James Karen

James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in Poltergeist, The China Syndrome, Wall Street, The Return of the Living Dead, Invaders from Mars and The Pursuit of Happyness, but was perhaps best known as the signature pitchman for Pathmark, famously appearing in commercials for the now-defunct East Coast-based supermarket chain from the late 1970s to the early 1990s which earned his nickname "Mr. Pathmark".
Karen is also known for his recurring television role as Tom Bradford's boss, Eliot Randolph, in Eight Is Enough. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for his 1985 role in The Return of the Living Dead. He also appeared in an episode of Cheers as Frasier's mentor and the father of Carla's sixth child.
Early life
Karen was born Jacob Karnofsky in Wilkes-Barre, in northeastern Pennsylvania, the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Mae (née Freed) and Joseph H. Karnofsky, a produce dealer. His uncle was Morris Carnovsky, a prominent actor and co-founder of the Group Theatre.
As a young man, Karen was encouraged to be an actor by U.S. Democratic Congressman Daniel J. Flood, who was an amateur thespian himself, recruiting him into a production at the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre. He attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. Karen also served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
Career
Karen's big break came when he was asked to understudy Karl Malden in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire.
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. On the streets of New York, Karen was known as "Mr. Pathmark".
Karen appeared in an episode of the 1977 NBC situation comedy The Kallikaks, and played Earl Silbert in the 1979 miniseries Blind Ambition, and M*A*S*H season 11, episode 12 on 1/23/83. A decade later, he appeared in an episode of The Golden Girls as a prospective love interest for Dorothy. He is also known for having played Herbert Purcell, a businessman and leader of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter, in a 1981 episode of The Jeffersons; and the evil tycoon Nathan Lassiter, who killed the town of Walnut Grove in the final TV movie of Little House on the Prairie. Karen was a lifelong member of The Actors Studio. Karen's other notable film credits include The China Syndrome and Oliver Stone's Wall Street.
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, and in Poltergeist where he played the real-estate developer who built the California planned community of Cuesta Verde on top of a former cemetery. 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".
Karen was set to appear in Superman Returns (2006) as Ben Hubbard, but his scenes were ultimately cut. Later in his career, Karen was recognized for his role as Martin Frohm in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness. His final film roles were in the low-budget films Bender (2016) and Cynthia (2018).
Personal life
He was married to Susan Reed, the actress and folk singer, with whom he had one son, Reed. Reed's godfather was Buster Keaton, Karen's good friend. Karen and Reed divorced in 1967. He married Alba Francesca in 1986.
Karen died on October 23, 2018, at his home in Los Angeles, at the age of 94.
Selected filmography
Sources:
Film (1965, Short) as Passerby
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965) as Dr. Adam Steele
Hercules in New York (1970) as Professor Camden
I Never Sang for My Father (1970) as Old Age Home Director
Rivals (1972) as Child Psychiatrist
Amazing Grace (1974) as Mr. Annenberg
All the President's Men (1976) as Hugh Sloan's Lawyer
Something for Joey (1977, TV Movie) as Dr. Wingreen
Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977, TV Movie) as Dr. Sutterman
The Gathering (1977, TV Movie) as Bob Block
Capricorn One (1978) as Vice President Price
Opening Night (1977) as Bellboy
F.I.S.T. (1978) as Mr. Andrews
Institute for Revenge (1979, TV Movie) as Power Broker
The China Syndrome (1979) as Mac Churchill
The Jazz Singer (1980) as Barney Callahan
Take This Job and Shove It (1981) as Loomis
Poltergeist (1982) as Mr. Teague
Time Walker (1982) as Dr. Wendell J. Rossmore
Frances (1982) as Judge Hillier
Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) as Lawyer (uncredited)
Sam's Son (1984) as Mr. Collins
The Boy Who Loved Trolls (1984, TV Movie) as Richman
The Return of the Living Dead (1985) as Frank Johnson
Jagged Edge (1985) as Andrew Hardesty
Invaders from Mars (1986) as General Climet Wilson
Hardbodies 2 (1986) as Logan
Billionaire Boys Club (1987, TV Movie) as Mr. Fairmont Sr.
Wall Street (1987) as Mr. Lynch
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988) as Ed Mathews
Girlfriend from Hell (1989) as Carl's Dad
Vital Signs (1990) as Dean of Students
Road Lawyers and Other Briefs (1990) as Judge Bowelmore (segment "Road Lawyers")
The Willies (1990) as Uncle Harry / Mr. Jenkins
The Closer (1990) as Ned Randall
Heart of the Deal (1990)
The Unborn (1991) as Dr. Richard Meyerling
Stone Soup (1993) as Paul
Future Shock (1994) as Kafka
Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994, TV Movie) as Mylan Whitfield
Congo (1995) as College President, Elliot's Boss
Piranha (1995) as Governor
Nixon (1995) as Bill Rogers
Up Close & Personal (1996) as Tom Orr
Behind Enemy Lines (1997) as TV Reporter
Always Say Goodbye (1997) as William Tager
Joyride (1997) as The Client
A River Made to Drown In (1997) as Ray
Freedom Strike (1998) as President Mitchell
Shadow of Doubt (1998) as Norman Calloway
Girl (1998) as Dad
Apt Pupil (1999) as Victor Bowden
One Last Flight (1999) as Gramps
My Last Love (1999) as Phil Morton
Any Given Sunday (1999) as Christina's Advisor
Thirteen Days (2000) as George Ball
Mulholland Drive (2001) as Wally Brown
A House on a Hill (2003) as Sy
Unscripted (2005, TV Series) as Dante's Friend
Superman Returns (2006) as Ben Hubbard (Scenes Deleted)
Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy (2006) as Leroy Parker
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) as Martin Frohm
Trail of the Screaming Forehead (2007) as Reverend Beaks
Dark and Stormy Night (2009) as Seyton Ethelquake
Jack and the Beanstalk (2009) as Verri Saddius
Sympathy for Delicious (2010) as Father Rohn
The Butterfly Room (2012) as Taxidermist
Ambush at Dark Canyon (2012) as Seymour Redfield
America's Most Haunted (2013) as Ralph George
Rain from Stars (2013) as Spencer
Bender (2016) as Old Man Bender
Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk (2017) as Interviewee No. 1
Cynthia (2018) as Frank Teague
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.
References
Further reading
Voisin, Scott, Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media, 2009. .
External links
Great Character Actors / James Karen
1923 births
2018 deaths
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American Jews
Actors from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
American people of Jewish descent
American Ashkenazi Jews
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American military personnel
Male actors from Pennsylvania
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II