Karen Black

Birth Name:

Karen Blanche Black

Birth Date:

July 1, 1939

Birth Place:

Park Ridge, Illinois

Death Date:

August 8, 2013

Place of Death:

Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Ampullary cancer

Cemetery Name:

Eternal Hills Memorial Park

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Karen Black was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portraying eccentric and offbeat characters, and established herself as a figure of New Hollywood. Her career spanned over 50 years and includes nearly 200 credits in both independent and mainstream films. Black made her screen debut in Francis Ford Coppola's own first film, You're a Big Boy Now (1966), and collaborated more than once with Jack Nicholson, who cast Black in his 1971 directorial debut, Drive, He Said, after co-starring with her in Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1970). She was also a favorite of Robert Altman, who directed her in Nashville (1975), for which she and many of the cast wrote and performed their own songs, and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). Playing herself in Altman's The Player (1992), she was one of many such celebrity guest stars in that overpopulated satire to be left on the cutting-room floor. Black received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Golden Globe Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Fun Fact

In 2000, Black began filming Rob Zombie’s directorial debut House of 1000 Corpses, in which she portrayed Mother Firefly, the matron of a family of psychotic murderers. Upon its release in 2003, the film received largely unfavorable reviews, though it helped cement Black’s status as a cult icon in the horror genre.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Eternal Hills Memorial Park

1999 El Camino Real

Oceanside, California, 92054

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California

Grave Location:

Garden of Protection, Block 45, Space 2

Grave Location Description

Park on the east side of Garden of Protection, by the large statue. Walk west, toward the hill, keeping the statue on your left and the trees on your right. After the second tree, her marker is 5 rows straight ahead.