Sad news came today that Karen Black, the star of Nashville and Five Easy Pieces, passed away on Thursday, July 8 at the age of 74. Karen Black emerged as one of the more distinctive actresses of her generation, starring and co-starring in some of the most acclaimed films of the 1970s.
Karen Black studied under Lee Strasberg, and moved from Broadway to the big screen in the counterculture classic Easy Rider (1969). She would co-star again with Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafaelson’s Five Easy Pieces one year later, playing Nicholson’s tragically devoted girlfriend and earning her first and only Academy Award-nomination for her performance. Black’s Five Easy Pieces character, Rayette, dreamed of being a country music star. In 1975, Karen Black would co-star in Robert Altman’s sprawling ode to country music, writing and performing two songs on the hit soundtrack, “Memphis” and “Rolling Stone.”
As her career progressed, Karen Black found herself in increasingly genre-oriented roles. Her most famous horror movie performance was in the 1975 TV movie “Trilogy of Terror,” an anthology film with three vignettes starring Black in different roles. The concluding segment, “Amelia,” written the late sci-fi/horror luminary Richard Matheson, developed a reputation as one of the scariest anthology sequences ever produced, and starred Black as a woman trapped in her apartment with a homicidal Zuni fetish doll.
Karen Black appeared in nearly 200 movies, TV shows and other media during her career as an actress. Younger audiences may recognize her as “Mother Firefly” in Rob Zombie’s first directorial effort, House of 1,000 Corpses. But she leaves behind her a legacy of memorable and acclaimed performances, three children, grandchildren, and a glam-punk band named in her honor, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.
Her legacy is secure, and Karen Black’s unique screen presence will be missed.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
