Karen Black has passed away

An icon of the '70s. Wonderful, original, risky actress. Even when she was bad, she was good, and always interesting to watch.

RIP
Variety link

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Even when she was magnificently awful, I still loved her.

And those eyes, wherever they were looking.

She was an original.

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RIP

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She was the best thing about The Great Gatsby in 74.
I've always liked The Day of the Locust.
Burnt Offerings is a guilty pleasure that I watched again recently.
Late last week I was in Merrehope House in Meridian, MS where she filmed Red Dirt. I was thinking about her then. I'm thinking about her now.

How did I not know her son Hunter Carson was Hunter, the little boy, in Paris, Texas? Just watched that movie last week. That kid had his mother's sass in that movie.

Since I accidently double posted because I am so worried about the plane, I would just like to praise one of the lesser talked about chapters of "Trilogy of Terror" -- the one in which Karen played a horny teacher seducing a college student, played by the hunky Robert "Skip" Burton who was her husband at the time. I enjoyed thinking about him a lot after the trilogy aired.

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Updated On: 8/8/13 at 08:39 PM

RIP

A one off original

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A commanding, original artist with broad range sometimes hidden by her often playing women on the extreme emotional edge, which she did with singular vulnerability and style, She had an outstanding ability to make us care.

I agree that when she was awful, she was lovably and magnificently awful, which is itself an extraordinary achievement.

But I'd also suggest that these performances might just strike us (they do me) as being overdone, campy or manipulative - however magnificently and unabashedly - only in clips and out of context, that she was always persuasive and truthful; when one sees those performances in their entirety, her no holds barred style convinced and won us through complete commitment and will, emotional nakedness, selfless risk and sheer talent.

Updated On: 8/9/13 at 09:47 AM

RIP, dear lady, and flights of Zuni Warrior Dolls dance thee to thy rest.

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I had the greatest time watching her and Barbara Harris as dueling leading ladies in Hitchcock's Family Plot. She was so sexy and commanding which is a stark contrast to some of her other performances mentioned in this thread. A testament to her talent and range.
A bit of Karen Black as Portia last year

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Underrated actress and a very nice woman.

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