James Karen – A Gentleman of Horror Mastery
James Karen was one of those actors that when you heard his name, you thought “Who?” but I guarantee that if you’re into your films then you’ve seen him in various films and television roles over the decades there in the background, usually in a supporting role but he has been the lead actor on occasion. His films span multiple genres and, chronologically and most often as not, there will be a horror movie, then an espionage thriller, then a sci-fi, then a war film. James Karen was in that large but often over-looked club of actors and actresses that when you see them in a film you think “Now where have I seen them before?”
James Karen was born Jacob Karnofsky to Russian-born Jewish immigrant parents in the Pennsylvanian city of Wilkes-Barre on November 28th, 1923. He was encouraged into acting by U.S. Congressman Daniel Flood who recruited him into the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre.
Theatre gave him his first big break when he became Karl Malden’s understudy in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire.
Nationally known on U.S. Television Soap Operas and Dramas and a long-standing television and radio spokesman for the Pathmark Supermarket chain, it wasn’t until supporting roles in Capricorn One, The China Syndrome and The Jazz Singer that gained interest in him and he landed roles in The Poltergeist and The Return of The Living Dead. His character died in Return of The Living Dead, but he returned in a different, and leading role, in the sequel.
James Karen was a lifelong member of The Actors Studio and he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor for his role in 1985’s The Return of The Living Dead but it wasn’t until 1998 that he received an Honorary Saturn Award for his contributions to the genre that he exceled the most in, Horror.
He was a good friend of Buster Keaton, the silent movie legend, who was also the Godparent to James’s only son, Reed.
James Karen had an illustrious career spanning 70 years, and not many actors can claim that accolade, he was always a desired talent and was working right up to his death (the low-budget film Cynthia in 2018). He died of cardiorespiratory arrest on October 23rd at his Los Angeles home at the grand old age of 94.
Yvonne Monlaur was a French actress, best known for her work in British films during the 1950s and 1960s. She was born on April 26, 1938, in Pau, France, and Read more
Yvonne Craig, the actress best known for playing Batgirl in the 1960s Batman TV series, has died at the age of 78. Before Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman, before Joanna Cameron's Read more
Yaphet Kotto, whether you remember him as the worst Bond Villain or a member of the Nostromo crew or as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s running mate in The Running Man, it is Read more
Yancy Butler was born in Greenwich Village in Manhattan on 2nd July 1970. Her mother Leslie Vega was a theatre company manager whilst her father Joe Butler was the drummer and vocalist Read more
Wolfgang Reitherman is the definition of an unsung hero. He is not widely known and yet hast directed six of the biggest-grossing, most popular movies of the 1960s and 1970s, not Read more
Wings Hauser was born Gerald Dwight Hauser in Hollywood, California on 12th December 1947. The son of director and producer Dwight Hauser. Hauser made his acting debut at age five Read more
It is Cult Faction's sad duty to report that acting legend Windsor Davies passed away on Thursday at the age of 88 years old. Davies had retired to France with his Read more
William Zabka was born on October 21st 1965 in New York City; both his parents worked in the film business. His mother Nancy was a business liaison, producer, and production assistant Read more
William Smith aka "Big" Bill Smith was born on March 24th 1933 was in Columbia, Missouri. Smith began his acting career at the age of eight when he first appeared on the Read more
A true hero of cult; best known for being the original Doctor. It may have turned out very different, for the boy known as Billy, if it hadn't been for Read more
It is Cult Faction's sad duty to report that Wes Craven, the man who created modern horror with the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and then reinvented the genre with the Scream Read more
Described by Janet Maslin, the New York Times critic, as the "consummate poet of doom," Herzog is one of cinema's most crusading directors. His personal quest has led him to Read more
Cult Faction must sadly report that legendary writer Warren B. Murphy passed away on September 4th 2015 at his home in Virginia Beach, U.S.A. Murphy is most well known for Read more
A veteran stage, screen and voice actor, W. Morgan Sheppard was an accomplished and RADA trained actor whose career spanned 55 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ4qli_1C48 Born William Morgan Sheppard in London on Read more
Cult Faction is sad to report that Vivean Gray aka Mrs Mangel in Australian soap opera Neighbours, has passed away at the age of 92 years old. Gray came from humble Read more
Virginia Hey (born 19 June 1952) is an Australian actress, known for her role as Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan on the science fiction TV series Farscape and as the Warrior Woman in Read more
Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen and television, often described as "the man with Read more
Born on 18th September 1944 in Yorkshire, England, Veronica Mary Glazer spent the majority of her childhood with her Military father who was stationed in Germany. In later years she Read more
Hero of Cult Vernon George Wells was born 31st December 1945 in Rushworth, Victoria, Australia and initially popped up on the Cult Faction radar in the 1970's on the television Read more
Valerie (Val) Kathleen Lehman (née Willis) was born in Western Austrailia on 15th March 1943 and is an Silver Logie award winning Australian actress and director, best known for her role as Read more
More Stories
Kathleen Wilhoite
Pete Duel
Pamela Susan Shoop