James Karen

James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American

On television, he played Dr. Burke on As the World Turns and was the original Lincoln Tyler on All My Children. He was perhaps best known for his recurring role on the television series Eight Is Enough. He is also well-known on the East Coast for his 20 years as television and radio spokesman for the Pathmark supermarket chain.^[6] On the streets of New York, Karen was known as "Mr. Pathmark".^[2]

Karen appeared in an episode of the 1977

Perhaps his best known roles were in the low-budget horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead, where Karen starred as the manager of a medical warehouse who inadvertently releases a gas that re-animates the dead,^[9] and in Poltergeist (1982) where he played real-estate developer Teague, who built the California planned community of Cuesta Verde on top of a former cemetery.^[9] In a 2006 interview about his role in The Return of the Living Dead, Karen noted that he helped write most scenes for his character: “It was the deal where he figures out he’s becoming a zombie and decides to incinerate himself in the crematorium...He kisses his wedding ring as he goes in. It was a very emotional scene, but it also got me out of being one of the rain-drenched zombies milling around outside the place at the end of the film. I didn't really want to do all that muddy stuff".^[9]

Karen was set to appear in Superman Returns (2006) as Ben Hubbard, but his scenes were ultimately cut.^[10] Later in his career, Karen was recognized for his role as Martin Frohm in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness.^[1] His final film roles were in the low-budget films Bender (2016), directed by John Alexander, and Cynthia (2018).^[9]

Personal life

He was married to Susan Reed, the actress and folk singer,^[11] with whom he had one son, Reed. Reed's godfather was Buster Keaton,^[9] Karen's good friend.^[9][12] Karen and Reed divorced in 1967. He married Alba Francesca in 1986.^[9]

Karen died on October 23, 2018, at his home in Los Angeles, at the age of 94.^[13][14]

Selected filmography

• Sources:^{[9][14][15][16]}

Awards

Karen was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor for his role in The Return of the Living Dead in 1985. For his contributions to the horror film industry, Karen received an honorary Saturn Award in 1998. He was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Unborn in 1991.^{[citation needed]}

References