	Auntie Lee's Meat Pies	Auntie Lee	Joseph F. Robertson		[18]
1992	The Legend of the Roller Blade Seven	Tarot	Donald G. Jackson		[19]
1992	The Double 0 Kid	Mrs. Elliot	Dee McLachlan		[4]
1993	Bound and Gagged: A Love Story	Carla	Daniel B. Appleby		[1]
1993	The Trust	Maria Vandermeer	Neil Havens Douglas Killgore		[4]
1993	Return of the Roller Blade Seven	Tarot	Donald G. Jackson		[19]
1993	Movies Money Murder	Bettie	Stephen Eckelberry Arthur Webb	Also producer Also known as: Breaking Up with Paul	[4]
1994	Too Bad About Jack	Inspector Wilson	John Carr		[4]
1995	Plan 10 from Outer Space	Nehor	Trent Harris		[4]
1995	The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley	Evelyn	Paul Leder		[4]
1995	Dream Catcher		John Piedlow		[4]
1995	Starstruck	Bertha	David Steiner		[20]
1996	Sister Island	Rose Walsh	Avery Crounse	Also known as: Cries Of Silence	[1]
1996	Crimetime	Millicent Hargrave	George Sluizer		[4]
1996	Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering	June Rhodes	Greg Spence		[4]
1996	Every Minute is Goodbye	Schubert	Ulli Lommel		[21]
1996	Dinosaur Valley Girls	Ro-Kell	Donald F. Glut		[22]
1996	New York Crossing	Mrs. Tender	Vinicius Mainardi	Television film Spanish title: Un angelo a New York	[4]
1997	Greater Than a Tiger	Paige	Keith Odett	Short film	[23]
1997	Stir	Dr. Gabrielle Kessler	Rodion Nakhapetov		[4]
1997	Conceiving Ada	Lady Byron Mother Coer	Lynn Hershman Leeson		[1]
1997	Men	Alex	Zoe Clarke-Williams	Also screenwriter	[1]
1997	Dogtown	Rose Van Horn	George Hickenlooper		[4]
1997	Modern Rhapsody	Consuelo	Andrea Alvarez Elly Friedman		[24]
1998	Invisible Dad	Courtney Whitmer	Fred Olen Ray		[4]
1998	I Woke Up Early The Day I Died	Whip Lady	Aris Iliopolous		[1]
1998	Sugar: The Fall of the West		James Frey
1998	My Neighbor's Daughter	Social Worker	Steven Kovacs	Television film	[25]
1998	Bury the Evidence	The Mother	J. Greg De Felice		[4]
1998	Malaika	Jessica Martin	Marina Martins		[4]
1998	Charades	Jude	Stephen Eckelberry		[26]
1998	Waiting for Dr. MacGuffin	Dental Assistant	David Ondaatje	Short film	[27]
1998	Lightspeed	High Priestess	Roger Mende		[4]
1999	The Underground Comedy Movie	Mother	Vince Offer		[4]
1999	Mascara	Aunt Eloise	Linda Kandel		[4]
1999	Paradise Cove	Ma	Robert Clapsadle		[4]
2000	Fallen Arches	Lucy Romano	Ron Cosentino		[4]
2000	Red Dirt	Aunt Summer	Tag Purvis		[4]
2000	Oliver Twisted	Mrs. Mary Happ	Dean Gates		[11]
2000	Inviati speciali		Fred Olen Ray
2000	The Independent	Herself	Stephen Kessler		[4]
2001	The Donor	Mrs. Springle	Jean-Marie Pallardy		[28]
2001	Gypsy 83	Bambi LeBleau	Todd Stephens		[1]
2001	Hard Luck	Aunt Judy	Jack Rubio		[1]
2001	Soulkeeper	Magnificent Martha	Darin Ferriola	Television film	[29]
2002	Teknolust	Dirty Dick	Lynn Hershman Leeson		[1]
2002	Curse of the Forty-Niner	Aunt Nelly	John Carl Buechler		[4]
2002	All Hallow's Eve				[4]
2003	House of 1000 Corpses	Mother Firefly	Rob Zombie		[4]
2003	Paris	Chantrelle	Ramin Niami		[4]
2003	Buttleman	Mrs. Buttleman	Francis Stokes	Also known as: Don't Try This at Home	[4]
2003	Summer Solstice	Dr. Sally McDermott	George Fivas		[30]
2004	America Brown	Marianne Brown	Paul Black		[1]
2004	Birth of Industry	Sara	Gabriela Tollman	Short film	[31]
2005	Love Wine	Aunt Anita	Mark McNabb	Television film
2005	Carma	Kate Burns	Ray Arthur Wang	Voice	[32]
2005	My Suicidal Sweetheart	Grace's Mom	Michael Parness	Also known as: Crazy for Love; Max & Grace	[4]
2005	Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula	Agrippina	Francesco Vezzoli	Short film	[4]
2005	Firecracker	Sandra Eleanor	Steve Balderson		[4]
2005	The Straun House	Molly	Jeff Broadstreet	Also known as: Dr. Rage	[33]
2006	Hollywood Dreams	Luna	Henry Jaglom		[4]
2006	Read You Like a Book	Kate	Robert N. Zagone		[34]
2006	Whitepaddy	Mrs. Leider	Geretta Geretta		[35]
2007	Suffering Man's Charity	Renee	Alan Cumming		[36]
2007	One Long Night	Barbara	David Siqueiros		[37]
2008	Contamination	Mavis	Rodion Nakhapetov		[38]
2008	Watercolors	Mrs. Martin	David Oliveras		[4]
2008	A Single Woman	Storyteller	Kamala Lopez		[39]
2009	The Blue Tooth Virgin	Zena	Russell Brown		[4]
2009	Meet the Eye		Aïda Ruilova	Short film
2009	Irene in Time	Sheila Shivvers	Henry Jaglom		[1]
2009	Repo Chick	Aunt de la Chasse	Alex Cox		[4]
2009	Stuck!	Next Door Neighbor Lady	Steve Balderson		[40]
2009	Double Duty	Annabelle	Stephen Eckelberry		[41]
2009	First Time Long Time	Dr. Shneidel	James Demo	Short film	[42]
2010	Better People	Marci	Dorsay Alavi	Television film
2010	Nothing Special	May	Angela Garcia Combs		[1]
2011	Some Guy Who Kills People	Ruth Boyd	Jack Perez		[4]
2011	Letters from the Big Man	Sean's Colleague	Christopher Münch		[43]
2011	Maria My Love	Maria	Jasmine McGlade		[44]
2012	Mommy's Little Monster	Mrs. Melnick	Marshall E. Uzzle		[45]
2012	Warnings from the Bathtub	Mother	Elizabeth Appell Mickey Freeman	Short film	[46]
2012	Vacationland	Louise Bergen	Jaime Hook		[47]
2012	Dark Blood	Motel Woman	George Sluizer	Filmed in 1993	[48]
2013	OowieWanna	The Donna	Bridget Palardy	Short film
2013	Ooga Booga	Mrs. Allardyce	Charles Band		[49]
2013	She Loves Me Not	Karla	Brian Jun Jack Sanderson		[50]
2013	Bottomless Pit	Herself	Zach Hill	Unfinished film, shot for musical group Death Grips	[51]
2014	Wild in Blue	Justine	Matthew Berkowitz		[52]
2014	A Walk Into a Split Mind	Karen		Installment in multi-film series The Being Experience	[53]

Television

Karen Black television series credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1967	The F.B.I.	Lorraine Chapman	Episode: "The Satellite"	[54]
1967	Run for Your Life	Jennifer Palmer	Episode: "Tell It to the Dead"	[54]
1967	The Big Valley	Carla	Episode: "Days of Grace"	[55]
1967	The Second Hundred Years	Marcia	2 episodes	[55]
1967	The Invaders	Claudia Stone	Episode: "The Ransom"	[54]
1967	Iron Horse	Patricia Dunne	Episode: "The Prisoners"	[54]
1968	Mannix	Elaine Tate	Episode: "License to Kill – Limit Three People"	[54]
1968	Judd, for the Defense	Alethea Staunton	Episode: "The Devil's Surrogate"	[54]
1968	Adam-12	Susan Decker	Episode: "Log 132: Producer"	[54]
1969	The Name of the Game	Monica Garrison	Episode: "Give Till It Hurts"	[54]
1972	Ghost Story	Barbara Sanders	Episode: "Bad Connection"	[54]
1976–1981	Saturday Night Live	Herself	4 episodes	[55]
1984–1985	E/R	Sheila Sheinfeld	3 episodes	[54]
1985–1987	Faerie Tale Theatre	Sea Witch / Interviewee	2 episodes	[55]
1986	Murder, She Wrote	Dr. Sylvia Dunn	Episode: "One Good Bid Deserves a Murder"	[55]
1987	Worlds Beyond	Lee Jeffreys	Episode: "Suffer, Little Children"	[11]
1989	Miami Vice	Helen Jackson	Episode: "Victims of Circumstance"	[55]
1991	ABC Weekend Special	Miss Kuchenbacker	Episode: "Ralph S. Mouse"	[11]
1993	In the Heat of the Night	Carla Ray	Episode: "A Dish Best Served Cold"	[55]
1993	Moon Over Miami	Lorraine Pitzer	Episode: "Watching the Detectives"	[11]
1997	The Hunger	Miss Gati / Landlady	Episode: "Menage a Trois"	[55]
1998	Profiler	Evie Long	Episode: "Cycle of Violence"	[55]
1998	Party of Five	Doreen Jablonsky	Episode: "One Christmas, to Go"	[55]
1999	Rude Awakening	Crystal Garcia	2 episodes	[55]
2003	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Vera Morgan	Episode: "Con-Text"	[55]
2003	Russians in the City of Angels	Patricia Sommers	Episode: "Priklyuchenie"
2010	Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!	Jennifer	Episode: "Choices"	[55]

Stage

Karen Black stage credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1961	Take Her, She's Mine	Liza Michaelson / Linda Lehman / Adele McDougall (understudy)	Biltmore Theatre	[56]
1965	The Playroom	Judy	Brooks Atkinson Theatre	[56]
1966	Happily Never After	Sarah Mills	Eugene O'Neill Theatre	[56]
1967	Keep It in the Family	Hilda Brady	Plymouth Theatre	[56]
1982	Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean	Joanne	Martin Beck Theater	[56]