Karen Blanche Black was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter who was supporting Oscar-nommed for “Five Easy Pieces” and starred in films like “Nashville” and “Easy Rider”, died at the age of 74.
Her husband, Stephen Eckelberry announced her death on Facebook, saying “It is with great sadness that I have to report that my wife and best friend Karen Black has just passed away, only a few minutes ago. Thank you all for all your prayers and love, they meant so much to her as they did to me.”
Karen Black Bio Profile
Birth date and place July 1, 1939 Park Ridge, Illinois, U.S.
Died August 8, 2013 (aged 74) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Education Northwestern University
Occupation Actress screenwriter singer composer
Years active 1960–2013
Works Filmography
Spouse(s) Charles Black
(m. 1960; divorced)
Robert Burton
(m. 1973; div. 1974)
L. M. Kit Carson
(m. 1975; div. 1983)
Stephen Eckelberry
(m. 1987)
Children 3, including Hunter Carson
Karen Black Cause of Death
Black was diagnosed with ampullary cancer and had one-third of her pancreas removed. After the release of her final films in 2010, she had stopped making public appearances. Stephen Eckelberry, and her went for a crowdfunding website and raised tens of thousands of dollars to pay for an experimental treatment in Europe.
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Black could not make it to europe but in June, she went to St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, and the Motion Picture Television Fund helped place her in a nursing facility. She underwent two operations. On August 8, 2013, Black died at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California at the age of 74.
Her death made the industry upset and A lot of celebrities as well as fans have shown their concern. Actress and fellow Scientologist Juliette Lewis paid tribute, saying “Karen Black was my mentor and a second mother to me. She inspired everyone she came in contact with.”
Karen Black Early Life
Born on Ziegler on July 1, 1939, in Park Ridge, Illinois, Karen Black was the daughter of Elsie Mary, a writer of many prize-winning children’s novels, and Norman Arthur Ziegler, an engineer and businessman. She had two siblings; a sister and a brother. Her elder sister was Actress Gail Brown. Her paternal grandfather was Arthur Charles Ziegler who was a classical musician and first violinist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Black was of German, Czech, and Norwegian descent. The Zieglers came to the United States from Southern Germany. Black along with her siblings were raised at 224 N. Greenwood Ave in Park Ridge.
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Black graduated from Maine Township High School East in the year 1957. She then went to Northwestern University. She studied in major arts under Alvina Krause. Black dropped out two years later.
She had always seen the dream to become an actress. She wanted to have a career as a stage actress. She in fact started looking forward to summer stock theater job opportunities. “From the age of 13 I’d rush out during vacations to find work in summer stock,” Black stated. “I started by cleaning toilets and by the time I was 16 I was a prop-girl and in the chorus line singing, and at 17 I got my first real acting, paid job.”
Karen Black Career
She played women on the edge, prostitutes and lower-class women. She won an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress for her portrayal of a kind-hearted, small-town waitress in Five Easy Pieces. She was part of the eclectic ensemble cast in Nashville, Americana roundelay.
She composed and performed two songs for the films Memphis and Rolling Stone. The multi-talented lady was nominated for a Grammy. She won a Globe for best supporting actress for The Great Gatsby (1974) for her portrayal of an adulteress.
In the mid-’70s, she played in Airport 1975 as a flight attendent forced to fly the plane, then played in the popcorn actioner Capricorn One (1977).
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She was also a part of Killer Fish (1979), It’s Alive III (1987), Night Angel (1990), Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996), House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Some Guy Who Kills People (2011), Children of the Night (1991), Dead Girls Don’t Tango (1992), and Dark Blood (2012).
she told the Chicago Tribune in 2008, “Scary movies I’ve done — there have been about 14 out of 175. They are not dominant in any way, shape or form. I can tell you what happened, but it was sort of like a mistake. It’s like I went on a bad path and couldn’t find my way back.”
She also wrote screenplays and had contributed: Men (1997) and Charades (1998), and she ventured into playwriting, penning Missouri Waltz. She made her Broadway debut in 1961’s Take Her, She’s Mine.
She mad her first TV dramatic debut in 1967 in a segment of Run for Your Life.
The Final Words
In order to conclude the article, We hope you enjoyed reading this article. We tried our best to keep you update with all the latest information regarding Karen Black. Her death was needed shocking and tragic. Even though, Karen Black is no more with us today but her fans will always remember her and her contribution to the cinema world through her amazing work and achievements.
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